The Sustainability Communicator with Mike Hower
Join sustainability communication expert Mike Hower—author of Sustainability Storytelling, former GreenBiz journalist, and advisor to leading global brands—as he explores one of the toughest challenges in corporate sustainability today: how to talk about sustainability in ways that are compelling, credible, and compliant—and fit cultural and reputational context. Through interviews with practitioners and insights from his own work in the field, Mike digs into greenwashing, greenhushing, and the risks and opportunities most sustainability professionals face—but few can talk about out loud.
Episodes
Aman Singh has a thing or two to say about influencing without authority
Most sustainability communicators don't have the title, the budget, or the C-suite access to force anyone to do anything. So how do they get things done? That's the question at the center of this conversation with Aman Singh, Director of Global ESG and Sustainability Communications at Kenvue—the company behind Tylenol, Neutrogena, Aveeno, Listerine, and a long list of other household names.
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The rule of law and the cost of corporate silence — with Alison Taylor
As the rule of law in the United States comes under strain, many companies have chosen silence. In this episode, Mike Hower sits down with business ethicist and Higher Ground author Alison Taylor to examine what corporate courage actually looks like when legal norms, civil rights, and community safety are being tested. Together, they explore why companies retreat in moments of crisis, the limits o
How Chief Sustainability Officers advance sustainability storytelling
In this episode, Mike sits down with Erik Hansen, Chief Sustainability Officer at Workday, to explore how CSOs have evolved into the lead communicators for corporate sustainability. Erik shares insights on building trust through transparency, making the business case for sustainability initiatives, and how companies are increasingly being asked detailed sustainability questions in hundreds of RFPs
How HP engages employees on sustainability
In this episode of The Sustainability Communicator, Mike sits down with Alexandra Talleur, an internal communications lead at HP who specializes in sustainability engagement. While companies often focus on external sustainability communication, internal communication frequently receives less attention. Yet effective employee engagement is crucial for implementing sustainability strategies and main
The peaks and valleys of sustainability communication
In this episode, host Mike Hower sits down with Dan Strechay, a seasoned sustainability communications professional who has worked across private companies, public organizations, and NGOs. They discuss the evolution of sustainability communications, how to navigate difficult topics like palm oil and climate change, and the balance between transparency and greenwashing. Dan shares insights from his
Sustainability storytellers weigh in from GreenBiz 25
At a time when corporate sustainability faces unprecedented headwinds, last week's GreenBiz25 conference proved that sustainability leaders aren't backing down – they're doubling down on their commitments and getting more strategic about their communication. In this special episode of The Sustainability Communicator, Mike Hower sat down with six sustainability leaders from diverse industries to un
Surviving sustainability reporting season
As corporate sustainability teams shift to focus on regulatory and compliance, more sustainability professionals are spending a lot of time creating sustainability reports. These massive PDFs can sometimes be up to 100 pages or more and take many months to develop. Love them or hate them, sustainability reports are here to stay. And the process can take its toll on the people who create them – bo
Reclaiming the lost corporate sustainability narrative
In this timely Thinking Out Loud episode, host Mike Hower examines the evolving landscape of corporate sustainability as we enter 2025, offering a candid assessment of the shift from the "ESG Golden Age" to today's more complex reality. Drawing from his extensive experience in sustainability communications, Mike presents six key strategies for companies to reclaim their sustainability narrative: a
So you want to be a sustainability communicator?
