When Australians took to the polls in May this year, eight in every 10 made it clear they expected better climate change actions from the Government. This shift in public consciousness is impacting businesses as well.

Stakeholders at every level expect businesses to take action. This is true for 81 per cent of employees (Edelman), 77 per cent of consumers, 76 per cent of Millennial jobseekers, and 73 per cent of investors (Harvard Business Review).

There is a gap, however, between what stakeholders - from customers to employees, regulators and the wider community - expect, and what they perceive is happening. Businesses might be upping their game to meet higher sustainability expectations from stakeholders, but the IPSOS Annual Climate Change Survey 2022 revealed that less than half (40 per cent) of Australians believed business was committed to taking action. 

This means businesses can - and need - to be purposeful and proactive in talking about sustainability to close this gap. Sustainability is now core to any value proposition and therefore, it is integral to your marketing strategy — not an add-on.

The state of play in B2B

Exploration led by our Content Consultants and in a recent B2B marketer sentiment survey* by LinkedIn, we discovered 94 per cent of respondents believe promoting sustainability is important in building their organisation’s long term B2B brand. So it’s no surprise that on LinkedIn, the number of sustainability-related posts in Australia doubled between 2020 and 2021.

Engagements have not just increased in tandem but outpaced supply, particularly among executive-level audiences. More than two-thirds of the Australian audience engaging with sustainability content are directors and above. Brands that actively share sustainability content are also earning, on average, eight times more new followers than those that are not engaging on the topic.

The conversation is growing. And while there’s room for much, much more, our sentiment survey revealed 83 per cent are planning to promote their organisation’s sustainability goals over the next 12 months. So, what will it take for your brand to stand out?

The conversation sweet spot

Sustainability is a massive topic and it’s easy for brands to get lost in its many twists and turns. Joining the conversation is one thing – keeping the conversation focused on where your brand shines brightest is another.

Despite the influx of sustainability content on LinkedIn — or perhaps, because of it — gaps in the conversation are beginning to show. Understanding where the whitespace content opportunities lie and matching this to the sustainability topics your brand is equipped to talk about presents an opportunity to engage and influence.

Here’s a snapshot of what’s working, and what’s not, on LinkedIn at the moment:

• The opportunity: “Renewable Energy”, “Solar Energy”, “Sustainable Business” and “Climate Change” are the areas that deserve attention. Here, we’re seeing high audience engagement but a relatively low volume of content, signalling a huge whitespace opportunity for brands to enter the conversation.
• Space for experts: “Environmental Protection” and “Sustainable Living” are uncommon topics on LinkedIn with relatively low engagement. Such content benefits from limited competition but suffers from limited traction as well. These could be niche topics worth exploring if you know it matters specifically to your stakeholders.
• Overcrowded: There’s a ton of content about “the environment” but this isn’t engaging audiences well. This could potentially be a case of too many brands being too generic about the topic.
• Overheated: “Energy” is seeing healthy audience engagement on LinkedIn. However, it’s also one of the most over-indexed topics within the sustainability arena. As a broad-brush subject, it’s a crowded space, so you may want to venture in only if you’re confident of standing out. 

Once you know what you want to talk about, it’s time to think about the ‘how’.

Finding your brand’s voice

While the sustainability conversation is important for businesses to build brand trust, meet stakeholder demands, increase competitive edge, and engage talent, it bears reminding that all the fundamental marketing rules still apply.

You’d want to engage consistently with honest and authentic messages (read: no greenwashing!) while optimising your reach and frequency.

Marketers know this, but can sometimes find the sustainability conversation intimidating, especially when it is currently dominated by a handful of expert voices. Seth Godin told the LinkedIn Leader Series podcast he was inspired to write the Carbon Almanac when he acknowledged he was uncomfortable discussing climate change and sustainability because he knew he was not perfect — evidenced by what he described as a substantial carbon footprint.

This is the reality of sustainability being a developing area: No one is expected to have all the answers.  What matters more to stakeholders is that businesses recognise that they are both part of the problem and key to the solution, and are committed to making a positive difference. I would go in so far as to argue that they would value authenticity (and even vulnerability) over perfection.

The same applies to your leaders.

Sustainability is a prime space for them to shine. Globally, we already know that 56 per cent of professionals believe that an executive’s presence on social media can positively influence their purchase decision. When 70 per cent of audiences consuming sustainability messages on LinkedIn are director-level and above, activating your leaders to speak on the topic can significantly amplify your efforts.

Ready to speak up?

Sustainability is more a movement than a moment in marketing and brands have an opportunity to be an early mover by getting involved to establish their voice, now.

With stakeholder expectations already on the rise, marketers need to start thinking about holistically incorporating sustainability into long-term marketing strategy. By balancing the organic and paid equation, where you are nurturing your community on one hand and bringing new audiences into the fold on the other, you can give people a valid reason to care about your brand. And that’s a rare opportunity.

*B2B Marketer Sentiment Survey October 2022​