In case you missed it, over the last 30 days we’ve been sharing tips and inspiration to guide your sustainability journey. We’ve compiled everything you need to think about when building an effective sustainability program in our 30 ways list:

1. Get clear on your "why." Sustainability is no longer a nice-to-have; it’s essential. Your employees expect it, your customers value it, regulators require it, and society needs it. Understanding your stakeholders and what matters to them is key to starting any sustainability journey. Learn more here.

2. Align with internal teams on how far you want to go. One of the most common barriers to sustainability progress is disagreement on how ambitious your company should be, how much should be invested in sustainability, and what kind of company you ultimately want to be. Getting early—and regular—alignment around where you want to go will make progress possible. For guidance on setting your ambition, download our field manual here.

3. Stay on the pulse of what matters. What mattered to your stakeholders in 2021 is different from what matters to them today. Conducting a materiality assessment every 2-3 years is essential to staying updated on the changing desires and needs of investors, customers, communities, and other stakeholders. For more on materiality assessments, see step one of our field manual here.

4. Assess your peers’ progress to uncover risks and opportunities. A landscape analysis will paint a clearer picture of how well your industry is performing on ESG strategy and communication overall. Keep in mind that if your industry is underperforming on ESG issues, this is not a free pass to set a mediocre strategy. If anything, this affords you an opportunity to assert yourself as an industry leader that raises the bar for all other companies in your category. For more on benchmarking, check out our From Scratch to Strategy field manual here.

5. Develop your sustainability strategy with a five-angle approach. When developing or refining your sustainability strategy, consider five important questions: What is authentic to our brand? Where are we driving the most impact (or where can we)? What can we achieve that’s unique in our space? What do our stakeholders care about? How can our sustainability strategy support our business goals? For more, see our From action to amplification field manual here.

6. Set goals that match your end destination. First, think of the impact you want to create, and work your way backward. Companies tend to lock themselves into two paths: setting goals that are too incremental or setting goals that are too ambitious. The key is to strike an approach that is somewhere in between by reflecting on your ESG strategy, your level of ambition, and your corporate culture. Learn more in our From strategy to action field manual here.

7. Ensure your climate strategy is credible and comprehensive. You’ve agreed on a corporate climate target. Congrats! Now there’s lots of work to do to make sure you reach your goal—without greenwashing along the way. Read our ESG field manual: From strategy to action for how here.

8. Make sure your social impact initiatives are strategic. There are four questions you should ask yourself to ensure your partnerships, giving, and volunteer efforts are strategically aligned with your sustainability strategy and community needs. Click here to find out what they are.

9. Get clear on your stance on key issues. Policies are often an input for ESG assessments like EcoVadis, which evaluates sustainability in the supply chain. Best practice is to have policy representation for key material issues like Code of Conduct, Supplier Code of Conduct, Privacy and Data Security, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Take inventory of your current material topics and relevant policies and assess any gaps. See our field guide for more.

10. Share the responsibility. An ESG committee is a cross-functional team that includes director-level employees. The exact roles and titles of committee members will vary across organizations but should include representatives from Environment, Human Resources, Community Relations, Finance, Communications, Investor Relations, and Legal. For more on setting up an ESG committee click here.

11. Break through the sustainability noise. A Sustainability Communications Platform is key to breaking through the noise by coalescing your strategy, commitments, programs, and initiatives into one succinct narrative. It will help you with engaging and retaining employees, increasing perceived brand value, recruiting employees, and building investor trust. To learn more about the anatomy of a sustainability communications framework, read our From action to amplification field manual here

12. Effectively report on your progress. An ESG/Sustainability report is crucial. It reflects what the company is actively measuring and managing at various levels of the organization and is key to driving and communicating progress. Read more here.

13. Report to the right frameworks. With the “alphabet soup” of ESG reporting guidelines and frameworks, you’ll want to consider key factors, such as your stakeholders, ambitions, and regulations. The varying standards and frameworks can be confusing to navigate, but the good news is that there is overlap and movement toward consolidation. We’ve created a table for you in our ESG field manual to make it easy for you here.

14. Leverage your report content to engage audiences. Sustainability reporting is essential for today’s companies. But let’s be clear: your sustainability report is not an engagement tool. A 100-page report is not the most effective way to get employees, customers, or communities engaged around the work you are doing. Instead, leverage the stories, data, and highlights collected during the reporting process to create videos, summaries, microsites, and campaigns to build a reputation around the hard work you’re doing. To read more on the most common mistakes we see (and how to fix them), click here.