The profession of being a sustainability communicator is relatively new – and seems to be evolving with each passing day. Success in this emerging field requires understanding the intricate goals and objectives of both sustainability and marketing teams, and developing the unique skill of translating between these often disparate organizational functions. In this episode, Mike delves into the fiel
What a second Trump term means for corporate sustainability
The results of the 2024 U.S. presidential election came as a shock to many in the world of corporate sustainability and beyond. In one night, it seemed like years of progress on social and environmental issues were shattered. With a corrupt, climate-denying convicted criminal with blatant authoritarian ambitions heading to the White House in 2025 – corporate sustainability professionals are feelin
Finding a voice for corporate climate policy action
As global temperatures continue to rise and we see the negative effects of a warming world, it’s becoming clear that businesses can’t address the climate crisis through voluntary action alone. Businesses need good policy to shape the rules of engagement that unlock private sector innovation to tackle tough sustainability challenges like climate. Many companies with sound corporate sustainability
A new 'KIND' of sustainability communication strategy
While food isn’t always the flashiest sustainability topic, with agriculture being a significant driver of the climate crisis, strong sustainability communication is needed to educate and engage consumers to act. KIND is leading some cutting-edge work around regenerative agriculture – which comes with its own set of sustainability communication challenges. In this episode, Mike speaks with Lindsay
The sustainability communication woes of CSOs, with Ellen Weinreb
The role of the CSO has changed significantly over the years, from a backroom marketing function to being key figures in their company’s business operation and growth. Roughly 183 public companies in the U.S. now employ a CSO, up from 29 in 2011, according to a recent report from recruiter Weinreb Group. Of those, more than three-quarters sit on the company’s leadership team while just over a thir
Avoiding the legal landmines of greenwashing
Greenwashing law is still in its nascency, but recent regulations in Europe and case law in the U.S. is beginning to shape its future. In Europe, companies must prove that they aren’t greenwashing, while in the U.S. the burden is on the consumer to prove that a company is making false claims. As companies navigate this new legal landscape, they must tread carefully with their sustainability commun
How Microsoft maintains an ‘ESG mindset’ in the era of AI
Now that we’re halfway through 2024, it’s safe to say that ESG has been having a “complicated” year. With the anti-ESG backlash having been largely successful scaring many companies to backtrack or downplay their social and environmental work, the future of ESG remains unclear. Despite all of this, companies must strive to maintain an “ESG mindset”, according to Matt Sekol, author of the book “ESG
What Gen Z wants brands to know about communicating sustainability
Companies have always been trying to engage young people on sustainability. But for some reason, this is getting harder. While Millennials were among the first to more heavily weigh social and environmental factors into employment decisions, Gen Z is taking this trend into hyperdrive. Companies hoping to attract and retain the best talent must tell authentic sustainability stories that are capable
How Neiman Marcus makes sustainability fashionable
The fashion industry faces its own unique set of ESG and sustainability challenges. Understanding how to communicate complex sustainability challenges to diverse consumer audiences is critical for companies as they progress on their journeys. In this episode, Mike speaks with Ali Mize, an ESG and sustainability expert to learn more about Neiman Marcus Group’s approach to sustainability storytellin
What to call this thing we do, with Moody’s Raheem Cash
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 p
What ESG investors want, according to GreenBiz's Grant Harrison
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
Sustainability storytelling in the new era of ESG regulations, with Tim Mohin
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.Episode Notes:Unpacking The SEC’s Climate Disclosure Rule (Boston Consulting Group)Changing Business fro
How the owners of Grand Theft Auto communicate sustainability
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 opport
What the SEC’s climate rules mean for sustainability communication
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
Navigating the uncertainties of sustainability storytelling, with Allison’s Whitney Dailey
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 Vic
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The fundamentals of effective sustainability writing
Writing is a lost art for many sustainability professionals. But the ability to write well continues to be critical for communicating social and environmental challenges effectively. In this episode of The Sustainability Communicator, Mike discusses key learnings from over a decade as a write and editor in the corporate sustainability space that form the fundamentals of effective sustainability wr
Why your sustainability story sucks
With the stakes of communicating sustainability higher than ever, it's important that companies get their story straight. But many continues to fail to tell authentic and engaging stories that resonate with their key audiences. In this episode of The Sustainability Communicator, Mike explains common reasons why businesses struggle to tell good sustainability stories - and how to do better.
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2024 sustainability communication trends
If there's one things corporate sustainability professionals love more than a healthy serving of alphabet soup with our many acronyms, it's trying to make predictions about what will happen in this truly unpredictable space. But in this episode of The Sustainability Communicator, Mike takes a crack at it anyway. Here are some things to look for in sustainability communication in 2024.
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Rethinking the role of sustainability communicators
The stakes of communicating sustainability are higher than ever as global companies enter a new era of ESG risk and opportunity. In this inaugural episode of The Sustainability Communicator, Mike discusses how the increased risks and rewards of bad and good sustainability communication, respectively, are calling for a new type of sustainability communications professional capable of translating be
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