The Sustainability Communicator Mike Hower

The words used to describe sustainability work have morphed and changed over the years — from corporate philanthropy to CSR, to sustainability and ESG. This constant change in terminology confuses even those who live and breathe it everyday and poses a big problem for sustainability communicators. What exactly should we call this “thing” we do?

In this episode, Mike interviews Raheem Cash, vice president of Corporate Sustainability at Moody’s Corporation, to better understand where we've been, where we are and where we're going when it comes to sustainability terminology and discourse.

Over the past few years, the surge in energy in corporate sustainability has been fueled by renewed investor interest in environmental, social and governance (ESG). Sparked by Larry Fink’s 2020 investor letter, this seemed to signal a new era of investor enthusiasm for ESG information from companies they invest in. However, the anti-ESG rhetoric and increasing politicization of ESG has caused many companies to backtrack. Many companies continue to guess at what investors want from them on the ESG front.

In this episode, Mike chats with Grant Harrison, Vice President of Sustainable Finance and ESG at GreenBiz, to better understand the current ESG investment landscape and how companies can better engage investors with non-financial information.

With several new rules and regulations around ESG communication, sustainability storytellers must adapt. In this episode, Mike speaks with global ESG leader Tim Mohin of Boston Consulting Group to learn more about how sustainability and communication professionals can best navigate this new era.

The video game industry is just now “pressing start” on corporate sustainability. With comparatively low levels of resource intensity and often complex chains of custody and responsibility for social and environmental impacts, many video game makers are just now figuring out their sustainability strategies. Even still, communicating sustainability in this sector faces its own challenges and opportunities. To better understand how the video game industry is approaching sustainability storytelling, Mike connected with Neil Patel, Senior Director of Sustainability at Take Two Interactive Software — owner of Rockstar Games, which produces the popular Grand Theft Auto Franchise.

After two years of consideration and more than 24,000 comments, on March 6, 2024 the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) finally adopted its “rules to enhance and standardize climate-related disclosures by public companies and in public offerings.” These rules are part of an effort to respond to investor demand for more “consistent, comparable and reliable” information about the financial effects of climate-related risks on a company’s operations — and how those risks are managed while balancing concerns about mitigating costs.

To better understand what made it into the final SEC climate rules, and how this impacts sustainability communication moving forward, Mike caught up with Derek Young, VP of ESG at the REIT CBL Properties.

Sustainability storytelling is more important — and complicated — than ever. With so many changing expectations and regulations around sustainability storytelling, knowing how to effectively social and environmental impact is a top challenge for companies across the globe. In this episode, Mike brings in the expertise of a fellow sustainability communications expert — Whitney Dailey, Executive Vice President, Purpose at the global public relations firm Allison Worldwide — to better understand how companies can navigate sustainability storytelling in 2024.