V i s i t S G I A a t S G I A . o r g S G I A J o u r n a l ■ M a y / J u n e 2 0 1 7 | 4 5

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By Marci Kinter, Vice President — Government & Business Information, SGIA

Corporations embrace sustainable business practices as part of the entire value proposition of their company.

I continuously encourage companies to develop and integrate sustainable business practices into their operations. If I polled them all, they would say that the number one reason they have started down this path is market differentiation. They want to be able to raise their hand and say “Pick me! I am sustainable!” They have done all the right things and gained certification from the Sustainable Green Printing Partnership Program (SGP). They wonder why no one is picking them. And, most importantly, they do not see any return on their investment.

Right away, the reason touted is that sustainability is no longer important to the customer base. Simply put, this

is not the case. Sustainability is now identif ied as a business concept that is a key corporate value. Corporations embrace sustainable business practices as part of the entire value proposition of their company. Companies can no longer afford to have the Corporate Sustainability Office in a corner. Take PepsiCo’s “Performance with Purpose” philosophy.

PepsiCo believes that sustainable long-term growth cannot occur without considerations of the impact on both society and the environment. Introduced by then CEO Indra Nooyi, it provided PepsiCo with longterm success while ingraining sustainability in daily business

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operations. Providing insights into how they will improve their product, protect the planet and empower people around the world, PepsiCo effectively illustrates how their overarching business goals tie directly to a sustainable future.

Another example is McDonald ’s su s t a inabi l it y ph i losophy, which incorporates the concepts of food, sourcing, planet, people and community. Again, concepts important to this company with information provided in a manner that is easily read and understood. With both PepsiCo and McDonald’s approaches, you leave with a feeling of goodwill for what they are trying to achieve.

The message here is in the story of what they are doing and how they are weaving it into the fabric of their company. So what are you doing? How are you telling your story? Are you shouting? Or have you taken steps to weave it into the fabric of your organization?

This lack of a story may be a reason why your prospects aren’t responding to your PowerPoint presentation on the reasons why you are a certified printer. (Now, SGIA does support SGP certification and continues to believe that this program is the only true certification benchmark.) In contrast to providing blatant statements, stories create

connections. Stories have a tendency to stay with us. We remember them! Your journey is both personal and remarkable. Learning to articulate and provide authentic story is crucial for engagement. Many fail to do so and thus fail to leverage their stories, and ultimately their sustainability programs, into branding assets.

Storytelling helps spread ideas that matter. It is also important to have only one story, one that everyone in your company knows, understands and can articulate. Not everyone needs to be a professional public speaker, but all from your CSR to your Vice President of Marketing and CEO should be able to provide your five minute elevator speech on why sustainability is important to you without mentioning the word “sustainability.”

Consider the phenomenal success of TED presenters. Their 18-minute talks provide instant visibility and access. Just watching one of their presentations underscores the value of mastering the art of storytelling. Shonda Rimes, the creator of the shows, among others Scandal and Grey’s Anatomy, offered a TED talk titled “My Year of Saying Yes to Everything.” Like most effective presenters, she began with a story about the personal motivations that led to her to why she declared a “year of saying yes.” A good starting point for crafting your own story is to answer the question “Why this sustainability pathway?”

As change agents, those engaged in building sustainable business models are outside the norm of the mainstream population. Identifying yourself as a change agent helps you build your story. Now, change agents may not be as leading edge as innovators, but are similarly guided to foster and grow new ideas. Take a moment, to consider why you started down this path. Often this is the genesis for sharing your story. The words you use may be technical and action oriented, but infuse the information with your personal experience.

This exercise should not be taken lightly as this can be a much more difficult process than you think. Developing your story and then incorporating it into all relevant public facing initiatives, such as your website, trade show graphics, ads, etc., can be challenging. It is not that you do not have enough to say about what you are doing vis a vis sustainability, but that you have a lot more to say than you think. You may not be able to, nor should you, try to say it all. Focus your efforts so that you deliver a clear and meaningful story that aligns with your brand. Make it memorable and usable.

