ESG Communication teams need to pay attention to their Investors' mindset

As we all know investors hold a huge power over an organisation’s direction and decision making.

Out of the four most powerful stakeholders who include customers, employees, and regulators, I think investors and shareholders are the most powerful and this is why as Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) technical and communications specialists we need to fully understand what our investors are expecting from our organisations.

Before designing our clients’ ESG business model integration and communication strategy I ask to meet with some of their investors to capture their thoughts on ESG and how it can be rolled out within the organisation.

You would be surprised how knowledgeable they are in this field and how clear is their vision on where ESG should fit within the organisation. After all its their money we are working with.

From the below graph designed by Natixis its clear that individual investors who care the most about ESG are based in Colombia, Chile, Italy and Hongkong however, it is Europe and South America that are leading the way when it comes to having this people and planet mindset. I am not surprised with this findings as these two continents are the leaders in #esg regulation and they are driving the global #peopleandplanet agenda.

But we all know that ESG is not easily measured, and the global standards are yet to be designed hence its very difficult for us as communication professionals and ESG technical experts to compare our performance against our peers or industry.

I advise our clients not to implement an ESG activity because it’s a trend and rather examine their business model, their values, their purpose and the budget they would like to allocate before jumping on the Trend Wagon.

From the below graph it is clear that investors depend on Third Party ratings along with reports from the companies and NGOs.

What’s interesting for me is the fact that they also depend on News and media which falls under our remit as communications professionals, and which puts pressure on us to upskill ourselves on the topic and ensure that our messages are accurate.

Its not a surprise that most of Tomorrow’s investors are Millennials and GenZ and even though their investment assets are currently low we must not ignore the fact that soon they will grow. From the below graph its clear that the alignment of personal values and investment opportunities are linked even with the baby boomers.

When communicating your fundraise, or meeting with investors on roadshows make sure you research their values first and then integrate it within your pitch.

Investors are rationally minded individuals who occasionally make irrational decisions based on the emotions and personalities of the people selling them ideas. They are independent thinkers, patient, and have an undeniable attention to detail – they like to know the whole picture and nothing but the whole picture. To speak to your audience who have their “Investor” hat on, your messages could be around the following:

1. Personal Values
2. Business growth
3. The role they play in bringing your ESG strategy to life.

We are CommUnique and we help you Integrate ESG within your business model and design your communication strategy. Our clients include WHO, HSBC, Barclays, Katalista Ventures, Billing Finance, SUEZ, Bp, M&S

Book a free discovery call now : Gihan@communique.global