Seven Winning PR Tactics for Green Companies withTony DeFazio from Sustainable PR
Tony DeFazio from Sustainable PR joins us this week to discuss his firm's new e-book, How to Pass the Millennial Greenwashing Test: 7 Winning PR Tactics for Green Companies.
This transcript has been edited for clarity.
Dan Carreno, Ethos ESG
Welcome to The Ethos ESG Podcast. I am your host, Dan Carreno, and joined by my co-host, Kevin Jarussi. Our guest today is going to be the founder and principal ofSustainable PR, Tony DeFazio. Tony, how are you today?
Tony DeFazio, Sustainable PR
Doing great, Dan. Thanks for bringing me on your program.
Dan Carreno, Ethos ESG
Thanks for taking the time. Anybody that's listening to the podcast knows that we typically do a little bit of a round table discussion to open up the podcast. Today, instead of going around the horn for a roundtable, I wanted to focus more specifically on some content that Tony and his team at Sustainable PR recently produced, which is an e-book titled How to Pass the Millennial Greenwashing Test: 7 Winning PR Tactics for a Green Company. Tony, we have some questions that we wanted to ask you about that e-book, but before we launch into those questions, I want to give you the opportunity to tell us a little bit more about your background and what led you to found Sustainable PR.
Tony DeFazio, Sustainable PR
Dan, I grew up just outside of Philadelphia in what's referred to as the Main Line. After graduating, I went to Washington DC, and I thought I was going to pursue politics because that was my major. But I ended up getting into the environment, and I worked for an organization called Clean Water Action. My job was canvassing neighbourhoodsand making cold calls to generate support for environmental legislation and also fundraising to support the nonprofit's operations. And it was during that first-year job that I got the sense that I had good storytelling skills. I then moved back to Philadelphia and got my first job in a PR firm. I became an initial equity partner in that firm and helped scale to become one of the largest PR firms now in the country. But the environment was really always where my heart was. And I always had this sense that someday I was going to combine my passion for the environment with my skillset and my expertise in public relations. So fast forward a bit, I was on a hike with a good friend. And he challenged me to say what I would do with the next ten years of my life. The light bulb went off, and I said I'm going to create a public relations agency exclusively focused on helping businesses with a mission to be successful. So that's how Sustainable PR came about.
Kevin Jarussi, Ethos ESG
I wanted to delve into the e-book a little bit and ask you to talk about the seven different tactics.
Tony DeFazio, Sustainable PR
We developed these seven tactics to be key takeaways that businesses could use immediately. Millennials are a very well-informed and very engaged demographic, particularly when it comes to buying and selling products. They're looking under the hood of organizations to see if their marketing matches what they're actually doing. And so there's going to be a lot of pressure on organizations to do the right thing, not just to talk to talk, but to walk the walk. So the first tactic isHighlight the Facts. You can't greenwash solid facts and figures. Greenwashing, at its most basic level, is about spin. It's about exaggerating an organization's green attributes. One great example of a company that does it well is Timberland. They dedicated an entire page of their website to highlight their responsibility as earth keepers. And they achieved authenticity by being transparent and providing quantifiable details. The second isKeep Your Eye on Optics. Don't be laser-focused on marketing. It's as much as what you're doing as much as what you're saying. We advise our clients and other organizations to look at the brand from the perspective of the outsider. Is there something misaligned between what you say and what you do? Third isGet Specific with Your Language. Clarity and precision in your messaging are everything. When it comes to an effective green marketing campaign, brands need to cut out the fluff and avoid using overly verbose or technical terminology. Speak clearly and speak directly. Translate your messaging to be crystal clear. Next isShow. Don't tell. Seventh Generation, which produces sustainable products, came up with #comeclean campaign that encourages other brands to disclose ingredients used in their products while highlighting a portfolio of natural household and baby products. It's a brilliant move because it not only communicates that they're being authentic, but they're also encouraging their competitors to do so as well. Number six isWork to Elevate Industry Visibility. Fakers can hurt the public perception of other sustainable brands. Businesses shouldn't just elevate their green standards but also treat sustainability as a movement. Number seven,Consider the Consumer Value. One of the challenges with sustainable products is they often come at a premium, and we see this every day with the companies that we work with. So brands need to balance sustainability in their products with features that provide value to customers. If eco-friendly offerings remain too expensive to be accessible to the average consumer, sustainability becomes just a luxury. Ikea revealed that 70% of the materials used to build their products are sustainably sourced. They found other ways to lower consumer costs rather than just charging a premium for sustainability by asking consumers to pollute for cheaper goods.
Kevin Jarussi, Ethos ESG
Interesting. That's a great story. Where do you find that Millennials are finding their information?
Tony DeFazio, Sustainable PR
They're not consuming print publications. They're primarily digital, but broadcast still plays a big role. I think that they're interested in the media's reporting on sustainability. I'll give you a couple of sources that I think are first-rate. One isGreenBiz. All they do is focus on the intersection of business and sustainability.BloombergGreen, another great source.Treehuggeris another. These kinds of media outlets are proliferating to cover the green economy and provide a constant stream of credible content that's ultimately shared on social media platforms and then shared among consumers.
Kevin Jarussi, Ethos ESG
Tony, among the seven tips, are there one or two that are most important for the financial services industry?
Tony DeFazio, Ethos ESG
Yes, first,Highlight the Facts. It's really important that there's complete information about the portfolio. Second, and it supports the first one, isOffer Transparency Early and Often. The hallmark of being accused of greenwashing is lack of disclosure.
Dan Carreno, Ethos ESG
Before we close out the podcast today, we are going to engage in a quick round of ESG Trivia. The questions have been sourced from our most recentIssue Brief on Climate Action. First question: Natural disasters, which have been exacerbated by climate change, have impacted how many homes in the last year in the United States? Is it one out of a hundred? Is it one out of 50? Or is it one out of 10?
Kevin Jarussi, Ethos ESG
I think it is one out of 10.
Dan Carreno, Ethos ESG
That is correct. Next question: According toa recent Nuveen study, what percent of investors said that they are more interested in sustainable investing due to recent climate disasters? 39%, 66% or is it 78%?
Tony DeFazio, Sustainable PR
That is 66%.
Dan Carreno, Ethos ESG
That is correct. Final question. In our Issue Brief, we highlight two different types of financial risks that companies in the 21st century are facing due to climate change. What are those two types of financial risks?
Tony DeFazio, Ethos ESG
They need to be familiar with both physical and transition risks associated with climate change.
Dan Carreno, Ethos ESG
For a little bit more context, for physical risk, think about a company that has major infrastructure assets that may be at risk due to coastal flooding, for example. For transition risk, think about having a business model that is entirely reliant on the burning of fossil fuels. Those businesses may not thrive in the coming decades as we have to switch to a carbon-free economy. Tony, thank you again for coming on today. We will be back soon with another episode of The Ethos ESG Podcast.
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