You don’t want to keep all the good ideas to yourself, do you? You don’t want all your good ideas to remain within yourself, do you?
As a content writer, I see an increasing number of B2B sustainability projects arrive on my desk, including impact studies, case studies, landing pages, and educational articles. It’s fascinating to see how they publicise their sustainability initiatives.
They are also interesting for the reasons why they have gone public, from better communication with stakeholders to safeguarding inward investment. What’s the best method to reveal your company’s involvement in a topic that’s not part of your core business, but is still important to others?
Here are seven content marketing ideas for your business to promote your sustainable practices.
1. Bring attention to your sustainability plan
Start with your sustainability strategy. Although it is primarily intended for internal use, a statement on how you plan to achieve sustainability benefits will help all stakeholders better understand your commitment. You can spread the message using various methods, including press releases, newsletters, and social media posts.
Real-business example:
Koppert, the producer of safe, healthy, and sustainable growing solutions for farmers, announced its Future Forward Sustainability strategy through a press statement, an article on its website, and a LinkedIn posting. Note the accompanying graphic, which illustrates the contents.
2. Transparency about your environmental impact
Transparency plays a crucial role in promoting sustainability. You can demonstrate your commitment towards sustainability by publishing an impact report each year that clearly and honestly outlines your achievements, areas of improvement, and future goals. This helps to build trust with your stakeholders and avoids the suspicion of greenwashing. It also encourages other companies to be transparent.
Real-business examples:
Engaging stakeholders: Governments and regulatory agencies now require large companies to disclose a variety of ESG metrics. Sonoco is a packaging company listed on the NYSE. It publishes a sustainability report every year that covers factors such as the materiality matrix, climate-related risks management, and risk management. Despite the depth and breadth of information, it’s still an accessible report.
Reporting progress: VRR is a leading air cargo container manufacturer that produced its first impact document two years after sustainability became a core component of its corporate strategy. The report is presented in an easy-to-read format and is honest about both the goals that have been achieved and those that were too ambitious.
The VRR demonstrates that sustainability reports can be informative and easy to read
3. Share your success stories
Share stories of success in sustainability initiatives your company has undertaken or on which you have collaborated. In your stories, you should emphasise the achievements, benefits, positive impacts, and valuable lessons that were learned. These case studies serve not only to highlight individual and collaborative efforts but also to inspire others to adopt sustainability practices by showing them how change is possible.
Real-business examples:
Reducing Formula 1 emissions: The logistics giant DHL released a press statement announcing its partnership with Formula 1 to achieve an 83% average reduction in event deliveries. This statement appears on the DHL website and in several industry publications.
Costco, the big-box warehouse club, takes a new approach. It aims to reduce truck trips while improving egg storage. The Costco Collection, its monthly magazine, features a cover story about its initiative to create stronger packaging using recycled water bottles.
4. How to explain complex sustainability issues
Videos can engage an audience quickly, explain sustainability issues, and interact. They can also showcase sustainability projects and promote sustainability. You can also use them to involve your colleagues in your promotional efforts.
Real-business example:
BASF, an international chemicals company, shows how it teamed up with two smaller companies to promote the recycling of fishing nets to create new products.
BASF documents their partnership with other companies to demonstrate how old nets can be repurposed.
5. Sustainability tips
Share practical tips with suppliers and customers to help them incorporate sustainability in their daily processes. You can share tips on how to reduce waste, conserve energy, build a culture of environmental awareness, or other initiatives you’ve launched that are relevant to your business. Share your tips through blog posts, newsletters, magazine articles, and social media to inspire other companies.
Real-business example:
TechTarget, a data technology company, keeps its visitors informed with a green IT page on its website. The page includes news, guides, and tips.
6. Interesting facts
Infographics can be a powerful tool for presenting information or processes in a way that is easy to understand. Transform the facts about your company’s sustainability strategy, the performance of your sustainability program, or the lifecycle analysis for your products into visually appealing images that will catch the attention and encourage sharing.
Real-business example:
Decarbonising operations: Energy solution provider Schneider Electric explains the ways a company can lower its Scope 1 emissions. The infographic shows a truck on a racetrack, strategically passing four speed limit signs to highlight the journey element of decarbonization.
Images can be used to simplify a complicated topic.
7. Consider these suggestions
Sharing interesting observations via e-books and whitepapers is a powerful way to promote sustainability. These pieces promote not only a better understanding of a sustainability problem in your industry but also position you as a thought-leader. You can influence others to adopt solutions by presenting data in an unbiased manner.
Real-business example:
Engaging employees with your ESG Strategy: ITA Group, a company that specialises in engagement solutions for brands, has released a whitepaper on how companies can engage their employees in ESG strategies.
Wrapping up
It’s not just about following the trend, but about making meaningful changes. Content marketing can help your business stand out from the competition by sharing your successes, providing insights, and being transparent about your challenges and triumphs.
