Is your business embracing sustainability and reducing its impact upon the planet? Yes? Fantastic, credit due to you.
So who are you telling about this? Er...did you really just say no-one?
Three-quarters of consumers say they're actively choosing to buy from companies they know are being greener, and 43% of small businesses report being asked about their green credentials by larger companies pushing their sustainability policies down the supply chain.
If you don't promote your green achievements and commitments, you'll be losing customers to those competitors which are.
Tell your sustainability story in the right way and you'll attract new customers, boost sales from existing ones, increase loyalty in staff and suppliers and attract job seekers, especially Millennials and Gen Z. Plus, just as importantly, you'll persuade others to join you in creating a greener world.
In short, telling your sustainability story will help you to future-proof your business and future-proof the planet.
GREEN SPARK'S TRAINING PACKAGES
So what's holding you back? Is it you don't know where to start? Or are you nervous of greenwashing accusations?
If you're worried about not being perfectly green yet, don't be - telling your story right from the start of your 'journey' (sorry, we're Strictly fans so couldn't resist that word) is vital to build trust with your target customers/audiences and to avoid greenwashing. It can also help others to learn from your activities and become greener themselves.
Green Spark's special training options offer you our 35+ years experience of communicating sustainability, and have been devised to empower you with the understanding, skills and confidence to devise and tell your own sustainability stories and generate great PR now and in the future.
It's not rocket science but sustainability does demand a new approach to communications - one that builds trust with your target customers, moves away from purely company-focused stories and incorporates the wider environmental and societal issues.
Whether you're already embracing sustainability in your business or have just started down the road, use Green Spark's training to help you talk about your green achievements with authenticity, pride and no greenwash.
Here are the options:
Telling Your Sustainability Story - 5 Day Challenge (free) Want to create your story in 5 days?
Has your business got lots to say about its sustainability work but not got round to it? Are you stuck because you don't know how to tell the stories? Are you worried about being accused of greenwashing? Are you put off because you're not perfectly green yet?
Green Spark's 5 Day Sustainability Storytelling Challenge could help you to get over those barriers that are holding you back, enable you to get it sorted and start getting your stories out to the world.
For 5 days, between 17th - 21st January 2022, you'll work with me and fellow wanna-be storytellers to:
unearth all the stories you can tell about your business' green activities
learn how to craft them into inspiring stories
plan how you can get your stories to your target customers
By the 6th day, you'll have:
a list of stories to tell
an understanding of the principles of green storytelling
a plan for how to tell them
AND THE BEST BIT - THIS 5 DAY CHALLENGE IS FREE!
Yep, really. So what does it involve?
We'll start each day with an online communal coffee/tea session when I'll introduce you to a principle of sustainability storytelling. You'll then have the day to apply it to your business and your stories. At the end of the day, we'll get back together to check how you've done and to give you opportunity to ask questions. So, by the end of the week, you'll have your stories, a plan and your questions answered.
The number of places is limited so book yours herebefore they go.
Telling Your Sustainability Story - the Coaching Programme 8-week online course Starting 1st February 2022, 2 hour weekly sessions
This course is interactive, in-depth and hands-on so by the end of 8 weeks, you'll have a long list of stories (and you'll have far more than you think, we promise!), the confidence to tell them, a PR plan, more in-depth knowledge about key sustainability issues and ideas for helping your customers embrace sustainability, too. During the course, we'll cover:
the 'psychology of green': how people react to environmental messages and how to tailor these to grab the hearts and minds of your target audience
how to craft a sustainability story
the many different ways you can tell one story
how to improve your writing style
the publicity channels you can use
and lots more...
There's a maximum of 10 participants on each course ensuring you can get plenty of objective feedback, advice and ideas from the course leader and your fellow participants. You'll also be a permanent member of a private Facebook group providing you a safe space to ask for advice, test story ideas and obtain feedback from a group of 'critical friends'.
For the full details of the course, email hello@greensparkmarketing.co.uk
Telling Your Sustainability Story - a bite-sized introduction (free) Free, 30-minute webinar NONE PLANNED AT PRESENT - check back soon for next webinar date
Join this free, half-hour webinar when we'll outline the basic principles and share our 6 top tips for how to start planning and crafting your sustainability stories.
Leading these courses is Green Spark's Creative Director, Caroline Aistrop.
Caroline has been inspiring people about sustainability for over 35 years, since before most people had any idea what this ‘environment thing’ was all about! A scientist by background, she’s specialised in delivering PR, communications, behaviour change and awareness raising campaigns for a range of organisations at both national and grassroots level: including The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, Festomane Festival of Manufacturing & Engineering, and Stroud Valleys Project.
Caroline's worked with virtually any sector of the public you care to mention: from visually impaired people, volunteers and local authorities to farmers, schools and socially excluded communities.
She's also been an environmental journalist at the BBC’s Natural History Unit producing a natural history news programme for Radio 4, and reporting for BBC Radio Gloucestershire’s award-winning countryside & rural affairs programme.