Devastation in Morocco over the weekend as a 6.8 magnitude quake struck close to Marrakesh. You feel bad but unfortunately, there isn’t much you can do. Hopefully they can find some normalcy soon.

Climate protesters in the Netherlands blocked a major highway leading into The Hague, pledging to stay there until the Dutch government ends subsidies to the oil and gas industry, leading to thousands of detainments. Let’s start on that subsidy note.

Here are some of the thought-provoking headlines from last week:

African leaders back call for global carbon tax on fossil fuels, shipping and flights

The African Climate Summit splashed across headlines last week, mostly by their leaders calling for money to battle the effects of climate change.

It’s a reasonable ask. They feel the effects of climate change, but they aren’t the ones pumping tons of carbon into the atmosphere, relatively speaking. I guess it depends where they want to funnel that money that will dictate whether I, for one, jump on board with them.

However, this headline struck me, and I disagree with them. Admittedly, I have not delved into the details of it but I had a clear, immediate thought on the matter:

We don’t need to tax fossil fuels, we need to stop subsidizing them.

Global fossil fuel subsidies reached $1.25 trillion last year, according to the IMF. Those are explicit subsidies. If you want to include the undercharging for environmental costs and forgone consumption taxes, the subsidy number climbs to $7 trillion. Seven trillion freaking dollars.

Imagine if we took that money and subsidized clean energy development instead.

So, African leaders, instead of subsidizing and then taxing, why don’t we just scale back the subsidies? I understand a ‘carbon tax’ could mean that this extra government income could be earmarked for climate issues, but we would still be shelling out trillions of dollars to fossil fuel producers each year. Let’s stop that, and put that money towards ramping up renewable infrastructure (in a responsible way) and/or climate clean-up costs.

End the fossil fuel subsidies.

‘Islamophobic policy’: French high school goes on strike over abaya ban

Maybe you’ve seen it — schools in France have banned both female and male full-length ‘dresses’ worn typically by Muslims. It’s ridiculous, I know, but before you jump on board and call France Islamophobic, which it may be, just know that France hates religion.

Also banned in schools in France are Catholic crosses, Jewish kippahs, and Sikh turbans. They ban students from, “the wearing of symbols or clothes through which pupils clearly show a religious affiliation.”

France’s school laws aren’t only anti-Islam, they are anti-all religions, in theory anyway.

Pardon my ignorance if misspeak, but these days I think religion has become so moderate that most students wearing ‘religious symbols or clothes’ are not doing it because of some religious creed. It’s cultural. I have cross-wearing friends who aren’t Catholic. I have Muslim friends that don’t pray. I have friends that wear the kippah but don’t practice Judaism.

You have these religious affiliations because that’s what you were brought up doing and that’s what is comfortable to you. Not because you are following the orders of some higher power.

France’s ban on Muslim dress is ridiculous. If a piece of fabric is a threat to the French joie de vivre, then the French government has deeper insecurities that they need to work through.

Fittingly, students affected by this ban did the most French thing possible to show the government that they really have embraced French culture, they went on strike.

Firms face simpler climate reporting under EU deal with GRI

Good job EU. The climate reporting landscape is as confusing as can be. And the introduction of new mandatory requirements has real potential to make things even more complicated. Good on the EU for collaborating with existing standards and frameworks to make the mandatory transition as smooth as possible for companies.

In speaking with sustainability leaders in companies across a wide variety of sectors, they all mentioned the lack of universal standards as something they want to see fixed. Working with GRI and ISSB to ensure they aren’t adding another reporting burden, the EU seems to be listening. Hopefully biodiversity disclosures will be streamlined in a similar way.

My Latest

Just like the EU listening to and collaborating with companies on the ground to streamline their mandates, there’s a different EU project looking to do something similar with sport federations. The big national sport federations bring in policies or mandates or even provide funding to grassroots sports clubs — and sometimes these are completely out of touch with what the needs are at the ground level.

The CHANGE project is looking to ensure that grassroots sports are able to thrive and get the specific and unique supports that each one of them needs.

Check out my article on it here: Adaptability in Crisis and Beyond: How the CHANGE Project is Reshaping Sport Programs

Have a great week and I’ll check in next Monday!

The post Newsletter: Fossil Fuel Subsidies in the Trillions — No Wonder Renewables are Slow to Catch On first appeared on Copywriting | ESG | Sustainability.

The US Open is entering the 2^nd week — the business end of the tournament, Trump’s mugshot is starting to infiltrate my dreams, and fires (both wild and urban) have wreaked havoc in Canada, Hawaii, Greece, and South Africa to name a few places. Let’s start there.

