Sustainability Communications for Trade Associations: Best Practices

SOCIAL PURPOSE AND SUSTAINABILITY NOVEMBER 6, 2017
Sustainability
Communications for
Trade Associations:
Best Practices
NOVEMBER 6, 2017
Sheila McLean

What we’ll cover
Sustainability
in the age of
activism
Trade
associations
as change
agents
Best
practices01 02 03
PAGE 2

About MSL
PAGE 3
9 offices | 500+ staff in the U.S.
26 countries globally

125 professionals around the world
MSL Social Purpose
and Sustainability Practice
Deep experience across sectors and geographies
Proven track record with trade associations and
multi-stakeholder coalitions
PAGE 4
Stakeholder analysis
and engagement
Materiality
Strategy & goal
development
Benchmarking Purpose platform development
Opinion
research
Employee
engagement
Strategic frameworks
Social media
management
Communication
frameworksCSR and cause campaigns
Reporting
Issues
management
Storytelling
-media & digital
Purpose
Performance &
Transformation
Strategy
Communications

Sustainability in
the age of activism

Sustainability
noun | sus·tain·a·bil·i·ty | /səˌstānəˈbilədē/
To create and maintain conditions
that allow humans and nature to exist
in harmony now and in the future.
PAGE 6
Sustainability goes beyond
minimizing negative social,
environmental and
community impact to
increase positive impact.

The bottom line impact of sustainability
PAGE 7
Value Creation Levers
Reputation &
pricing power
Operational
savings
Employee
recruitment &
engagement
Customer loyalty
& market share
Innovation &
new markets
Lower risks
Margin improvement Revenue Growth
Profits Cash flow Valuation multiple
Shareholder return

World largest corporations aligning to SDGs
43%
PAGE 8
Source: KPMG CR Reporting Survey 2017

The trust deficit:
Business, media
& government
People have more
information than ever
before and trust
organizations and CEOs
less than ever before.
PAGE 9
54
35
25 24
14 13
-2
-6 -6
Trust in Institutions
NetTrust,* Average of 20 countries,** 2017Science/
Academic
research
institutions
Fellow
citizens
Large
charitable
foundation
National
companies
NGOs
Media
Global
companies
National
government
*“A lot of trust” and “Some trust” minus “Not much trust” and “No trust at all”
**Includes Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Greece, India, Indonesia,
Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Turkey , UK, and USASource: GlobeScan 2017 Radar Survey
United
Nations

Big food
Corporate backlash
Big Pharma
Big Banks Big tech
PAGE 10
“Big Food is under attack from
Startup Granola. American
shoppers have become skeptical
of “the barn on the package.”
That’s the catchall phrase that
Stonyfield Farm co-founder
and chairman Gary Hirshberg
uses for how big food companies
dress up their products as “natural”
—a mystical term in the food
industry that has no real meaning.”
FORTUNE, 2015

Consumers will reward… and punish
Consumers expect more from the
organizations and leaders they support.
For the first time since 2009, more
consumers say they have punished
companies for their behavior than
rewarded them.
PAGE 11
28%
Punished
+9% since 2013
26%
Rewarded
Source: 2015 Nielsen Global Corporate Sustainability Report

Consumer demand and the
$200 billion millennial market
66% 73% 81%
willing to spend more on a
product if it comes from a
sustainable brand
ALL CONSUMERS
willing to spend more on a
product if it comes from a
sustainable brand
MILLENIALS
expect companies to make
public declarations of their
corporate citizenship
MILLENIALS
PAGE 12
Sources: Deloitte 2016 Millennial Survey, Nielsen 2015 Global Reputation Study, U.S. Census Bureau

87%
of millennials believe that the
success of a business should be
measured in terms of more than
just its financial performance.
Millennial employees want
the places they work to
reflect their values
73%
said that business must have a
positive social impact on society
94%
of future talent say its important
to work for socially responsible
companies
PAGE 13
By 2024, more than ¾ of the
global workforce will be
purpose-focused millennials.

Brand activism
60%of companies surveyed report rising
stakeholder pressure to speak out on social
issues like discrimination, Environment,
education and human rights. Employees are
having the most influence.
PAGE 14
“There’s a growing body of
research that shows customers–
both consumers and enterprise
decision makers–expect the
companies they buy from to act
responsibly and stand up for issues
that matter,”
HOLLY CAMPBELL, VP
CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY AT ADOBE, 2017
Source: Public Affairs Council

But it’s a high risk environment
PAGE 15

Trade Associations
as change agents

Share best practices
Change agent
Collaborate to spur innovation – research projects,
campaigns promoting broad industry interests,
technical hubs
Provide tools and training, create standards
and report progress
Advance policy
PAGE 17
“We’re sick and tired, as
an industry, of always
being against, against,
against everything… We
want to be for, for, for
something good.”

Why trade associations?
▶ Address issues voluntarily
▶ Shared resources
▶ Credibility
▶ Strength in numbers
▶ Longer term approach
PAGE 18

But also unique challenges
▶ Member differences in size,
approach, leadership
▶ Competing priorities
▶ Divisive politics
▶ Need to deliver member value, ROI
PAGE 19

Key objectives
Build and
protect
reputation
Create tools
to share best
practices and
measure
impact
Be a
catalyst for
change
01 02 03
PAGE 20

Best practices

Know your stakeholders
▶ Qualitative and quantitative research
• Find the winning message for each and
every target
▶ Engage them often, even those you
don’t completely agree with
• Dilemma sharing
PAGE 22

Be purpose-focused
▶ Purpose is an organization’s reason for
being – a goal or objective that
reaches beyond financial performance
▶ It is a reflection of your values
▶ Align ALL activities to your purpose –
including lobbying
▶ Build trust with credible action
PAGE 23

Create a thought leadership platform to build
reputation
A perspective
that challenges
the status quo
Content that
can spark a
wider
discussion
A point of view
coupled with
sustained,
concrete action
01 02 03
POINT OF VIEW PROJECT ADVOCACY
PAGE 24
The ability
to frame
and shape
the debate
04
OWNERSHIP

Neutralize issues
early to protect
reputation
PAGE 25
VISIBILITY
Migration to
mass media
platforms
Post-
crisis
TIME
2 years to
recover
“It takes 20 years to
build a reputation and
five minutes to ruin it.
If you think about that,
you'll do things
differently.”
Warren Buffet
Warning
period
Tipping
point

Be a catalyst for change
▶ Standards & training
▶ Impact measures that matter
• Changed lives
• Community impact
• Employee engagement
• Financial impact
PAGE 26

Goals and reporting
▶ More than 6,000 non-financial
reports filed globally last year
▶ Growing expectations for
transparency
▶ Complex reporting requirements
PAGE 27
Source: GRI

Share best practices
PAGE 28

A campaign style approach
PAGE 29
EVOLVE YOUR STORY ACROSS
COMMUNITIES AND
CHANNELS
EMPLOYEES MEMBERS
INFLUENCERS
POLICY
LEADERS
NGOS
CONSUMERS
CONTENT
EXPERIENCE
DEFINE THE STORY YOU
WANT TO TELL
PERSONALIZE THE
MESSAGE
KPI
PAID
EARNED
OWNED
EARNED
EVENTS
ADVERTISING
MEDIA
RELATIONS
CONTENT
MEMBER
OUTREACH
DIGITAL
& SOCIAL
THOUGHT
LEADERSHIP
MISSION AND PRINCIPLES
Gi
PURPOSE
GOALS
IMPACT
PEOPLE

Sustainability Communications for Trade Associations: Best Practices

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