Sharing Your Sustainability Story on Social Media

Your website will always be a home base for sharing your sustainability narrative. Social media is how you take that story to your audience. Learn more.

For most companies, their social channels are their front-line digital touchpoint for consumers and society at large. So, it’s no surprise that our sustainability communication leaders make extensive use of their socials to reach those audiences who may never read their sustainability report or visit their corporate website.

In our newly published The Sustainability 100 report, we have ranked the Top 100 companies that use digital most effectively to tell their sustainability stories. In this blog post, I’m going to share some lessons they can teach you about using social media.

How Social Media Helps Tell Your Sustainability Story

Social media is a two-way street. It’s an opportunity to be responsive globally and locally. Here are three fundamental ways social can help:

Expand reach.

Social media amplifies a company’s sustainability narrative far beyond the reach of its website. Shell, one of our Top 10 companies, has millions of followers on its various socials such as LinkedIn, Twitter/X, and Instagram. The company can combine the power of words and visuals to share its sustainability story depending on the format of the account. For instance, on Instagram, Shell uses powerful visuals to share its progress in achieving net zero.

Be responsive.

Social media gives brands a rapid-response mechanism when the company needs to address a topical ESG issue that could affect sentiment of all its stakeholders. Bayer, another one of our Top 10 companies, is a case in point.

Recently, Bayer was criticized for its use of glyphosate, a controversial herbicide. The company responded by creating a dedicated social media channel to address concerns about glyphosate. The channel provided information about the company’s glyphosate research and practices, and it also allowed stakeholders to share their own thoughts and concerns.

Bayer’s use of social media to be responsive to sustainability issues shows that the company is committed to leadership, transparency, and accountability, and that it is willing to engage with stakeholders on important issues.

Be global, yet local.

Unilever, another of our top-ranked brands, customizes its sustainability narrative for different global audiences by taking into account the specific needs and concerns of those audiences.

In Europe, where there is a strong focus on environmental sustainability, Unilever emphasizes its work on reducing its carbon footprint and increasing its use of renewable energy. In the United States, Unilever emphasizes its work on diversity and inclusion, an example being on its Twitter/X account where Unilever USA has been emphasizing its commitment to diversity/inclusion.

Tips for Doing Social Right

Sharing your narrative on social media requires a year-round commitment, a steely resolve, and willingness to be adaptable to the specific attributes of each channel. Here are some tips for doing it right:

Be consistent. Don’t just post about sustainability once in a while. Make it a regular part of your content schedule.
Be authentic. Be genuine and sincere in your commitment to sustainability. People can spot a fake from a mile away, and on social, they’ll call you out when they do. Be authentic in your messaging.
Profile leaders. Leverage senior leaders and subject matter experts to talk about sustainability on social media, both from the perspective of what the business is doing and adding personal narrative as to why it’s important to them. Expand your reach into their networks.
Use visuals. People are more likely to engage with visuals than with text, so use visuals to tell your sustainability story. This could include photos, videos, infographics, or even memes.
Mind your hashtags. When you post about sustainability on social media, use the right hashtags. This will help people find your content and learn more about your sustainability efforts.
Be patient. It takes time to build trust and credibility with your stakeholders. Don’t expect to see results overnight. Just keep sharing your sustainability story consistently and authentically, and you will eventually see results.

Your website will always be a home base for sharing your sustainability narrative. Social media is how you take that story to your audience across the entire digital world. Click here to learn more about how we help our clients use social. Click here to download The Sustainability 100.