N.W.T. fires have released 97 megatonnes of carbon, says European agency — 277 times what its people emit

Fires in the Northwest Territories (NWT, the name of a Canadian state, if you will) have released 277 times more carbon that what its population emits annually. Begging the question, should we even bother with lowering our carbon emissions?

Two things here: 1) Yes, my god, yes. While fires are natural and would occur with or without humans, our impact on the climate is ripening the conditions for bigger, more frequent fires. Reduce the human-caused environmental impacts, and you reduce the likelihood of fires and the human suffering that they cause.

2) Those numbers are misleading. NWT is about the same size as France plus Spain plus Poland. It’s massive, yet it has a population of 45,000. It’s basically a giant, uninhabited forest. If NWT had the populations of France plus Spain plus Poland (152 million), assuming my calculations are correct, the fires would account for only about 8% of the emissions that the 3-country Euro zone’s population accounts for (assuming they emit the same amount as NWT residents). Still significant, but in more relatable context.

Paper drinking straws may be harmful and may not be better for the environment than plastic versions

I’ll say what everyone is thinking. Paper straws suck. No pun intended. They are crap. They feel like you are sucking on wet cardboard, which is essentially what you’re doing.

Now, evidence suggests they aren’t any better for the environment than plastic straws.

I have a radical solution to the soggy straw problem. This may get me on the straw lobby hitlist but I’ll say it anyway — let’s get rid of straws. Really, they’re unnecessary. We all know how to drink from a glass, and we can still entertain the idea of lids for the time being, but why do we need straws? They are convenient for when you want a sip of your drink while on a bumpy ride, agreed. But, you can just wait a minute until your transit is finished or you hit a smooth patch. #teamnostraw who’s with me?

Do you have a good reason for wanting a straw? Please enlighten me.

EU watchdog monitors surge of cash going into biodiversity funds

It looks like biodiversity funds will be the next wild west of the ESG frontier. This means we’ll need stricter regulations and oversight to prevent beewashing (I think that term might catch on) and companies will have to make sure they are taking the necessary steps to comply with biodiversity reporting standards. Asset managers will need to be sure that the companies they admit into their biodiversity funds are actually responsible companies committed to biodiversity.

As well, we should all prepare ourselves for the anti-bee movement (not sure that will catch on). You know that when Telsa is omitted from biodiversity funds, Elon Musk will tweet (or X) that the BeeSG movement (that’s my favourite one so far) is the devil, and Republicans will decry that BeeSG is an attack on American business.

I always maintain that the funds are the problems with these initiatives. ESG is a smart business risk mitigation strategy. ESG funds are poorly regulated schemes to entice investments from climate conscious consumers.

My Latest

Speaking of beewashing, here is a relevant article that I wrote about greenwashing, and particularly how companies can be sure that they don’t get caught unintentionally greenwashing. I also cover some of the prominent greenwashing legislation in the USA, EU. Canada, and UK.

The Step-by-Step Guide To Avoid Greenwashing and Save Brand Reputation

Have a great week and I’ll check in next Monday!

The post Newsletter: Prepare for the Anti-BeeSG Movement first appeared on Copywriting | ESG | Sustainability.

It’s evolved over the years but the objective hasn’t changed. I want to learn as much about the world as I can, and then use those insights to make a positive impact on humanity.

I see that eventually meaning involvement in politics, although perhaps I’ll stick to the private sector where change happens more quickly.

It’s bold, and broad, but I’ve always been a big dreamer — and stubborn in my pursuit of those dreams.

It’s that same drive that led me to become a full-time writer. You see, I wanted to travel the world and see the different ways that people live; the different ways that people solve problems; the different ways that societies solve problems, but I needed a way to pay for that.

Traveling, although cheaper than you might think, isn’t free. I needed an income to support my mission — an income that allowed me the freedom to move around the world.

It started with savings, a university degree in International Development, and an English teaching certificate. The plan was to travel over land from Indonesia to China, where I would settle into an English teaching position for a year or so.

I arrived in Indonesia in January 2020. The pandemic broke out across Asia only a few weeks later. My plan, you might suspect, was thrown out the window.

I took refuge in East Timor, hoping everything would blow over in a couple of weeks. That also didn’t happen.

Borders and airports were shutting down and in late March I got on the last flight out of East Timor to make my way back to Canada.

I adapted to the changing situation, took a job in Canada’s Northwest Territories for the summer, and then began teaching English online shortly thereafter. If the world won’t let me do it in person, I’ll just do it online.

After that stopover in Canada, I went to Mexico to continue my mission. Teaching English online, I now had a source of income that gave me the freedom to truly see the world.

