Revolt London

Global uncertainty is at a level we have not experienced for many years. And for sustainability-minded investors, the EU’s recent omnibus package to simplify sustainability reporting arguably adds to that uncertainty by moving the regulatory goalposts for many businesses.

But as policies shift and companies determine how to maintain sustainability momentum, we can look to the “climate transition plan” as a means to drive transformation, accelerate progress and as a platform for business opportunity.

CTPs take net zero targets, something complicated and long term, and make them clearer and more tangible. They focus on what needs to be done and are part of a wider shift from high-minded rhetoric to real practical action. Complexity is a barrier to communication and stakeholder engagement for businesses, and through their tangibility CTPs present a creative opportunity.

While not mandatory under the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive or the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, regulation is increasingly calling for companies to disclose progress towards having a fully developed CTP. The focus on disclosure offers companies an opportunity to communicate their road map to net zero creatively.

Those that fail to do so are missing out on the opportunity to fuel transformation and demonstrate action. As such, the CTP becomes another piece of bureaucratic paperwork that stays in the drawer.
To find out whether businesses are actively turning compliance into performance and using the CTP to drive reputation, Revolt conducted quantitative research with more than 400 marketing and public relations leaders working at companies with offices in the EU.

good communications opportunity

Nearly all respondents agreed — either strongly or somewhat — that CTPs represent good communications opportunities. But when asked about the extent of communications planning around CTPs in the next 12 months, only a third had a specific plan for communicating transition plans. Meanwhile, 65 per cent reported CTP communication was not in their broader communications plan, and 71 per cent had not budgeted for CTP communications.

While there is a good understanding of the marketing and communication opportunity with CTPs, there is an issue in terms of making it happen. We found that marketers were out of their comfort zone with CTPs and were concerned about communicating difficult subject matter.

In an era of instability, investors are looking for resilient businesses that are focusing their sustainability spend on meaningful, impactful initiatives
CTPs generally show the path to net zero is difficult, and that success requires significant collaboration. But it is for this very reason that communication is so important — to drive collaborative action and to avoid future admissions of failing to do what is needed.

In our era of uncertainty, CTP communication should have a pragmatic focus on what needs to be done, rather than lofty ambition statements. We believe there are three key things companies should keep in mind to ensure transition plans reach their full communication potential.

1. Your investors are watching

In an era of instability, investors are looking for resilient businesses that are focusing their sustainability spend on meaningful, impactful initiatives. There is now a groundswell of information that investors are looking for, such as disclosing climate-related risks, transition-related opportunities, investment plans for low-carbon technologies, impacts on staff, scenario planning and financial allocation for activity.

The CTP is the opportunity to translate a net zero strategy into a powerful investment story. Critically, it is a story of risk management, resilience and adaptability. The CTP enables a more critical assessment of whether money is being well spent to deliver the necessary changes in a timely manner.

Communicating this is about giving investors reassurance. Making it clear that costs are being shared and the company is lobbying for level playing fields will increase reassurance.

2. Engaging employees for generations to come

Employees across the company — in procurement, innovation, finance, and without forgetting the operational and IT support needed for gathering quality data to track progress — are the potential champions and crucial implementers of transition strategies.

Employees play a role across all three principles of the CTP — ambition, action and accountability — and they are the change agents who will make sure the CTP does not just live in a document.

Showcasing how individual roles directly contribute to broader goals creates a compelling narrative that retains talent. Employees can see sustainability is more than a corporate imperative and embrace it as a personal mission. CTP communications that highlight hero employees and show measurable impact can attract future employees who value sustainability. Employee engagement also enables companies to show progress over time, which can drive motivation.

Also, the engagement is top down as well as bottom up. Publishing a board-endorsed CTP signals real executive backing. Over time this leads to the alignment of corporate and sustainability strategies, which is what most organisations need to drive change.

3. Standing out, delivering together

For effective transition planning, businesses must engage their value chain because, in most cases, Scope 3 emissions represent the largest portion of a business’s carbon footprint. So while CTPs are individual to each business, they can only be achieved with systemic change across suppliers and geographies. It is important that CTPs deliver and communicate a detailed and quantifiable picture of the value chain, including its most opaque areas.

The need for collaboration can, and should, extend beyond the supply chain to include peers and competitors. This is no easy task, but every business that has produced a CTP will know the struggle to get to net zero without co-ordinated efforts across their entire industry.

While companies determine how to maintain sustainability momentum as policies shift, they must still look to the climate transition plan as a means to drive transformation and action. It should be viewed not as a compliance checklist, but as a communication device to highlight a shared purpose between a business and its value chain.

If a business has made the effort to produce a report, it is a short step to create a set of supporting communications that will bring it to life and turn it into a confidence builder for stakeholders and investors.