Why we're fighting for better transparency in business.

I’m not a big believer in silver bullets, especially not when it comes to sustainability. The world’s problems are complex, as are the solutions needed to overcome them.

Yet for nearly every client and across almost all projects, I advocate for much greater transparency, internally and externally. Better transparency is needed to fight for progress against every SDG. Knowledge is power, and transparency gives that power to make an active choice about your brand to your own people, to consumers, to investors.

The question is whether you embrace a transparency strategy to strengthen your business by giving people the power to choose you, or stay closed off and get left behind.

Why go transparent?

1. For your people: Employees are calling for greater clarity on what exactly employers are doing to live up to their purpose. Without proof, they will walk; this current Great Resignation is only the beginning. Deloitte recently reported 59% of survey respondents younger than 30 feel more motivated and loyal to employers that are socially and environmentally responsible’ (Deloitte, The Purpose Premium, 2021). Transparency is one of the most powerful ways to open an honest dialogue with your people, to hear the hard questions and start thinking of the right solutions.

2. Collaboration: This is one is crazy simple, but so important. If more people in your organisation know what you’re doing, how its progressing, and who’s leading the work, then you’ll see greater cross-company collaboration. Leading to greater efficiencies, greater impact and more diverse voices working together. Win win win.

3. Trust through accountability: Trust is at an all time low. The 2021 Edelman Trust Barometer showed trust declining globally; yet the same report also showed that people are putting more of their their trust in business. Making headline grabbing commitments easily comes across as vapid and out of touch. But coupling it with regular and transparent communications about your progress against those commitments is a powerful way of building back this trust with citizens. It shows you walking the walk and not just talking the talk.

4. Fight greenwash & social-wash: If you’re not giving people the opportunity to evaluate your claims, in environmental or social matters, then you’re likely committing unintentional greenwash or social-wash. This applies both in consumer facing communications, internal engagement and ESG reporting. Transparency is your greatest weapon to fight this.

5. Future-proofing your business: The voices of consumers demanding transparency is only getting louder and louder. As are the voices of investors and stakeholders globally. Getting your approach to transparency right is hard, and it will take some time. By starting now, and finessing your approach, you’ll be future-proofing your business for the long-term.

But the reality is that transparency is hard for business to get 'right', and there is an understandable trepidation to it. It will undoubtedly make some conversations harder, raise unexpected dilemmas and there is the potential for backlash, none of which are easy. It will also require embracing a level of humility and the capacity to admit mistakes - again, not easy. And it will mean that all of a sudden, you’re accountable to a much bigger group of people, who won’t all agree with one another.

Yet - and I couldn't say this louder - when you nail your approach to transparency, the value of doing so is almost immeasurable.

It will build trust in your business, and build your brand reputation - gold dust for any business. You’ll find a more loyal and committed workforce, who will stand by you in the good times and in the times of need. You’ll discover greater collaboration across your teams, hearing from more diverse voices, leading to accelerated sustainability progress (which in turn will only strengthen trust). You’ll gain access to new audiences and consumers for your business, especially younger generations. And importantly, you'll accelerate the ability for your business to make a difference, making much needed sustainability progress in this decade of action.

That is why Transparency Strategy is one of the services we offer our clients at Tuulee. In a nutshell, we identify your opportunities for transparency, how you communicate about this information, on what channels, and to what audiences.

Because transparent communications will and should be different from one another depending on the task at hand. Some proof-points should become hero messages to differentiate your brand. Some will be for internal audiences only, to show progress and encourage open conversations. And a bulk of information will form the skeleton of your transparent reporting, giving you a strong basis to show progress against, year on year. And getting this right requires a long-term, robust strategy.

Get in touch if you’re interested in exploring the role of transparency in communications for your business.

Meanwhile, here are a couple of our favourite recent examples of brands nailing their transparency strategies:

Ace & Tate - we f*cked up: https://press.aceandtate.com/202389-look-we-f-cked-up

Ganni - Responsibility Report 2020: https://responsibilityreport2020.ganni.com/introduction/