I enjoyed teaching, but it wasn’t my passion. I soon transitioned into writing and that’s where I’ve built my home for the last three years. I quickly got into the sustainability field and knew that I had found my path again.

Freelance writing requires a lot of critical thought, self-discipline, motivation, and a stubborn thirst for knowledge. It was made for me.

My favourite thing about freelance writing is that it is a continuous education. Clients commission me to write articles, reports, or eBooks about a topic that sometimes I don’t know a lot about. I then go out, speak to experts in the field, learn everything I can about it, and come back with a finished piece that even wows myself sometimes.

While I’m now considered a sustainability and ESG professional, it’s a constantly changing field and there’s a lot left to learn. That said, I’m always on the lookout for the next project that forces me a little bit outside of my comfort zone so I can continue learning, growing, and taking that next step on my ambitious journey.

The post How Did I Get Here? — And What’s The Next Step on My Journey first appeared on Copywriting | ESG | Sustainability.

“ESG is a threat to the American economy” – Florida Governor Ron DeSantis

No Elon, ESG is not the devil. And I’m sorry Governor DeSantis, ESG is not a threat to the American economy. However, just like the devil, ESG is in the details.

The anti-ESG movement seems to come in waves. Anytime an article appears with a slandering view of ESG, the community rallies around it, shares their disbelief, decries the woke left, then the murmuring fades until the next piece of misguided information emerges.

The most recent wave of criticism was ignited by an article that pointed out that some tobacco companies had better ESG scores than Tesla. This seemed to summon all of the ESG haters to their quarterly meeting. “How can Big Tobacco be more ethical than Tesla?” “There’s no way that Tesla is worse for the environment than smoking.” “ESG is a scam.” “ESG is what’s wrong with America.”

If ESG was a measure of the most ethical companies, or the most environmentally friendly companies, or even the most diverse companies, then I’d jump right on board with those arguments and be shouting from the rooftops that ESG is a scam.

But that’s not what ESG is, and that’s where almost everyone in the anti-ESG movement has it all wrong. It’s a complex topic so I don’t blame anyone for not understanding, but decrying something that you don’t understand — that’s blameworthy.

“So, Andrew, if ESG isn’t about being environmentally friendly, ethical, woke, or whatever other phrase you want to give it, what is it about?”

When you boil it all down, ESG is about investment risk. That’s it. A company’s ESG score signals to investors how safe from environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks a company is.

“Okay. So it is about the environment then. I thought you said it wasn’t about being environmentally friendly.”

True, it is about the environment, but not in the way that you’re thinking. It’s not about how many trees a company hugs, it’s about how well a company is managing its material environmental risks. Like it or not, legislation is changing and regulations are coming that will mandate companies to lower their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. If a company is not prepared for this reality, they run the risk of incurring fines, disruptions in production, or even foreclosure. Those are things that investors want to know about before sinking their money into a company. ESG analyzes how well a company is managing their exposure to environmental risks like the changing regulatory landscape.

“Alright, but Tesla is a good environmental company. Their cars have no emissions. How could they score less than a tobacco company?”

That’s a good question. Now we’re having a real ESG conversation. Tesla cars might not produce any emissions when you drive them, but producing the steel, aluminum, and other materials that make the parts of a Tesla car does create emissions. As well, you have to factor in where the electricity comes from that charges the electric vehicles — are there any emissions involved in that?

To keep things simple, however, let’s say that Tesla produces zero emissions, or negligible emissions. (Side note: there are more factors that make up the “E” part of ESG than just GHG emissions, but let’s keep it simple for now.) There are also the social and governance risks to factor in, and that’s where Tesla typically doesn’t score well on the ESG ratings.

“What are social and governance risks?”

They come in different forms and admittedly are less straight-forward to measure than the environmental risks. However, under the “S” they typically measure things like employee satisfaction and working conditions, community relations, and supply chain issues like human rights abuses.

The “G” concerns itself with corporate governance. Are there conflicts of interest on the board of directors? Does the company conduct itself professionally and abide by the laws in the countries where it operates? Do they have a history of giving or receiving bribes? Do they have internal processes to ensure that they are responsibly managing their ESG risks?

Everything about ESG is really designed to protect the investor from unforeseen risks.

“So tobacco companies have less risks than Tesla?”

It’s not necessarily that they have less risks, but rather that the ratings company decided that the tobacco company is managing its risks better than Tesla. That’s what the better ESG score means.

“Okay, I think I get it. But I still have all this built-up ESG hate.”

Haha that’s fine. You don’t have to like it. But if you’re going to invest in a company, it might be worthwhile to find out how they are managing their ESG risks.

