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. May was certainly no exception in terms of brands and organizations eager to get their news around environmental, social and governance issues out.
Below is a roundup of the ESG news trends we noticed in press releases sent via PR Newswire in the month of June – and how PR and comms teams can learn from their example.
1. First Half Sustainability Reports
Similar to what we witnessed at the beginning of 2022, many companies are completing their annual sustainability and ESG reports and sharing the results. They announced highlights around key metrics, milestones and timetables for their ESG goals.
A sustainability report is paramount in telling your brand or company’s overall ESG story, and one of the fastest and easiest ways to get your story in front of a wide audience of interested journalists, investors and other key stakeholders.
Here are a few recent examples of effective sustainability reports – and why they stand out:
- SunPower Releases 2021 Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Report. (Of note here: SunPower effectively calls out highlights from 2021 with a numbered list.)
- Signet Jewelers Releases its Fiscal 2022 Corporate Citizenship and Sustainability Report. (Here, too, Signet drives attention to the aim of its sustainability efforts and progress made, using formatting tools. This is also a good example of a sustainability report using multimedia to drive engagement.)
2. ESG in Health Care
Prioritizing commitments to various communities and organizations is a great way to build awareness and execute on the “social” portion of ESG. In June, we saw companies publicizing their commitments to organizations within the health care space in particular. Companies are providing capital and resources to health care providers to differentiate themselves in the industry while also providing critical services to underserved communities.
These types of releases help build a unique sense of awareness around social advancements and the betterment of communities.
Here are a few of the donations and commitments made in June:
- Johnson & Johnson Releases 2021 Health for Humanity Report Highlighting Performance on ESG Priorities and Progress Against Public Commitments. (Particularly impressive in Johnson & Johnson’s release is the embedded video that explains their commitment in a more immersive way than plain text on a page.)
- Bank of America Commits $40 Million to Expand Access to Primary Health Care. (Here, Bank of America follows best practices, using bullets to call out key points and including executive quotes that reporters can easily pick up and use in their coverage.)
3. ESG for the Customer
The more innovative your company is when it comes to sustainable practices, the more opportunities it creates to serve customers (and the more reasons to draw awareness to them). In June, we saw several brands announce environmentally conscious services as an addition to their core offerings.
Merging ESG into the overall business is a big step forward — customers, clients, business partners, investors and the public are watching to see how well these sustainable services are represented within a company’s solutions.
Here are a few ESG news releases focusing on the implementation of environmental services:
- Trip.com launches integrated carbon program as part of their commitment to provide travelers with more sustainable travel options. (In this release, Trip.com immediately gets to the “what” in its headline and includes subheads to add more context, quickly and up front. It also provides a visual to further engage readers.)
- Vistra’s Emerald Grove Solar Facility is Now Online, Providing Texas with Emission-Free Power. (Here is yet another example of a press release that uses bullets to quickly call out key accomplishments and makes use of executive quotes that can be used as sound bites via traditional and social media.)
The Takeaway:
Halfway through 2022, companies are making great strides in telling their ESG stories and journalists are keeping track. Sharing vital ESG timelines, milestones and details with a sustainability report helps show the world that the organization you support is committed to its goals. These past few months, as we’ve been tracking the trends around sustainability messaging, it is clear that there are many different ways to tell your ESG story and energize your various stakeholders: from customers to investors to potential employees.
If you have an ESG story to tell about your brand now is the time to shine a spotlight on them.
