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SPRG NEXT SESSION | Communicating Sustainability – navigating the challenges and building trust

Effective sustainability leadership hinges on clear, consistent communication—both internally and externally. As expectations rise and scrutiny intensifies, businesses must articulate not only their approach but also their performance in ways that resonate with different and diverse audiences.

Yet, getting it right is far from easy. Many sustainability communications fall short—confusing, incomplete, or even misleading. The growing prevalence of greenwashing has made audiences both more sceptical and discerning than ever.

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Coffee ads banned for misleading ‘compostable’ claims

Two major coffee brands, Lavazza and Dualit, have had their adverts banned by the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for making misleading claims that their coffee pods and bags were ‘compostable’.
The ASA found that both companies gave the false impression that these products could be disposed of in domestic compost bins, when in reality they require specialist industrial composting facilities to break down properly.
Both brands argued that their products were certified to the European Standard EN13432, indicating industrial compostability, and claimed they did not intend to suggest home composting was possible. However, the ASA ruled that the term ‘compostable’ in the context of consumer products for home use would likely be interpreted by the average consumer as suitable for home composting.
The watchdog emphasised that failing to clarify such distinctions risks misleading consumers. The cases highlight the importance for brands to provide clear, accurate, and substantiated environmental claims, ensuring that consumers are not misled about the details of product disposal. The ruling serves as a lesson for marketeers that context, nuance and precision are essential to avoid regulatory action and reputational damage.

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What is Responsible Communication?

As environmental concerns take centre stage, the importance of responsible communication within Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is paramount. It extends beyond mere transparency and clarity; it embodies a company’s authentic commitment to sustainable practices. This concept is vital for building trust with clients, stakeholders, and the wider public, ensuring that environmental issues are addressed sincerely, …

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What is Sustainability Training – and Why is it Important?

Sustainability and ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) training is pivotal for embedding sustainability into a company’s operations, enhancing staff capabilities, and delivering leadership strategies.

Terrafiniti offers expert-led training that covers fundamental sustainability principles, team-building, leadership development, and bespoke mentoring. With an increasing focus on climate and nature challenges, such training empowers businesses to understand how sustainability fits into business strategy and management, innovate responsibly, and strengthen market reputation. This commitment not only befits your bottom line, but also fosters customer trust and loyalty.

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Carbon Neutral Communications

Despite considerable regulatory focus on carbon neutral claims, companies are still getting their communications wrong, so what is happening?
While many large companies now appear wary of making claims about carbon neutrality, we can still see considerable focus on these in the SME space, some fuelled by questionable labelling schemes.
This article reviews recent regulatory and best practice developments and explores where businesses have gone wrong.

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Reputation risk and sustainability – who do you work with?

Reputation is widely regarded as one the most valuable assets of an organisation. Sustainability can also be an important contributor to both reputation and several dimensions of business value.
In this article we explore different dimensions of reputational risk, how it might be affected and how you can protect it.

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Net Zero Alcohol Strategy *

With increasing warnings from scientists, it’s very clear that we must reduce our alcohol use and set a reduction pathway towards Net Zero Alcohol.
To deliver our goal we have identified a strategic framework which will flexibly deploy multiple policy solutions, as appropriate, to realise our vision. So why not pour a glass of your favourite tipple, sit down, and take a read?

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Sustainable Aviation?

On the 28 November 2023, the first long-haul passenger plane powered with ‘sustainable’ air fuel took off. SAF offers an ostensibly attractive path for decarbonisation for the airline industry – the lifecycle greenhouse emissions can be up to 70% lower than conventional fossil-based fuels.

While this in many ways represents a significant breakthrough (SAF is currently perhaps 0.1% of global aviation fuel use) there are major challenges ahead.

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Communicating Sustainability– how audiences value different language

To drive change in their organisations, sustainability professionals have to be effective influencers as well as content experts.
However, navigating how to develop the right messages for the right audiences can present a range of challenges, especially when sustainability can be complex, nuanced, and the subject of assumptions and strong passions.
Understanding the nature and types of communication that are used and valued by different groups, functions and professions in your organisation is fundamental to success.
Even within a single organisation, ways of thinking, cultural norms and professional perspectives can vary widely. Successful sustainability communication needs to recognise and utilise this diversity.

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Greenwashing – dimensions of risk

Greenwashing – misleading communications on sustainability issues – has various dimensions of risk, but these are often overlooked, and their implications are insufficiently examined.
While greenwashing may appear as simply irritating, it actually causes a range of harm and presents multiple business risks. Risks to the company which communicates it – but also risks to companies involved in creating it and those associated with it.

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Sustainable transition – waiting for the underpants gnomes?

Dramatic changes are needed in business and industry to head off coming poly crises and build a prosperous future for the growing global population.
But plans for this ‘sustainable transition’ are few and far between and often lack credible substance to bridge the link between ambition and action. Indeed, many appear to rely upon an unspecified magical transformative ingredient that will make it all happen – the underpants gnomes.

This article highlights how concerns are mounting about the gap between high level commitments and real change, how action can lag behind the rhetoric of some sustainable transition approaches and explores the essential components of a plausible plan. (you can also find out what an underpants gnome is…).

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Avoiding strategic greenwashing – why your business strategy must be plausible

Worldwide regulators are tightening up on strategic greenwashing to protect consumers, business and market integrity. As further examples arise there is more, we can learn about what regulators will tolerate and what they require of companies.

Put simply, any leeway for general feel-good statements, vague aspirations and unsubstantiated claims has vanished as the focus shifts from products and services to more fundamental strategy.

In this article, we review the major stakeholders with a stake in clamping down on greenwashing, take a look at three recent high-profile cases where adverts have been banned and examine the far-reaching implications of regulatory requirements for companies.

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WEF Global Risks 2023 – What’s new and what’s changed?

While big picture environmental threats of climate change, nature loss and ecosystem collapse remain long term risks, geopolitical instability and the current cost-of-living crisis challenges present emerging challenges to the chance for global consensus and coordinated action.
The WEF (World Economic Forum) Global Risks Report 2023 presents a picture of how more than 1,200 respondents perceive the global risk landscape, identifies several future scenarios and possible polycrises arising from the complex interactions of a number of individual trends.
What are the Report’s headlines and top 10 short- and long-term risks?

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