And you know what? Since you stuck with me until the end, I’ll give you some better guided criticism if you still want to be in the anti-ESG group. Don’t just call it the devil, or a scam, or evil, because that’s laughable to those of us who work in and understand ESG. However, each ESG rating company has a slightly different formula for how they determine ESG scores and what factors into the E, S, and G. This lack of standardization is actually one of the major critiques of ESG and the main thing that companies dislike about it. So next time you want to talk about what you don’t like about ESG, talk about the lack of standardization and how it takes companies a lot of time and resources to understand what they’re supposed to submit to the different rating agencies, rather than just saying ESG is what’s wrong with America.

I hope this helped. Have a great day.

Image by Mohamed Hassan from Pixabay

The post Let’s Clear Up the ESG Confusion Once and For All first appeared on Copywriting | ESG | Sustainability.

Companies that have good ESG scores are sometimes grouped into an ESG fund offered by different financial services companies. However, many people confuse this to mean that every company listed in the fund is an environmentally and socially responsible company. That isn’t always the case. While ESG impacts are a consideration, remember that ESG is all about informing investors how well a company is managing its ESG risks.

Let’s take a closer look at ESG risks vs ESG impacts.

First, there are the ESG impacts that business activities have related to people and the planet. How many tons of carbon does a business emit each year? What is a company’s relationship like with the community it serves? How much water does it use? What is employee satisfaction like? Some areas are easy to measure with numbers (like carbon emissions), whereas others require a more qualitative approach. A business’ ESG impacts help to determine their ESG risks, which is the ultimate goal of ESG.

ESG risks are the main driver behind ESG reporting. Investors want a clear understanding of how businesses are managing risks related to our changing natural environment, the regulations associated with the energy transition, the evolution of societal norms and laws, the management of supply chain disruptions and human rights issues, and the corporate governance structure that makes it all happen.

Let’s break down the E’s, S’s, and G’s to take a closer look at ESG risks.

There are two main parts to environmental risk: physical and transition.

Physical climate risks consider business assets that are at risk of significant damage due to extreme weather events, rising sea levels, and changes in climate. Dry conditions leading to a forest fire is a physical risk to a logging company or to a business that has an office close to a wildfire-prone area.

Transition climate risks consider the world’s transition to a low-carbon economy. Laws, regulations, and reporting requirements all create transition risks. Can a mining company adapt when the government imposes a strict emissions cap? Does a bank have a robust net-zero strategy complete with science-based targets? (Because governments around the world are mandating that they do.) These are examples of transition risks.

Failure to be prepared for physical climate risks can cause damage to company infrastructure, forcing disruptions and incurring repair costs. Failure to comply with transition risks can bring hefty fines or temporary shutdowns. These risks can affect the bottom line of a company and are important for investors to know about.

Under the social category are things like labour rights, working conditions, supply chain issues, and community relationships. When we trace materials through the supply chain to its original source, sometimes you find things you wish you didn’t. Forced labour, child labour, and other human rights abuses are unfortunately a reality in the supply chains of some raw materials. How do companies manage these issues? Germany has a law requiring its large companies to examine their supply chains for human rights abuses. A similar EU law is incoming. Are companies ready for that?

The discovery of human rights abuses in a company’s supply chain would not only be a horrific finding for humanity, but it would shatter that brand’s reputation. Companies that have conducted supply chain due diligence and can assure the responsible sourcing of materials are properly managing this component of their social ESG risks.

The ’G’ considers corporate governance and checks that structures are in place to manage the ‘E’ and ‘S’ factors. This includes things like goal setting, science-based targets, strategies to reach those targets, as well as methods in place to measure, track, and report on progress. The ‘G’ also looks at the board of directors of companies for conflicts of interest, corruption or bribing concerns, and the diversity of the board and executives.

All of these factors make up what we call ESG and are a way to ensure investors that their money is safe from environment, social, and governance risks.

Photo: Scott Webb via Pexels

The post What is ESG? Making It Easy To Understand first appeared on Copywriting | ESG | Sustainability.

These messages are everywhere because that’s what consumers and investors want to hear — they want to support a company with a purpose. The overflow of messaging though tends to drown each other out. You see the messages but how much do you really pay attention? Most of these messages fall flat, in one ear and out the other – or the words are read but not even a trace of a thought is given to them.

How do you stand out when people are becoming numb to the sustainability overload? Let’s look at 5 ways you can connect with your consumers that will get them to stop and think even for just a second, hmm, that business really does care about the planet and its people.

