At a recent event from the Greater Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, sustainability was the topic of the day. Held in Lichfield, the latest event in the Chamber’s Sustainable Business Series focused on Green Infrastructure Solutions and featured talks from M6toll, Birmingham City University and Auditel, all discussing their own approaches to sustainability.  

From preserving habitats during major infrastructure works and celebrating the industrial heritage of campus buildings right through to measuring, reducing and reporting on carbon emissions, there was a golden thread throughout the whole event… 

Talking about sustainability is an absolute minefield for any business regardless of size. Net zero? Carbon neutral? Carbon NEGATIVE? Scopes 1, 2 and 3? Operational carbon? Embodied carbon? The list is endless and the terms ever-so-similar, but slightly different.  

Choose the wrong one and you could risk seeming out of touch in a fast-moving and important part of the business world.  

From a communications perspective, this begs an important question: how best should brands be talking about sustainability? Simply keeping silent on the topic is absolutely not an option, especially as so much of what we do as a business now is assessed both consciously and subconsciously on its eco credentials.  

At Pearl Comms, we work with businesses of all shapes and sizes, including many in the property and construction sector, where communicating around sustainability has never been more important.  

With that in mind, here are our top tips to make sure your sustainability shows your business off in the best light: 

Align with industry lingo 

If in doubt about how to describe what you do or where you’re headed in terms of sustainability, use official government or UN websites as guides. These are often the best places to find out what the current most-accepted way of talking about sustainability is, especially around net zero. We recommend the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, the Climate Change Committee, the UK Green Building Council and the UK Business Council for Sustainable Development. 

Be consistent 

Whatever phrasing and language you choose, make sure you stick to it. Updating to keep up with industry ‘best practice’ is fine, but choosing a lane and sticking to it is important. ‘Carbon neutral’ and ‘net zero’ mean broadly the same thing. At a technical level, there may be differences, but if you’re simply communicating how your business approaches sustainability, then either is fine. The key thing is to be consistent, or you’re going to confuse your audience.  

Add some colour 

It can feel like sometimes we’re being bombarded with net zero terminology, blending into a meaningless mass of words. It’s certainly understandable when you think of just how many businesses are now taking a more vocal stance about their role in protecting the environment – a good thing! 

However, for your audiences, this can be hard to imagine, so add some colour and some real life examples. Made real strides to minimise your Scope 3 emissions by switching to a courier that uses an electric fleet? Tell us!  Really proud of the way your HQ team has taken to reducing their own personal carbon emissions? Describe how you put that cycle to work scheme in place.  

Talk to your peers 

Different industries have different ways of talking about sustainability, so it’s worth doing some research to make sure that you’re speaking the same language as your peers and potential customers, especially if you want to stand out for your eco creds.  

Check your frameworks 

Particularly in the property and construction space, framework contracts have really stepped up what they require in terms of sustainability credentials. If your business is heavily focused on the public sector for winning work then understanding the buzzwords and language which needs to be used to score the top marks will be crucial. It might have shifted since the last time you wrote a bid, so read any tender documentation carefully and make sure your sustainability work meets the criteria.  

Be authentic 

The amount of dialogue about sustainability and net zero can be both a blessing and a curse. It’s great that so many more organisations are engaging with the theme, but it can open up room for businesses to be accused of ‘greenwashing’, i.e. not being authentic when it comes to what their sustainability work. Sticking to the truth is essential and even if you’re on a journey, that’s OK too, as long as the intent is there to get better and your truthful with your audiences. 

The push towards net zero is something to be incredibly excited about, not something to shy away from. If you need some support telling your sustainability story, get in touch with us at hello@pearl-comms.com.