ESG Under Fire: how to talk about sustainability without wrecking your reputation
The only thing not controversial about ESG and sustainability in the U.S. is that ESG and sustainability are, in fact, controversial.
In an era marked by rapid regulatory shifts, disinformation, technological upheaval, and deepening polarisation, the knee-jerk corporate response is often fear-based—unstable, reactive, and inconsistent. As a result, stakeholder trust erodes, scrutiny intensifies, and reputational risk becomes harder (and more expensive) to manage.
Worst of all? The transparent, trustworthy sustainability programming you spent months, maybe years, building can unravel in a single news cycle. Repairing that kind of damage might take longer than the leadership term or policy shift that helped trigger it.
Scott’s foundational five principles for reputation management still hold—but ESG and sustainability demand sharper application. What’s needed now isn’t silence. It’s strategy. And not just any strategy—one that’s rooted in identity, tuned to context, and flexible enough to weather the storm.
Here are five ways to talk about ESG and sustainability without damaging your reputation—or your credibility.
1. Kill the Jargon
Let’s start with the obvious:
IDKAYBIOKARTMAOEAISLEHAAOETHIOSOA
(I don’t know about you but I only know acronyms related to my area of expertise and it seems like everyone has an area of expertise that has its own set of acronyms.)
Sustainability and ESG are complex, interdisciplinary topics that span every area of an organization—from operations to legal to marketing (and everything in between). But if you can't explain them in plain language, you’ll alienate your audience and create fragmented, inconsistent messaging.
Try this instead: explain your strategy like you’re talking to a six-year old. The most intelligent communications aren’t the ones with the biggest words — they’re the ones everyone understands.
2. Know Your Audiences
There’s no such thing as “the general public.”
Even with jargon stripped away, you need to understand the diverse range of audiences you're speaking to. ESG means different things to different people. Some are investors in London. Others are regulators in Washington D.C. Your workforce may include supply chain partners in Mexico, a call centre in the Philippines, and a regional HQ in Delhi. Meanwhile, a significant portion of the American population remains sceptical of climate action altogether.
Discipline, industry, region, and identity all influence what we say—and how it’s perceived.
A 2020 study by Lewis et al., What Counts as an Environmental Issue?, showed that people’s race and income level shape how they define “environmental” concerns. For one group, climate change may be the defining issue; for another, it’s food insecurity. Neither is wrong. Their lived experiences simply differ.
Tools like Bowen Craggs visitor research tell us exactly who is on your site, what they’re looking for, and how it’s shaping their perception of your organisation. Other systems, like client relationship management and HR platforms, CRM and HRIS, can help you better understand these perspectives and tailor your communications accordingly. Speak their language—not yours.
3. Return to Organisational Identity
Your corporate website should be a reflection of who you are—not who you’re afraid to be.
Go back to basics: your mission, vision, and values. These core elements define your identity and the role you want to play in the world. When drafting new communications—or auditing existing ones—ask: Does this align with who we are?
Personify the organization. That’s what identity is for. If your ESG messaging is just posturing to dodge backlash, stakeholders will see right through it. Authenticity builds trust. Posturing doesn’t.
Being grounded in your identity enables confident, purposeful action—not unstable reaction. (And let’s be honest—doesn’t that sound a lot healthier?)
Authentic confidence comes from certainty in action—not reactive messaging.
4. Communicate with Materiality and Transparency
Let’s pause and ask: what is materiality, really?
It’s relevancy. It’s about what matters—to your business and your stakeholders. You don’t need to commission a thousand-page materiality assessment to know that.
It’s not just about disclosure—it’s about discernment.
Some things simply aren't relevant to your business. If that’s the case, say so. If something is relevant, speak with clarity and care. Otherwise, your messaging can easily become a reputational liability. Consider this case:
Sticker Mule, a popular swag company, made headlines when its CEO sent an unsolicited email to customers endorsing Donald Trump during the 2024 presidential campaign season. Axios reported that he sent it while getting a haircut, without informing his 1,200 employees. His new comms hire had advised against it. He sent it anyway.
The company’s mission? “To create an incredible experience for ordering custom products.” Its employees? Based in 17 countries. Customers? In over 70. My cat sticker order? Suddenly politicised.
I haven’t purchased since.
Here’s the point: if the stance you’re taking doesn’t relate to your mission, your employees, or your customers—it’s not material. And communicating it anyway can fracture trust and derail years of brand goodwill.
Apple's Environment page is filled with supporting evidence.
5. Storytelling with Data Is a Non-Negotiable (and an Art Form)
We live in a world awash with misinformation. Credibility requires evidence. But facts alone don’t persuade—stories do.
Think of your ESG data like a museum exhibit:
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Curate the key pieces.
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Provide context and interpretation.
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Offer a pamphlet at the front desk for deeper exploration.
Use infographics. Use sidebars. Use links and dashboards. But don’t throw raw data onto a page and expect people to "get it." Data is a language. Translate it.
Be creative and intentional in your metrics. Match them to your audience. Design a resource library for stakeholders to read in their own language.
Don’t do a data dump. Do a story reveal.
Final Thought: Don’t Burn the Books
Don’t let risk rewrite your values. Let your digital estate reflect your organisational purpose.
In times of political pressure and legal uncertainty, the instinct to pull content, soften language, or go silent can feel like self-preservation. But erasing ESG messaging or diluting your values only signals uncertainty. What’s needed isn’t retreat—it’s a steady, strategic response rooted in identity and purpose.
Authentic confidence comes from clarity: knowing what you stand for, why it matters, and communicating it consistently—even when it’s uncomfortable. ESG and sustainability are not liabilities. Treated with care and intention, they’re evidence of long-term value, resilience, and risk management.
Reputation isn’t built through a press release, marketing campaigns, or a legal-approved PDF. It’s built through how your values show up across your digital estate, how honestly you address complexity, and how consistently you lead through uncertainty.