Moving the needle beyond world environment day
As we mull over the stories that came out on world environment day, most in the PR and communication world would be counting the number of exposures that they were able to achieve for their brand. Those who were able to hit the right numbers and note…good for them.
Photo by Tarunjeet RattanThough we as humans would much rather prefer that brands put a focus on the quality of the initiative that is put out there. As ‘sustainability’ becomes the new buzzword for the brand communication world, we see an aggressive uptick in initiatives that support this keyword. While this is wonderful as more and more brands want to jump onto the bandwagon, the communication industry is facing a unique conundrum as the CSR photo op plans are force fitted on to the sustainability initiatives. CSR PR was already a tricky field to traverse, and sustainability becomes even more so. PR is a powerful medium via which you can add power and keep a conversation alive and create an impact on the collective consciousness of a generation.
In an ideal situation this must be leveraged to create an overall conversation around the initiative that slowly and steadily has a rub off effect on the brand reputation. But we all have bills to pay and reports to generate. At PRPOI (Public Relations Professionals of India) we took a deep dive into this conversation on World Environment Day with Jyotsna Bhatnagar, Private Sector Partnerships Officer – UN World Food Programme India who shared her insights on how we as communication professionals can not only help take the conversation forward and keep it alive in an organisation beyond just one day but also guide brands towards making it truly sustainable by asking the right questions.
Sharing a few key takeaways from the session for you:
What is sustainability: A sustainable business is one that has minimal negative impact or better still a positive impact on the local environment, community, and economy. One that is based on meeting the triplet that matters– People, Profit and Planet. And this definition applies to all businesses irrespective of the category they are in and customers they serve.
How can businesses become sustainable: Break down the supply chain and identify what and where they can create a sustainable alternative. It is not necessary that it be a consumer facing company. B2B, B2C or/and a combination of both can move towards becoming a sustainable business.
World Environment Day: This is an important day that throws a spotlight on the need for living in sync with the environment that sustains and nourishes us highlighting the good work and raising a concern over what more can be done. However, there is also a need to create a meaningful conversation on this day beyond just media mentions and a photo opportunity. As PR professionals we are tasked with playing the devil’s advocate and ask those tough questions before the media or / and consumer does. When considering an activation for your brand, ask them the following:
- Why are we doing this? Does it resonate with the brand values, vision, and personality?
- How will this impact the local community and environment?
- What are the long-term implications of this activation?
- How will the brand sustain this and for how long?
- Can this be upscaled and replicated across sectors and geographies?
Photo by Tarunjeet RattanTaking it beyond World Environment Day: As the custodian of brand reputation, you need to make sure it resonates and adds to the overall aura of the brand. An environmental initiative that adds to it will attract the eyeballs from the leadership team and is likely to become a more sustainable conversation within the organisation. Most initiatives announced on this day are whittled down to nothing because the leadership team does not see it impacting their bottom line.
Pick one activation that has a huge rub off effect on the brand reputation and impacts the bottom line. This will take investigation and research on your part.
Encourage your brand to keep at it so that you can showcase year on year progress with the media till the pride of being associated with it envelops the whole organisation. Inform and encourage media to speak about the initiative, snick in a point or two in every conversation throughout the year and measure impact regularly. When the next world environment day rolls in you can talk about the real impact it has made along with encouraging others to follow suit (Sounds like thought leadership?) And yes, this will take time.
As PR professionals you have the ear of the decision makers. Leverage that to pick the right initiatives that your research tells you will have a lasting impact.
However, self-serving this may sound, but if every organisation did ONE environmental initiative well, we could collectively make more of an impact instead of a few handful doing several half-hearted initiatives.
Let’s create a better world…together.
Written By Tarunjeet Rattan,
Co-Founder PRPOI
A seasoned communication professional with over two decades of experience in the field she moved on to co-found Nucleus PR and is currently the Managing Partner at the firm. Under her leadership, the firm has carved out a niche for itself the industry and is today known for its fresh and unique approach towards building strong brand reputations. While she has multiple degrees to her name, she believes that learning in PR never stops. Tarunjeet is the founder of PRPOI (Public Relations Professionals of India) of 9000+ members – a platform dedicated to the enhancing the knowledge levels of the PR industry and is an advocate of sustainable business practices.
PRPOI ‘s June conversation centred around sustainability and impact. As PR Professionals and communicators, it is critical to understand conversations that impact us on a human and business level. Partnering with Roadfolk, made the most sense as it explores the idea of better living.
Media Partners: Roadfolk
Content Curators : Pooja Trehan, Sonali Sokhal and Tarunjeet Rattan
Watch the full session here: https://www.instagram.com/prpoi_india/
Week 24 June, 2021