1. With no strategy, there is nothing to communicate

Too many companies are quick to make sustainability claims without actually developing strategies. This is how companies get into trouble with calls of greenwashing, and once labelled a greenwasher it takes A LOT of work to relinquish that tag.

To avoid greenwashing you want to be communicating successes that you’ve been working towards, not just things that fell into your lap. If your company is based in a region that has emission-free electricity, don’t get on the rooftops to shout out how sustainable your company is. It can be part of your messaging, but because this is a matter of location over effort, don’t make it your focal point.

Develop a strategy that engages internal and external stakeholder priorities, conduct an assessment to identify the areas of your business that could be improved, benchmark against your competitors, develop goals and targets along with metrics to measure your progress, and once everyone is agreed on your sustainability strategy, then we’ll climb up onto that rooftop to share your story.

2. Transparency is everything

This is the golden ticket. Be open, be honest, and be transparent. There’s not much worse than finding out that someone you trusted had been lying to you, or unfaithful, or obscuring the truth. Consumers and businesses work the same way — if you lose trust with your consumers, that’s a hellish road back I wouldn’t wish on many people.

Don’t run that risk. If you’ve discovered a part of your business that emits more greenhouse gases than originally thought, don’t ignore it or cover it up, own it. Finding extra emissions is all part of the sustainability journey. Acknowledge the emissions and develop a plan to lower them. You might be the dirtiest company in the world, but if you make open and honest commitments about where you stand today, where you want to be in one, five, ten years, and how you plan to get there — that’s what people want to hear.

Even if you miss your targets, tell people that you missed your targets. But investigate into why that happened and what steps you’re taking to correct it. Honesty and transparency are what consumers, and people, respect.

3. Commit to your communication

It sounds easy and everyone will be on board at the start, but sometimes that spark fades. Pressure from shareholders about hitting sales targets, or unforeseen bumps in the road can test your commitment to the cause. Stay determined and continue communicating.

Public communications act as an accountability mechanism as well. If your sustainability targets are out there publicly, it’ll drive your team to do everything they can to hit those targets. Don’t underestimate the motivating power of public sustainability targets.

4. Go where the people go

Know your customer demographics and know through what medium you can reach them. Is it television commercials, Facebook ads, TikTok videos, product packaging, news coverage, or somewhere else? Like any advertisements, sustainability messaging is only successful if it finds the right people.

Do you want to know the top 3 locations where consumers prefer to learn about a company or brand’s sustainability programs? I have demographic data by age, gender, income, and geographic location. Send me an email, introduce yourself, and I’ll let you in on some industry secrets.

5. Words have more value than numbers

When filing reports or mandatory disclosures you’ll have to break things down by numbers. How many tons of carbon did you emit, directly and indirectly? How many litres of water did you use? How much did your inorganic waste weigh? The problem is that numbers don’t resonate with people.

Saying that you’ve reduced deforestation by 25% is significant, but it doesn’t connect with people as much as a story of how a single person has been impacted. Instead of just posting the numbers, talk about Maria, the Colombian woman from a small town in the southern Amazonas region, and how her life has been impacted.

Make Maria’s story the focal point. Numbers are important but they have a difficult time eliciting an emotional response from people. Put a face in front of the numbers and your messaging will be exponentially more effective.

6. Find someone who knows how to tell your story

I said five secrets but if you’ve come this far, I’m giving you a bonus.

It’s a tricky balancing act. You’ve likely got people who know how to sell, and who know how to write great copy, but how much do they know about ESG, DEI, net-zero strategies, and sustainability reports? If you’ve got someone in your organization that fits that bill, hold on to that person tight and pay them right, they don’t come around often.

It might serve you to look externally to find the right storyteller. External hires have experience in sustainability communications and have likely worked with many other companies, amassing a wide range of knowledge, perspectives, ideas, and expertise. However, these pros aren’t always easy to find, and they can be in high demand.

Luckily, I know just the right person for the job. And if they’re already booked, I can refer you to other trusted sustainability copywriters. Make sure you stay ahead of your competitors. It’s not the most sustainable company that consumers will flock to, it’s the company that communicates their sustainability the best. Send us an email and we’ll find the right person to tell your story.  

The post Top 5 Sustainability Messaging Secrets You Must Know first appeared on Copywriting | ESG | Sustainability.

Read the full article here on the Equilibrium website.

The post A Step-by-Step Guide to Your First Year as a Sustainability Leader first appeared on Copywriting | ESG | Sustainability.

Read the full article on the Winnipeg Free Press here.

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Read the full article on the FiscalNote website.

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The post Everything You Need to Know to Improve Your ESG Communication Strategy first appeared on Copywriting | ESG | Sustainability.