Ep 41: Sustainability communications - why we all need to upskill, with Ayo Abbas
Welcome to my first proper solo episode of The Built Environment Marketing Show. A show hosted by me Ayo Abbas, from Abbas Marketing.
As it's the last day of COP27 it seems apt to release an episode about why I think all marketing communications need to upskill when it comes to sustainability-related communications.
Anyway, do take a listen to this short solo episode and do let me know what you think.
The report that I talked about in the episode that was released at COP27 designed to as a framework to stop greenwashing is Integrity matters, from the UN High Level Expert Group on Net Zero Emissions Commitments of Non-State Entities
Resource
As mentioned in the episode I've created the following:
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Transcript.
Ayo Abbas 00:05
Hello, and welcome to my very first proper solo episode of The Built Environment Marketing Show. So, I am still your host, Ayo Abbass marketing consultant from Abbas Marketing, it's still me, still got my same sense of humour and everything else, but I am going solo. So why a solo episode? Well, one of the reasons I'm able to interview people on this show is because I guess I'm a highly experienced generalist marketer, actually an award winning one, in fact, Digital Woman of the Year. I've been doing this for quite a long time. So I've learned a lot along the way. So I've decided that going forward in 2023, I'm going to do some solo episodes, as well as my usual interviews. So, I can do a bit more of a deep dive on some of the stuff that I know that I think is important, and that I'm learning as I'm going along. Anyway, I do hope you like them. And yes, I will have to get used to hearing the sound of my own voice, which as you can imagine, is no easy task. It is the last day of COP27, which this time is in Egypt, in Africa, which is quite a change, really. And let's be honest, because it's quite a long way away. We're probably not talking about it as much as we were talking about COP26, which we were the hosts of last year, as the issues of climate change are not going away. In fact, the more we ignore them, the more they're getting worse. So I think we've all got to kind of still focus on sustainability matters no matter what and still net zero, what we're doing to, you know, reduce climate change, improve, I guess, mitigate climate change, we've all got to get better at communicating it. Anyway, there is a kind of a glimmer of hope. I did read an amazing report that was shared with me by Isabel Galley from AECOM, which was a report called Integrity Matters, Net Zero Commitments by Businesses, Financial Institutions, Cities and Regions. This report has been developed by the United Nations High Level expert group on the net zero emissions commitments of non-state entities. Definitely not a snappy title, but an absolutely brilliant report that's really, really clear and easy to read. It's basically a report that lays out a clear framework, including definitions to stop greenwashing. They want to stop people making claims that they can't substantiate, they want to stop people saying that they're on their way to net zero when they're not actually doing anything about it. And that is what is important. It's about action. It's about getting people to take action and actually do what they say they're going to do. And this report lays out a clear framework to make that happen. I will put a link to the report in the show notes for this episode. And also just to flag that Build Up, which is the committee that I am on that is about built environment networking group. In January, we will be doing an event looking at sustainability and communications and how we can support our businesses to be I guess, more open and honest and clear in your communication. So that's a really important one to flag up. So I'll also put a link to build up as well, so you can join that mailing list. Hi, it's Ayo here and I just wanted to tell you a bit more about the show. the Built Environment Marketing Show was set up during lockdown one as a way to help firms do better marketing. It was very much about having the conversations that I have with my friends and showing what best practice really is. In terms of me. Well, I'm actually a generalist marketer. So I guess I know lots of things about marketing and how to put everything together. So I could be talking about you know, PR, or understanding what to do next strategy wise, or figuring out how to get in front of the right audience or what messaging you should be using. Those are all things that I'm really skilled in and understand how to do for my clients. I now work for myself, and I set up my own consultancy at best marketing in 2020. And I'm working with a range of engineering and architectural firms, and even prop tech firms who really want to, I guess, talk the language of their clients and their audiences and do something a bit different in terms of their strategy and content. If what I do sounds of interest to you do email me at Ayo@abbasmarketing.com And that's A-y-o or head to my website, which is www.abbasmarketing.com for more info. There's also a link in the show notes by But I guess the one of the things about climate change is we can't just put it to the sidelines because we've got other things going on. It's still there, we still all need to do something and it can't be thrown into long grass because it's only going to get worse. For me, I guess last year one of the things that really struck me in cop was this kind of quote that came out from the UK Green Building Council, which is around the built environment is directly responsible for 25% of all the total carbon footprint in the UK. And therefore we have a critical role to play in the national transition to net zero has a huge role. But I do believe that we've all got a role to play. So what I've actually done is do some research on how we can all get better at communicating around kind of climate change sustainability issues, I think because there's also more and more legislation coming in, such as the green claims code in the UK, where people are starting to kind of, I guess, use their powers and have teeth to actually fine firms to actually show up misleading claims to actually start to kind of make a dent on those companies that aren't actually practising what they're preaching. So it's actually turning into a kind of crisis comes, you know, reputational risk, I guess, for organisations to, to actually not be doing sustainability well or not be communicating what they're doing well. So I think that's really important for us to kind of get a grip of and actually be able to help and support our businesses going forward, and make sure that the advice that we provide is valuable. Anyway, so back to what I've done. So what I've done is create a resource, which is on my website, but I've also done a kind of download that you can also take with you and have and use going forward. It's got a range of resources from news stories, podcasts, training courses, it's got documentaries, which will kind of make you go nuts like they did me. But it's got loads of kind of really useful stuff that I found, which is all about helping marketers to communicate sustainability matters, and kind of learn more about the issue itself. And to get hold of that resource. All you need to do is head to my website, which is www dot abas marketing.com, forward slash resources. And there you can take a look at the resource and also download a PDF if you want your own version of it as well. Anything that you think should be added to that page, please do let me know. All you need to do is drop me a line I O which is a Y O at a bass marketing which is a BBS marketing.com and I'll be happy to add it to the page. Thank you so much for listening to my first solo episode. And yeah, if you want to tweet, tweet me what you think of it or email me i tweets maybe not because of Elon, but you know are they gonna get in touch please do and I will have an interview back online in two weeks time, take care. Bye. Thanks so much for listening to the Built Environment Marketing Show. Don't forget to check out the show notes which will have useful links and resources connected to this episode. You can find that on Abbasmarketing.com And of course if you like the show, please do share it with others on social as it helps more people to find us. See you soon.