15. Keep up with evolving requirements. Increased scrutiny on ESG data is being driven by several factors including regulation, increasing sophistication in ESG reporting, evolving investor expectations, and changing consumer expectations. Read more here.

16. Opt for more transparency. The goal of reporting is to show progress over time, and by being transparent about ESG metrics, companies will likely earn greater credibility than if they withhold information. Even if data is not on target to goals, or if it doesn’t feel “ideal” enough to share (e.g., low representation from female employees or employees of color, higher levels of waste or air emissions than desired), it is still best practice to report out these numbers and address challenges with a qualitative management approach and action plan. Read more here.

17. Don’t greenwash. See our From action to amplification field manual for our anti-greenwashing checklist.

18. Leverage sustainability in your B2B sales pitch. Sustainability strategies can be a superpower for your sales team. It offers the potential to connect with a subset of consumers who are driven by sustainability benefits. To successfully integrate sustainability into your sales team’s narrative, focus on the following: develop personas for each customer base, prioritize key components of your strategy for each, build tools that strengthen knowledge, and meet customers where they are. To dive deeper into each step, read our insights article here.

19. Give the people what they want. Your investors are looking for much different sustainability information than your employees or your suppliers. Create a sustainability communication strategy that provides the right content, at the right depth, through the right channels. For more on how, click here.

20. Stay immersed in trends. Bookmark our Insights page to stay up to date and get inspired.

21. Remember, Gen Z thinks differently. Modern consumers, especially the environmentally aware Gen Z group, place a higher value on sustainability than traditional brand loyalty. 75% of Gen Z consumers emphasize the significance of sustainability over the brand name when deciding on purchases.Taking no action (or staying silent) on the world's crucial issues is no longer deemed acceptable. Learn more about why refining your sustainability strategy can’t wait in our insights article here.

22. Form an ESG committee to get things done. Forming an ESG committee is a strategic imperative that creates accountability, distributes responsibility, improves communications, builds buy-in, and ensures alignment with reporting frameworks and the expectations of ESG raters and rankers for governance. An ESG committee ensures that ESG risks, opportunities, and priorities are properly managed. Curious about where to start? Read our insights article here.

23. Identify what really matters. For novices and experts alike, an ESG strategy benchmark is a helpful tool when conducted frequently to identify risks and opportunities. To learn more about benchmarking, see our From scratch to strategy field manual here.

24. Enlist the C-suite as sustainability ambassadors. To maximize effectiveness, involve senior leaders throughout the entire process of developing your strategy and narrative. Conduct interviews, collaborative working sessions, and reviews of early drafts to integrate leaders seamlessly into the creation of your sustainability strategy alongside your core team. To learn more about engaging C-suite ambassadors, read our From action to amplification field manual here.

25. Your strategy needs consistent maintenance. Elements like external market factors, changing leadership in your organization, and mergers and acquisitions require constant analysis of your program’s direction. Read more here.

26. The world needs you. Only 7% of companies are on track to achieve their net-zero targets for scope 1 and 2 emissions. The public at large understands that, as contributors to global economies, businesses play a crucial role in shaping the future trajectory of our planet. A sustainability strategy is not only a proactive measure; it is an ethical obligation to address environmental concerns. The ‘why’ will be a bit different for every company, but opting out of sustainability is not an option. Learn more here.

27. Don’t forget your investors. Investors want to understand how your sustainability strategy is helping the company reduce its operational and financial risks and also increase its value. Making the connection between the work you’re doing and how it’s strengthening the company helps drive your sustainability case. To learn more click here.

28. Whether publicly or privately held, an ESG strategy is a necessity.  There are five key reasons why private organizations should invest in a comprehensive ESG strategy: preparing for an IPO, reinforcing your legacy, accounting for stakeholder expectations, understanding your environmental footprint, and planning for the inevitable. To dive into each reason, read our insights article. 

29. Employ employees as sustainability enthusiasts. At the core of any successful sustainability program is the involvement of employees. By dedicating resources to involve employees in the sustainability process, openly communicating both achievements and obstacles, and offering chances for active participation, companies can successfully cultivate them as advocates and ambassadors for their program. To learn the steps of engaging employees, read our From action to amplification field manual. 

30. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you’re stuck. Not sure where to start? Need some support? We’re experts at guiding companies through this journey and would love to partner with you. Stay up to date on the latest sustainability happenings by following our newsletter, and connect with us to figure out your next steps.