When it comes to discussing your organization’s ESG initiatives, transparency is critical. At Cision, we design solutions that enable our clients to communicate ESG news in ways that are meaningful to their investors, customers and employees. One of the most effective platforms our clients have found for doing so is by hosting an ESG investor day.
While investor days have been around for decades, the concept of an investor day focused specifically on ESG is relatively new.
As public and stakeholder interest in ESG-related issues has increased exponentially in recent years, so has the demand for companies to not only establish concrete ESG initiatives and goals, but also to vocalize them. While any investor day your organization holds is an opportunity to provide visibility into your company’s most critical work, ESG deserves special attention.
Remember: matters of ESG are more than a trend, and companies and brands need to be more than mindful of keywords and well-designed infographics; they must be authentic when broadcasting their strategies. No one wants to be called out for greenwashing or providing lip service.
Whether you’re planning your first ESG-centric investor day or you’ve hosted many before, consider the great opportunity to strengthen your narrative and invite engagement. After years of working with clients in this space, there are five investor-day planning tactics that stand out and consistently generate higher engagement with stakeholders and more impactful messaging.
Consider the following best practices when planning your next session. The benefits of setting, measuring against and delivering on ESG goals are significant. Be prepared to walk the walk.
Companies often make the mistake of using overly technical language when communicating their ESG initiatives. It’s important to remember that ESG is relevant to all your stakeholders, from those who intimately understand your business, like your employees, to customers or investors who may only have a rudimentary understanding of its operation.
Using clear, direct messaging to discuss your ESG tactics demonstrates to your stakeholders that you want to engage them with easy-to-understand language. It also reduces the risk of readers interpreting technical jargon as a tactic to mask lackluster ESG commitments.
An ESG investor day is the perfect time to debut your organization’s latest diversity, equity & inclusion (DE&I) or sustainability report to a captive audience. Just as a 10K serves as a roadmap for an investor day, a DE&I or sustainability report sets the tone for your event and related messaging.
Your audience is expecting to hear how your company is measuring its ESG goals, so your team should come armed with data on how your company is performing. Even if your organization is a long way from its ultimate ESG goals, reporting on your progress underscores a strong commitment to achieving them.
The best ESG strategies enlist employees throughout an organization to do their part in reducing waste, identifying opportunities to shrink their carbon footprint and creating a more inclusive environment for their colleagues. Because ESG is a company-wide effort, invite representatives from all levels of management and disparate departments to speak about the various ESG initiatives they’re involved in or responsible for executing. Doing so shows your stakeholders that your organization has not confined ESG to a single silo in the company but instead has woven it into the fabric of its culture.
ESG is a topic many are passionate about, and there’s no shortage of people willing to give their opinions on how companies need to improve their ESG plans. Your investors and customers are no different. Some of our clients have found that conducting a pre or post-ESG investor day survey helps guide the topics they address for future events.
Our clients have also benefited from using social listening to better understand how their ESG narratives and initiatives are resonating with audiences online – and using that information to inform their communications strategies. Taking the time during your ESG investor day to address specific concerns your stakeholders have about your approach to ESG is an effective way to engage with audiences that matter and to prove your commitment to transparency.
Some of your stakeholders may never feel comfortable returning to a room packed with people. Others may be unable to physically attend for any number of reasons. To make your event more accessible to the widest audience possible, consider having a virtual component for your investor events, even if you are hosting them in person. At Cision, we help our clients host IR webcasts that are seamlessly embedded into their IR websites.
After each event, we counsel our clients to collect the resources they have and publish them in a centralized digital repository with their other ESG materials, so visitors can watch a replay, listen to an audio recording or read a recap or transcript of the presentations. It’s a best practice to have a dedicated space online that houses all of your ESG content so stakeholders can easily locate all of your organization’s messaging.
Due to the sensitivity of the subject, ESG messaging should be thoughtful, thorough and transparent. You want your audience to leave an ESG investor day feeling like it received the complete picture of your organization’s ESG initiatives. People should gain a solid understanding of your strategy.
ESG investor days will continue to grow in popularity and, if executed successfully, they can serve as an essential tool in communicating your ESG initiatives and narrative in ways that serve your brand.