Five learnings from Reset Connect on the new sustainability narrative
Olivia Stone, Account Manager
As the flagship event of London Climate Action Week, Reset Connect has long been a go-to location for professionals looking to discover and discuss the latest in sustainability, climate technology, and the green economy. Fittingly taking place in the hottest ever June in the UK, the sweltering heat only served to underscore the growing urgency and importance of the discussions.
As perceptions around ESG have ebbed and flowed globally and as the climate crisis becomes increasingly difficult to ignore, this feels like a crunch point for raising the profile of sustainability initiatives and driving forward innovation.
For marketing and communications professionals, many of the conversations surrounded the vital role of storytelling in this new era, from start-ups seeking capital injections to larger institutions solidifying new sustainability measures and policy makers developing the frameworks that underpin progress.
Here are five key insights we took away from the event:
1) Resilience takes center stage
Resilience was the word on everyone’s lips. Without bringing sustainability principles into key business conversations, firms large and small are undermining their risk management long-term. As the impact of the climate crisis becomes more acute, failing to do so has real-world implications for commercial and strategic resilience.
The sustainability conversation is no longer a separate reputational issue, treated as such. It has evolved into a pillar intrinsically tied to long-term commercial success.
The risks are extensive. First and most obvious is physical climate risk, from flooding and wildfire disruption to water scarcity and damage to physical business infrastructure.
This is bound up with supply chain risks, including raw material shortages and shipping route disruption, alongside energy security concerns amidst geopolitical conflict and increasingly volatile energy markets. All these factors have a significant knock-on effect on financial and operational risk for companies operating across multiple industries.
2) The ‘name game’ continues
Inconsistencies in terminology have long plagued the ESG landscape. While the ESG label is increasingly being set aside in favor of other terms like sustainability, this hasn’t solved the challenges persisting in other ways across the industry.
Transition finance is an illustrative example of this. It can often mean many different things within the same organization, from initiatives that support the climate transition directly to those that indirectly enable it, individual projects that align with sustainability objectives, or simply companies involved in the energy transition.
How this issue is resolved is one that remains up for debate, but there’s consensus that regulators have a role to play in standardizing the terms and definitions used across markets and jurisdictions. Clients that we speak with around the world continue to grapple with this challenge across both business and marketing functions.
Ultimately, this makes clear, accessible messaging even more important when communicating around sustainability initiatives. While some firms see this lack of consistency as a deterrent to sustainability communications, we see it as an opportunity for companies that want to position themselves as thought leaders, shaping the narrative and directing the conversation with their perspective and insights.
3) Aligning profit with purpose
Sustainability initiatives and commercial returns are no longer parallel priorities; they are more intertwined than ever. Many of the talks, particularly on the financial services, energy, and infrastructure panels, raised the argument that sustainability and commercial strategies should be developed collectively – their success is interlinked.
Where a few years ago, ESG credentials and communications were seen as a ‘nice to have,’ as the climate transition has accelerated, the conversation has turned to focus on aligning financial value with social and environmental values.
4) It’s all about access
On the first day of Reset Connect, we heard how large financial institutions are taking up ESG-related initiatives in the name of financial inclusion in emerging markets, and incorporating an environmental or sustainability angle alongside them. A fitting example of this was Schroders’ emerging markets impact bond strategy, managed by BlueOrchard. The strategy combines investments that promote financial inclusion with allocations to green, social, sustainability, and sustainability-linked bonds in emerging markets.
One particularly useful way of facilitating this strategy has been to invest in established companies on the ground in emerging markets that already have a crucial part of the formula for success: local access. This means access not only to existing infrastructure, networks, and localized resources, but also to the communities set to be most impacted by physical climate risk in the next five to 10 years.
Without access to climate initiatives and innovations in the world’s fastest growing regions, the impact of work around climate finance in Europe, for example, will be null and void in the grand scheme of the climate crisis. Connectedness must be at the center of the discussion, and taking a global approach to communications can make all the difference in channeling narratives and information across regions.
Take Energise Africa, for example, which stood out to us on a panel focusing on proactive climate finance. The company helps ordinary people invest in pioneering businesses that install solar systems in Sub-Saharan Africa, acting as a middleman between investors of all sizes, the providers of these solar systems, and the communities receiving them. By connecting the different parts of the puzzle, the company uses access as a catalyst to create tangible value for all parties involved.
5) The role of storytelling in stewardship
As the sense of urgency around the climate crisis has set in, so has the shift of the corporate responsibility pendulum back towards an emphasis on stewardship. Firms are now expected to articulate and defend their sustainability commitments to clients, partners, and investors, while ensuring those commitments are reflected in strategy discussions and operations. Professionals at Reset Connect highlighted the importance of storytelling to enable that stewardship, particularly how crucial it is to emphasize the why when influencing decision-makers.
This is where ESG communications really comes into its own. With a clear, persuasive narrative, presented frequently and with supporting evidence, it’s hard to argue against the importance of more investment, regulatory intervention, and industry collaboration to advance sustainability objectives.
Of course, there are regional and cultural nuances that need to be factored into comms strategies. In the US, for example, political polarization and dilution of ESG-related policies have changed the ways firms approach ESG, meaning communications should lean into business value and supply chain resilience. In contrast, in APAC, the sustainable funding ecosystem is continuing to mature at pace with expanding investor bases. As such, climate communications strategies should lean more into messaging around local success stories and the role of innovation in driving economic development.
If you’d like to discuss how your company can strengthen its sustainability communications strategy in this new era, feel free to get in touch.
Key takeaways
What was our overall takeaway from Reset Connect?
Sustainability communications should be neither one-size-fits-all nor one-and-done. As the climate crisis becomes more acute, a stagnated communications narrative will no longer suffice.
How can organizations build more effective sustainability communications?
Leaders in a conversation which will dominate headlines in the years to come cannot be ad-hoc or solely reactive. Their ESG communications strategies will have to be deliberate, purpose-led, and designed to emphasize the messages and showcase the progress that matters most.
Why is resilience reshaping the sustainability conversation?
Sustainability has evolved from a largely reputational consideration into a strategic imperative for long-term resilience across business functions. As the climate crisis intensifies globally, commercial value is increasingly dependent on managing climate, operational, financial and supply chain risks.
What role does storytelling play in accelerating action?
Clear, evidence-based storytelling helps companies build trust, demonstrate business value, and inspire the investment, collaboration, and regulatory support needed to turn sustainability commitments into measurable action and innovation.
About the author
Olivia Stone is an Account Manager on the Capital Markets team at Aspectus, working with companies across the financial market infrastructure and trading technology sectors.
Since joining Aspectus, Olivia has supported activity within Aspectus’ ESG services alongside her day-to-day work with Capital Markets clients, which spans strategic communications, media relations, content development, and administrative support.
