CEBDS launches Communication and Sustainability Guide and promotes the last debate in the webinar series
Rio de Janeiro, June 10, 2020 – The constant monitoring of social networks and the emergence of more engaged consumers has changed the way companies relate to their stakeholders. Starting with the understanding of who their stakeholders are. stakeholders and the means of promoting effective communication that allows managing risks and aligning practices and discourse. The theme is one of the highlights of the Communication and Sustainability Guide, launched by CEBDS. The publication is available for download free.
“Thinking about reputation at this time is much more challenging, since companies’ stakeholders are more diverse. This moment of restructuring imposed by the pandemic makes it clear that companies’ accountability does not only concern shareholders, but society in general. And communication is essential to produce this dialogue. It is important to remember that sustainability has never led anyone to the position of CEO, but it has already taken some from their positions, precisely because they do not understand the fundamental function of the social license to operate,” stated the president of CEBDS, Marina Grossi.
Viviane Mansi, Regional Director of Communication and Sustainability at Toyota and President of the Toyota Foundation of Brazil, added that in this new scenario stakeholder is who considers themselves as such. “We, companies, are not at the center of the world. The pandemic requires a new awareness and new practices, in order to ultimately have a good reputation. We cannot skip steps. We will only achieve a positive reputation if we go through a good process of building trust”, he said.
Hamilton dos Santos, director of Aberje, highlighted the risk for CEOs and brands, which in times of pandemic are increasingly exposed, especially on digital platforms, and stressed the need to take a stand on issues related to sustainability, the environment and diversity. “CEOs are being invited to occupy spaces in public squares and lead discussions of political interest, which offers a huge reputational risk, but also an opportunity for positioning,” he considered.
Tatiana Maia Lins, founder of Makemake and one of the authors of the Guide, highlighted that the pandemic has also changed the understanding of what reputation is. “A brand’s reputation was normally measured by the quality of its products or services, innovation, and a good work environment. The pandemic changed everything, placing ethical profit at the center of the agenda. Innovation is no longer how many products a brand launches per year, but how it is responding to society in this time of crisis,” she said.
Tatiana also highlighted that all the crises that have affected the reputation of organizations in recent times have been sustainability crises, which raises a red flag. “To face these crises, we need reputation, and it is not built with press releases, but rather with actions, coherence and dialogue. Without risk communication there is no transparency”, he concluded.
Reputation and communication
To generate equity, transparency, accountability and demonstrate that the company is responsible towards its employees, corporate communication is more than necessary, according to Lúcia Casasanta, Director of Governance, Risks and Compliance at Eletrobras. “Communication has to be at the core. It has to be part of the development of the strategic plan and risk analyses, translating the best we have internally, to generate a good reputation and a good relationship with society”, she stated.
For Glauce Ferman, Michelin's Director of Communications and Brands for South America, the power of communication goes beyond publicizing good deeds; it also involves knowing how to deliver bad news, especially in this time of crisis. According to Glauce, we are going through a crisis of credibility, in the wake of the maturation of stakeholders, which is analyzing companies’ ability to adapt. “Communication now plays a fundamental role in building bridges for dialogue. Digital technology has brought a series of new challenges and there is a greater demand for truth and genuineness. However, communication for sustainability will only happen fully when it is in fact integrated into the business and is not just a fire extinguisher or a makeup case,” she stressed. Quoting journalist Agostinho Vieira, who participated in the second day of debates, Glauce reinforced that “Communication is not a fire extinguisher or a makeup case.”
Sonia Favaretto, Journalist and SDG Pioneer for the UN Global Compact, highlighted that the changes are even observed in the nomenclatures. EESG, is the new ESG, and concerns the economy, which adds to the ESG concepts (translated from English, Environmental, Social and Governance). The acronym refers to the three central factors in measuring the sustainability and social impact of an investment in a company or business, criteria that help to better determine the future financial performance of companies. “Communication has a fundamental role in sustainability, in a world that is undergoing reconstruction,” he said.
Making sustainability a cross-cutting issue within companies is essential to making progress on the topic, according to Leandro Faria, Sustainability Manager at CBA “We must take advantage of this moment of crisis to communicate issues that are relevant to our stakeholders, in alignment with the company's senior management and create valuable partnerships. The time is right to leverage business based on principles of sustainability, governance and finance,” he said.
About the call covidwashing, a misleading marketing technique that uses discourses that are not aligned with practice, Kelly Lima, Communications Manager at CEBDS and coordinator of the Communications and Sustainability Guide, considered that “society will no longer accept companies without a purpose, that do not think about people and are not truthful. There is a demand for discourses that are aligned with practice and, in the age of social media, companies are monitored to fulfill this role. Now is the time to be and not to appear to be”, she concluded.
ABOUT CEBDS
The Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development (CEBDS) is a non-profit civil association that promotes sustainable development through coordination with governments and civil society, in addition to disseminating the most current concepts and practices on the topic. Founded in 1997, it brings together around 60 of the largest business groups in the country, responsible for more than 1 million direct jobs. Represents the network of World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), which has almost 60 national and regional councils in 36 countries and 22 industrial sectors, as well as 200 business groups operating on all continents. More information: https://cebds.org/.
PRESS CONTACTS
eduardonunes@altercomunicacao.com.br | +55 21 99864.4245
Eduardo Nunes
debora@altercomunicacao.com.br | +55 21 98751-4902
Deborah Rolando
