How to know if your sustainability strategy is worth talking about

When BlackRock CEO Larry Fink declared in his 2020 letter to CEOs that climate risk had become investment risk, he triggered what I call "The Great Reporting Rush." Within months, my phone was ringing constantly—even as I sheltered in place during the early COVID-19 pandemic—with companies across every industry scrambling for sustainability reporting guidance.

The desperation was palpable. Investors were suddenly demanding sustainability data, and most companies had nothing meaningful to share. No clear strategies. No formal sustainability leadership. Sometimes not even basic environmental metrics.

The conversations followed a predictable pattern:

"So, tell me about your sustainability strategy."

"Well, we've done a lot of good things. We're putting solar panels on our headquarters..."

"Do you have decarbonization goals?"

Silence.

"Have you completed a materiality assessment?"

"What's that?"

Every call ended with the same advice: slow down, develop a strategy, measure your performance, then report on it. But when boards pressure CEOs to act, things get done—regardless of readiness. Most companies published their first sustainability reports anyway, despite having little substance to report.

This rush to report before developing a strong strategy represents everything wrong with how companies approach sustainability. It's a backwards approach that prioritizes perception over performance, compliance over genuine transformation. And it makes authentic sustainability storytelling nearly impossible.

Substance is key to credible communication

Too many companies engage in “corporate sustainability theater”—flowery reporting and communication that lacks credibility or evidence of action. It's because having substance is hard, and the pressure to "seem sustainable" is high.

When sustainability becomes a business strategy rather than a PR play, companies stay the course when winds change. It allows discussing the substance of your strategy without overly relying on buzzwords. As terms like "DEI" and "ESG" are weaponized, this matters more than ever.

A leading Chief Sustainability Officer once told me that he challenges his leaders not to use “sustainability” in their communication—and instead discuss what they’re actually doing around energy, supply chain, talent, resource management, and community relationships. 

If a company has something worth talking about, it doesn't need to use the word sustainability to get its point across.

The six indicators of substantive strategy

As a sustainability communicator, you need to recognize what makes a strong sustainability strategy worth talking about. There are six key indicators:

1. Purpose-driven: The strategy connects to why the company exists beyond profit. Mars exemplifies this with their purpose: "The world we want tomorrow starts with how we do business today." It's not just a tagline—it guides every major decision. Compare this to Boeing, which lost sight of its safety-focused mission after prioritizing cost efficiency, leading to the high-profile incidents we've witnessed.

2. Materiality-focused: Strong strategies address the issues most relevant to the business and stakeholders. Water matters critically for Coca-Cola and semiconductor manufacturers—but barely registers for software companies. Digital privacy is key for Meta and Google, less so for traditional manufacturers. Mastercard exemplifies this approach—as a payments technology company with minimal environmental footprint, their sustainability strategy emphasizes financial inclusion and responsible sourcing over carbon emissions.

3. Business-aligned: IKEA demonstrates this integration beautifully. Their sustainability strategy focuses on climate change, unsustainable consumption, and inequality—directly supporting their vision "to create a better everyday life for the many people" at affordable prices. Mars shows similar alignment through their Sustainable in a Generation Plan, which I helped develop as part of the Mars Net Zero Roadmap—a more than $1 billion commitment the company viewed as key business action, not just a sustainability initiative.

4. CEO-led: Genuine C-suite commitment is non-negotiable. Paul Polman exemplified this at Unilever when he stopped issuing quarterly guidance to focus on long-term sustainability through the Sustainable Living Plan. The plan delivered $1.5 billion in sustainable sourcing savings and over $1 billion in energy efficiency savings—proving that sustainability leadership drives business results.

5. Metrics-driven: Substantive strategies include ambitious but achievable goals that can be measured and adjusted. Whether it's science-based climate targets validated by SBTi or social goals aligned with UN SDGs, specificity matters. Blanket statements like "we're committed to addressing climate change" don't work in metrics-obsessed business environments.

6. Transparency-obsessed: Companies that communicate both progress and setbacks build more trust than those cherry-picking good news. When PepsiCo recently announced they were "refining" their climate goals to reflect global realities, they did it proactively and transparently. The reaction was generally positive because of their transparent approach.

The the importance of authenticity

Communications professionals need to be more than messengers. This means getting comfortable with governance, materiality, and the meaningfulness of initiatives. It means understanding where your company has legitimacy and leverage—and being honest about where it doesn't.

One of the most frustrating things in sustainability discourse is we're always asked to make the “business case” for action—but nobody ever asks for the business case for inaction. What's the business case for not listening to stakeholders? What's the business case for ignoring climate risk or worker welfare?

A 2024 Just Capital survey shows what Americans actually want from business: paying a fair living wage is number one, being an ethical leader is number two, supporting worker wellbeing is number three. Environmental issues rank lower—not because people don't care, but because if you don't provide basic dignity and respect, you're on shaky ground with everything else.

The lesson

Your role as a sustainability communicator isn't just polishing the company's story—it's helping ensure there's a substantive story worth telling. When strategies lack these fundamentals, communication becomes creative writing rather than authentic storytelling.

When companies get sustainability strategy right, communicators have credible material that resonates with stakeholders and drives business value. But it requires moving beyond the reporting rush mentality and building the strategic foundation that gives stories authenticity.

The companies that will succeed in this space aren't necessarily those with the flashiest sustainability reports or the most ambitious-sounding commitments. They're the ones that have done the hard work of integrating sustainability into their core business strategy, measuring what matters, and communicating with radical transparency about both their progress and their challenges.

This post draws from my upcoming book "Sustainability Storytelling: Translating Strategy to Effective Stories," coming May 2026 from Kogan Page—a practical guide for communications professionals navigating the complex world of authentic sustainability storytelling. Complete the book interest form to be the first to know when the book is available for pre-order.