{"id":147336,"date":"2024-06-21T10:32:40","date_gmt":"2024-06-21T09:32:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/?p=147336"},"modified":"2024-06-21T10:50:18","modified_gmt":"2024-06-21T09:50:18","slug":"how-to-raise-your-esg-profile-to-reporters-and-consumers-in-the-retail-sector","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/blog\/how-to-raise-your-esg-profile-to-reporters-and-consumers-in-the-retail-sector\/","title":{"rendered":"How to raise your ESG profile to reporters and consumers in the retail sector"},"content":{"rendered":"

A strong ESG strategy can strengthen your stakeholder relationships across all audiences, from consumers, to the media. But which sustainability stories<\/a> will grab the attention of journalists, their readers, and secure customer loyalty for your brand? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Retail Week<\/a> managing editor Stephen Eddie and data and insights director Lisa Byfield-Green led Vuelio event \u2018Raising your ESG profile: Insights and strategies for success\u2019 on Wednesday evening, 20 June, at Vinoteca City.<\/p>\n

Topics covered during the session included which stories the public are more likely to engage with when it comes to ESG; what journalists want to write about; and exactly how much of an impact personal values have on purchasing decisions and brand buy-in.<\/p>\n

What ESG stories do consumers want to know about?<\/h3>\n

To provide context on what content audiences want to see on sustainability, Stephen and Lisa pointed out the importance of first understanding their buying habits. In 2024, it\u2019s complicated:<\/p>\n

Context on consumer habits – the bad\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

Are consumers\u2019 own ethics as solid as those they demand from retailers? Not quite.<\/p>\n

\u2018We might want to do the right thing as consumers, but affordability is an unavoidable issue,\u2019 said Lisa. \u2018Due to the cost-of-living crisis, price takes precedence.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"Lisa<\/p>\n

Stephen also highlighted the \u2018say\/do\u2019 disconnect in consumer behaviour. Vinted and Shein – two companies at different ends of the sustainability scale – are both incredibly popular with consumers. Strange, considering the modern focus on climate change? Not so much, said Stephen:<\/p>\n

\u2018Price and value still often trump values\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u2026and the good <\/strong><\/p>\n

While financial insecurity has pushed the popularity of fast fashion chains up over the last few years, it has also had positive impacts on carbon-reducing consumer behaviour:<\/p>\n

\u2018The cost-of-living crisis has made us more sustainable, with the rise of capsule wardrobes, buying accessories instead of a whole new outfit, shopping on Vinted. Consumers are thinking more about the lifecycle of products now,\u2019 said Lisa.<\/p>\n

Put your best people forward<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018Authenticity is vital, and consumers – and reporters – have a nose for when something is inauthentic,\u2019 said Stephen.<\/p>\n

\u2018People like people – offer media interviews. They do well for Retail Week, and on social media. Who in your business can tell your story well? Put them forward for articles, and awards.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"Stephen<\/p>\n

\u2018Your colleagues and customers will be more engaging to the audience than announcements about your policies. Have spokespeople ready who can cut through the jargon.\u2019<\/p>\n

The challenges, alongside the successes<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018There is complexity around how to measure ESG KPIs,\u2019 said Lisa.<\/p>\n

\u2018A lot of businesses are still in that journey. If you are – communicate that to customers; they\u2019ll want to know about it.\u2019<\/p>\n

While retailers proudly announce their achievement of B Corp status<\/a> – brands who have this include Fat Face, Aesop, and The White Company – few admit failing to secure it. Stephen posed that this would be an interesting story for readers – what will the retailer do next to secure the certification?<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s powerful to know what progress is being made,\u2019 added Lisa. \u2018People want to hear about it. Don\u2019t wait until you have all the answers – share the little steps.\u2019<\/p>\n

Other stories the public will want to read about\u2026 but you won\u2019t want to share\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018Greenwashing has made retailers nervous to make commitments,\u2019 shared Lisa.<\/p>\n

A consequence of the rise of greenwash-shaming in the press and from consumers is an accompanying rise in greenhushing – retailers quietly deleting ESG promises from their websites when goals haven\u2019t been met.<\/p>\n

Transparency is how to secure loyalty and trust – Lisa highlighted Nobody’s Child<\/a>\u2019s canny choice to share sourcing and supply chain details for its products:<\/p>\n

\u2018The brand is already ahead of incoming legislation around this. It will drive loyalty, that it\u2019s a sustainable business. It\u2019s good marketing\u2019.<\/p>\n

<\/h3>\n

What is Retail Week interested in sharing with its readers?<\/h3>\n

Unusual stories<\/strong><\/p>\n

An example from Stephen – House of Hackney\u2019s decision to legally appoint \u2018Mother Nature\u2019 and \u2018Future Generations\u2019 to its board of directors<\/a> secured the brand a Q&A<\/a> in Retail Week. The unusual and unexpected will grab the attention of reporters, and their readers.<\/p>\n

First movers<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018As ever, the newer something is, the more newsworthy it is,\u2019 said Stephen.<\/p>\n

\u2018Being a first mover means getting a reputation for being a leader in the industry. Reporters will want to follow the next step you take.\u2019<\/p>\n

Retailer team-ups<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018Establish partnerships if you share suppliers already – no one is competing when it comes to global warming,\u2019 Lisa said, using the June 2023 teaming of B&Q, Screwfix, Bunnings, and The Home Depot to reduce Scope 3 emissions<\/a> as an example of an interesting story, and an important collaboration.<\/p>\n

\u2018If you can\u2019t do it yourself, be part of a team – it will have more impact,\u2019 added Stephen.<\/p>\n

Contributions for sections outside of the news pages<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s not just about the news,\u2019 said Stephen.<\/p>\n

\u2018Contribute to columns – but don\u2019t be too salesy. Offer interviews, chances for us to sit down with a CEO – don\u2019t gate-keep the talent.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018Case studies, reports, and people lists are other great ways to tell your story, and they have a great tail – readers will go back to them.\u2019<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Get in touch to learn how the<\/em> Vuelio Media Database<\/a> and ResponseSource Journalist Enquiry Service<\/a> can help you connect with retail journalists across broadcast, national and regional press, as well as consumer and trade publications.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A strong ESG strategy can strengthen your stakeholder relationships across all audiences, from consumers, to the media. But which sustainability stories will grab the attention of journalists, their readers, and secure customer loyalty for your brand?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":423,"featured_media":147341,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7365,7272,3725,3729],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147336"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/423"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=147336"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147336\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":147352,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147336\/revisions\/147352"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/147341"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=147336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=147336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=147336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}