A version of this post was previously published on Beyond Bylines
Sustainability remains top of mind for many companies — both public and private — and ESG continues to be a growing topic we see in press releases. April in particular offered an additional reason for organizations to share news of their environmental, social and governance efforts: Earth Day.
Many companies took advantage of the additional press Earth Day garnered by tying their announcements about their ESG initiatives back to the April 22nd event. In April, we also noticed developing trends around announcing partnerships and demonstrating sustainability results.
Below is a roundup of the ESG news trends we noticed in press releases sent via PR Newswire in the month of April – and how PR and comms teams can learn from their example.
1. Sustainability’s Big Holiday
Celebrating Earth Day is a fantastic way to build buzz around your ESG/sustainability strategy. Companies of all sizes capitalized on April being Earth Month by announcing major ESG initiatives. Sharing sustainability-related news around ESG-related holidays, events and observances – think not just Earth Day, but World Wildlife Day, Indigenous People’s Day, Pride Month…the list goes on – can build visibility for a brand's ESG-related developments.
Here are a few examples:
- Brewer's Foods Celebrates Earth Day by Launching with Sprouts Farmers Market
- AVOCADO Celebrates Earth Month with Re:wild -- and big savings
2. If You Can’t Beat Them, Join Them.
Partnerships have always been a strong way to build value for customers — and we saw several partnership-related press releases this month. Some companies are building stronger relationships with non-profit organizations like universities and foundations. For-profit companies are seeing the benefits of aligning with non-profit organizations, especially when it comes to sustainability and ESG.
Check out these releases:
- Vivaris Capital, LLC Partners with The Tesla Foundation to Form Tesla Climate Capital
- Duke Energy, Purdue University collaborate on new efficient energy source
3. Showing ESG Success
With the first quarter wrapped up, many companies are now taking the time to announce the fruits of their sustainability labor. Achieving carbon neutrality is no easy task, so companies are making sweeping announcements related to this feat. However, it isn't enough to hit carbon neutrality goals; companies have to keep up with it and continue to be transparent in their disclosures.
In case you missed it:
- Blackbaud Achieves Carbon Neutrality and Commits to New Transparent Sustainability Reporting
- Surge Energy America Announces Strong Sustainability Performance Evidenced through Flaring Reduction and Water Management
The Takeaway:
As the above examples illustrate, there’s no “one, right way” to communicate around ESG. The opportunities to highlight your brand’s ESG efforts are wide-ranging and extensive. Aligning your efforts to relevant holidays and observances, announcing partnerships with like-minded organizations or highlighting significant milestones – these are just a few of the many approaches to take. Whatever approach (or approaches) you choose to take with your own brand’s ESG communications, what’s most important to your audiences is that you are communicating in a way that is authentic and true to your brand’s mission.
If you have an ESG story to tell about your brand, now is the time to shine a spotlight on it.
Ready to create your ESG comms strategy? Check out our Ultimate ESG Toolkit for Communicators.
Ready to send your ESG press release? We can help.