What is ESG in the Context of The Corporate Affairs Industry?

by Alicia Buckley, Consultant MadlinHanna Consulting

Society has developed to a point where brands are required to have a voice on the environment and social issues as well as demonstrate good governance. It’s no longer from an investment perspective either, there is a lot of emphasis on everyone playing their role in society and corporates are no different. Many of the Head of Corporate Affairs we speak to are seeing ESG form a part of their remit and as a result, communications agencies are having to reflect that too. But what does that translate to in practice?

Communications Advice Vs Business Advice

Some agencies are focused on delivering communications advice and some are trying to take on more of a business advisory role to support clients with the actual building of their ESG strategies. The challenge with both is to ensure that whatever clients do, it stands up to scrutiny. There can be scepticism when brands get involved and accusations of green-washing and rainbow-washing can cause significant reputational damage. The agencies that can get involved from a business perspective have more protection against those risks.

 Areas of Focus

There is a fear that the emphasis most companies make, is on the “E” of ESG. There is very little involvement in social issues as they struggle to see how it might be relevant and are too anxious of putting a foot wrong. Asset managers have been working to build and promote green funds and oil firms are talking about the energy transition, but wider social issues rarely get the same attention. The fear of making an error is currently outweighing the benefits of building a corporate voice and this is something agencies can have real impact in changing.

 Part of the problem or the solution?

Whether it is Edelman being questioned on their relationship with ExxonMobil & Shell (NY Times December 2021) or a team of creatives called Glimpse lobbying WPP to “Wreck the brief” (PRWeek August 2022), how do communications firms protect their own reputation when working with these giant corporates viewed as the source of problems? There is a school of thought that you have to work from the inside to make positive change, but communications firms must interrogate who they are working with in order to hold onto their own credibility, if they are to be part of the solution.

ESG is, without doubt, the focus of the next decade and as an industry, corporate affairs is responding to that by upskilling existing teams through training and qualifications, and boosting ESG credentials across the board through specific ESG hires.

MadlinHanna Consulting is a recruitment consultancy specialising in corporate affairs, covering public affairs, corporate communications and financial PR. Contact us on 020 8088 4102 for more information or a confidential conversation about these services and more.