Climate, Energy and Sustainable Finance

Innovation and resilience in communication in times of crisis

Posted in 09/06/2020

Rio de Janeiro, June 9th – The Covid-19 pandemic is demanding agile responses from organizations, new solutions and systemic approaches to business, while at the same time demanding that communications professionals take a closer look at combating distorted or misleading information; common sense to avoid marketing appeals in the face of society's real situation of vulnerability; and a more humanized way of communicating, with purpose and focus.

How can communication contribute to making businesses more resilient and using innovation to better communicate their sustainability practices? To discuss these issues, the Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development (CEBDS) held a debate on Tuesday, the 9th, against the backdrop of the launch of the CEBDS Communication and Sustainability Guide, now available for download. download.

Although sustainability is already among the relevant factors for decision-making in companies, there is still a disconnect between sustainability agendas, strictly speaking, and the press. “It is difficult to connect sustainability issues with things that are part of our daily lives. That is the challenge for communicators: to translate these urgent agendas to the general public, so that they actually generate greater interest in society”, pondered Marina Grossi, president of CEBDS. For Agostinho Viera, creator of the Colabora project, the disconnect between agendas is due to a lack of information. “Sustainability is not just about little animals and plants, it encompasses everything we are involved in. In other words, we can approach all news from a sustainability perspective, understand which SDG (Sustainable Development Goal) it fits into or impacts, and build an agenda that truly generates transformation. But we still lack this understanding that sustainability – or the lack thereof – impacts us all”, he stated.

Hamilton dos Santos, director of ABERJE, believes that there has already been a change in the understanding of what sustainability is, but there is still a long way to go. “In the first edition of the Guide, sustainability was still very much linked to the institutional discourse of companies. I believe that this is an opportune moment to rethink. To achieve resilience and innovation, we need to be prepared and organized, through education and practices, from the inside out of companies,” he added.

Viviane Mansi, Toyota's Regional Director of Communications and Sustainability, believes that complex problems, such as the current situation, require joint solutions. "The pandemic has enabled us to create a stronger supply chain system, in which large companies are protecting small ones, ensuring that the links in the chain are maintained. This is one of our roles as a large company, which allows us to generate a good reputation. But this should always be the end result of what we do and not the motivation," she commented.

Orson Ledezma, CEO of Ecolab, highlighted the importance of communication aimed at employees, which cannot be forgotten in this new scenario. “Communication is important because it allows dialogue with society, customers, government and, mainly, with the internal public. Providing clarity in the company's information and decisions is one of the most important aspects to ensure transparency and multiply good results at this time”, he concluded.

New ways of communicating

Innovation is one of the ways to better communicate and engage. Andréia Coutinho, Communications Coordinator at the Climate and Society Institute (iCS), showed how innovation can be a tool to change this paradigm of detachment of sustainable agendas from society, going beyond the limits of closed discussions in collegiate bodies and academia. “At the end of last year, we supported the exhibition 'Next Day', which showed the impact of climate change on cities and people's lives. Using creativity and technology, we brought the climate agenda to the table, making it possible to reflect on the future we want. In a world of disputed narratives, when we understand that the sustainability agenda is an intersectional agenda of gender, race and daily choices, it becomes easier to follow through with it,” she said.

Resilience and innovation were highlighted by Karla de Melo, from Casa da Moeda, as the keys for companies and communication professionals to face this complex scenario, considering that the so-called “comfort zone” no longer exists in any productive sector. “The number of communication professionals in companies has grown a lot during this pandemic, which demands greater protagonism from them. In times of crisis, it is essential to adapt to changes, respond quickly and think diversely and disruptively, considering all possible solutions”, she said.

For the CEBDS communications manager and coordinator of the Communication and Sustainability Guide project, the role of professionals is to ensure that the topic of sustainability is no longer discussed in niches within companies and permeates all activities. “Our role is to encourage public policies, show society the importance of doing the right thing and also the examples of actions by companies that are at the forefront, so that they inspire others to do the same and replicate sustainable attitudes in their businesses.”

Carbon Neutral

All greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions resulting from the development, construction and dissemination of the new CEBDS Communication and Sustainability Guide were offset by WayCarbon, in the Amigo do Clima Program that supported the project. The emissions were offset via voluntary carbon market credits, boosting the carbon market in Brazil.

“Our role in the Guide was to become carbon neutral. In the new normal, post-pandemic, every effort matters. We have to move from what I do to how I do it. New demands are being placed on business survival, far beyond saving cash flow. Reinventing your business, identifying stakeholders who were not part of your dialogue before, nor your value chain, revisiting internal policies to enable philanthropic actions, are some of the topics on the agenda. The comfort zone has changed. The meaning of doing our part has also changed, as has the new responsibility of employees”, said Laura Albuquerque, from WayCarbon.

The Guide

This is the second edition of the Communication and Sustainability Guide – which also includes a chapter on fake news, including tips for minimizing its effects – and updates the first, launched in 2009, when the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), launched by the UN in 2015, and the Paris Agreement had not yet been defined.

The result of a collaborative and plural process carried out over two years (2018/2019), the publication interviewed more than 150 professionals, including consultants, journalists, professors and professionals specializing in sustainability and corporate communication. When asked what score they would give, on a scale of 0 to 100, to how much they believe in companies' sustainability narratives, the journalists who responded to the survey gave an average score of 43. The Guide is structured around three pillars: Sustainability Communication, Communication for Sustainability and Sustainability of Communication. Sustainability Communication is the communication that gives notoriety to the sustainable actions and practices that the company develops.

The Communication and Sustainability Guide is sponsored by Toyota, BRK Ambiental, CBA, Diversa, Ecolab, Heineken, Michelin, Eletrobras and the Federal Government, and supported by Aberje, Agência Lupa, Projeto Colabora and WayCarbon.

Next agenda: tomorrow

The next webinar will take place tomorrow, the 10th, from 10am to 11:30am, and will discuss Risk and Reputation. It will be broadcast on the CEBDS YouTube channel.

THEME ORIENTATION: Tatiana Maia Lins, founder of Makemake

CLOSING: Marina Grossi, president of CEBDS, and Aberje

DEBATE

Glauce Ferman – Michelin South America Brand and Communications Director

Lucia Casasanta – Director of Governance, Risks and Compliance at Eletrobras

Leandro Faria – CBA Sustainability Manager

Sonia Favaretto, Journalist and SDG Pioneer for the UN Global Compact

MODERATOR: Gilberto Scofield, Director of Agência Lupa

ABOUT CEBDS

The Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development (CEBDS) is a non-profit civil association that promotes sustainable development through articulation with governments and civil society, in addition to disseminating the most current concepts and practices on the subject. Founded in 1997, it brings together around 60 of the largest business groups in the country, responsible for more than 1 million direct jobs. It represents in Brazil the network of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), which has almost 60 national and regional councils in 36 countries and 22 industrial sectors, in addition to 200 business groups that operate in all continents. More information: https://cebds.org/.