Focus your efforts so that you deliver a clear and meaningful story that aligns with your brand.

V i s i t S G I A a t S G I A . o r g S G I A J o u r n a l ■ M a y / J u n e 2 0 1 7 | 4 7

A good starting point is your internal audience. Eighty-eight percent of millennials choose employers that support their sustainability goals. A key component of your program involves the quality of people you attract. Studies show that a commitment to sustainability is important to emerging professionals. Building and talking about how this commitment feeds into your organizational culture is key to the future of your company.

Do the people inside your company understand why this pathway was taken? Do they have a good handle on the “why”? Can they tell you the “why”? When you have a memorable story and those inside your organization hear it, pay attention, and understand that they too become your advocates. You gain buy-in on the story from the marketing team and the entire internal team sees the possibility that they work for a company who does the right thing by people and the planet. Staff should become your biggest ambassadors. Providing opportunities to volunteer, gain access to sustainability or CSR-related education, and step up to sustainability-related work projects helps build a genuine culture related to your goals. Plus, with an engaged staff, you'll have more stories to tell, best practices to share, and more content in general surrounding your work in sustainability.

Find Your “Bee” StoryHerma n Mi l ler, a US f u rn itu re manufacturer, is often asked to speak at conferences regarding their sustainability programs. About 10 years ago, Herman Miller opened a new manufacturing facility on a 45-acre plot in Michigan. The facility was a model for current and future projects, promoting the company’s philosophy of sound environmental building practices. Dubbed the “Greenhouse” it was selected by the US Green Building Council as a pilot project for the development of its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification process. The Greenhouse was situated in a rolling prairie and landscaped with native vegetation and flowering plants.

Sometime in the spring of 2000, paper wasps began to show up. The wasps became aggressive, threatening workers and visitors to the facility, and eventually made their way into the building. Given the “no pesticide” policy of the Greenhouse, the caretakers of the facility were obliged to find an alternative method for eradicating the pests.

In addition to the insect problem, many of the flowers that had been planted around the site to enliven the landscape had not produced colorful blooms as expected. After speaking with some experts, the facility caretakers brought in 12 beehives (with approximately 600,000 honeybees) to cross-pollinate the gardens. As an additional bonus, the bees took over the main food source, forcing the wasps to vacate.

Herman Miller has many other sustainability initiatives, but the bees always stand out to those who hear the story, and remain the key takeaway. Find their own "bee story," an anecdote about your sustainability work that really resonates with your audience, that they'll remember and share. You can make a big impact that underscores your work with a stand-out, quirky or unexpected fact, photo or story. This will bring focus into your sustainability storytelling.

Sustainability storytelling can become a powerful tool for marketing your company. Provide that emotional connection with a clear and compelling message. There may be more than one story, so be strategic. Tailor to the audience. Let others know how together you can work to achieve and support mutual environmental and social responsibility values. Most of all, be open and honest with your approach, and transparent about your mistakes. Your goal is to connect with your audience/stakeholder and leave them with an understanding of your sustainability story.

At SGIA, we are working on our story. Stay tuned. In the meantime, let us hear yours! Drop a note, send a video or a link. What’s your story?

Marci Kinter is the Vice President for Government & Business Information for the Specialty Graphic Imaging Association. She oversees the development of management resources for the Association and represents the screen printing and digital imaging industries, as well as their associated supplier base, before federal and state regulatory agencies and the US Congress. She is responsible for directing the activities of not only the government affairs portion of the Association’s activities, but the development and implementation of business resources for the membership. Kinter is a member of and serves as Secretary for the Academy of Screen and Digital Printing Technologies (ASDPT). In 2001, Ms. Kinter received the William D. Schaeffer Environmental Award for signif icant advancement of environmental awareness in the graphic arts industry.