Are You Already Talking the Walk of Your Dow Jones Sustainability Index Results?

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Finch & Beak is now SLR Consulting, a global organization that supports its clients on setting sustainability strategies and seeing them through to implementation.

We invite you to check out the SLR website, so you can see the full potential of what we offer, from sustainability strategies to implementation covering Climate Resilience & Net Zero, Natural Capital & Biodiversity, Social & Community Impact, Responsible Sourcing and more.

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With the publication of Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) data in the Bloomberg terminal, companies can now better combine their perceived and actual sustainability performance, and compare it with their peers’ position. The outcome drives more efficient communication and helps sharpen the sustainability program; whether it is to accelerate actual performance on specific issues or to better to leverage sustainability leadership through alignment of communication.

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CSR and Reputation Brief.pdf

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Linking actual performance with reputation

In order to create business value from purpose it is essential to be congruent in communication and sustainable behavior so 'Be good and tell it' is a common saying when it comes to corporate sustainability. 'Be good' cannot go without 'tell it' and vice versa. Congruency in communication and behavior is therefore essential. If behavior and communication are not in harmony with each other, the green washing ogre emerges. On the other hand companies with authentic sustainable behavior that barely communicate about their sustainable performance miss out on vital reputational opportunities.

Recently Reputation Institute published a Dutch based briefing on the gap between “perceived and actual” sustainability mapping its own RepTrak data with that of Corporate Knights. The bigger picture of the Dutch based sample is that a company’s reputation is directly influenced by over 40% through the three out of seven reputation drivers: Governance, Workplace and Citizenship.

Reputation versus DJSI Methodology: The Telenet case

Finch & Beak has been applying this approach since 2013 in a variety of sectors. As the availability of detailed DJSI data from Bloomberg on entire sectors has exponentially grown since in the last year, a huge opportunity has materialized to efficiently combine, compare and zoom-in on the facts and perceptions of corporate reputation in the light of sustainability efforts.

Strong sustainability performers already go beyond the status quo and leverage the communication opportunities by showcasing the content in order to strengthen the corporate reputation and build trust amongst all stakeholder groups. But making this work is not as simple as it seems which is illustrated by Belgian telecom company Telenet, industry group leader in the DJSI in the last 5 years. Within three years, Telenet’s total DJSI-score grew 58%, while their RepTrak score increased with just 14%. These overall results were an indication that Telenet’s strong sustainability profile was underleveraged and that there had to be opportunities for reputational improvement. A further detailed big data analysis revealed the right areas to focus on and to get Telenet to the CSR reputation it deserved.

Is your sustainability performance underleveraged?

Why not make the most of your DJSI efforts by capturing more value from your sustainability and reputation data? The upcoming summertime provides an excellent moment to combine, compare and zoom-in and make your sustainability communication efforts more effective. In case you are interested in our approach, contact us at hello@finchandbeak.com for more information.