Customer-Focused Sustainability Communications in Times of ESG Backlash: Pleasing Customers, Upsetting Investors?
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Marketing & Communications Roundtables

Customer-Focused Sustainability Communications in Times of ESG Backlash: Pleasing Customers, Upsetting Investors?

August 03, 2023 12:00 PM ET - 01:30 PM ET | Virtual Meeting

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Customers still appreciate sustainability—as long as the price premium compared to regular products/services isn’t too high. But as the recent ESG backlash has shown, investors can be critical of sustainability investments. Some fear that “do good” efforts could sacrifice financial objectives, even if they agree that sustainability initiatives to limit a company’s risk make business sense. This has created the phenomenon of greenhushing, i.e., the intentional choice of not communicating sustainability efforts. 

In this roundtable for members of the Marketing & Communications and ESG Centers, we want to explore the following questions:

  • Trends in sustainability attitudes: Have customers’ preferences and expectations of corporate sustainability efforts changed due to the ESG backlash? How does that differ by B2C vs B2B companies?
  • Customer communications: Have companies’ communications of sustainability efforts to customers—environmental vs social ones—changed in any way (message, channels, etc.) considering the ESG backlash? How do companies build and keep trust and credibility to address ESG skepticism and combat accusations of greenwashing?
  • Segment- and industry-specific communications: How do companies communicate sustainability efforts to different generations, regions, and a racially diverse customer base? And how does this all differ by industry?
  • Measurement: How do companies measure the impact of their sustainability communications on customers/consumers?
  • Looking ahead: How might sustainability communications to customers evolve as we enter the election year?  

This interactive online roundtable is for both B2C and B2B professionals working in marketing, communications, sustainability/ESG, strategy, innovation, and related functions. We will have a few lead speakers to kick off the conversation and invite all participants to share their perspective, experience, and questions regarding the topics discussed. This event will be held under the Chatham House Rule, i.e., participants may use and share the learnings but may not attribute what was said to individuals or companies.

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About the Series

Roundtables are discussions held under the Chatham House Rule for M&C Center Members and invited guests that focus on a key topic of interest with a single session (1-2 hours).

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