Communicating ESG in B2B tech: what professionals really think
Estimated read time: 6 minutes
Our recent whitepaper, Marketing ESG in 2024: Risks, Rewards & Riddles, lifted the lid on what marketeers and comms professionals really thought about ESG in their roles. In this follow-up, we take a look specifically at the B2B tech sector data from the wider research.
Attitudes to to B2B Tech ESG Communications: What do tech comms and marketing professionals think?
To be blunt, they are wary. Twenty-one percent of global tech professionals primarily see ESG as a risk with little upside opportunity versus a 17 percent average across sectors. A further 13 percent see some opportunity alongside the risk, but overall 34 percent see ESG primarily as a risk, versus 26 percent who see more opportunity.
This wariness does not stem from unfamilarity. More tech professionals (22 percent) say ESG is incorporated as a core part of their communications strategy than any other sector (17 percent average). However simultaneously, 22 percent say they communicate only the bare essentials – again against a 17 percent average.
Beyond comms and marketing, tech professionals are less likely to report that ESG is a high strategic priority for their employers.
Sofie Skouras, Head of Technology at Aspectus, wonders whether “ESG is still seen as this extrinsic, imposed thing that not everyone fully understands yet, as opposed to something intrinsic and close to the hearts of organizations and their leadership.”
This lukewarm organizational attitude to ESG is also reflected in respondents’ personal views. Tech professionals are less likely than average to say they care deeply or a little about some or all aspects of ESG performance, and more likely to admit that they don’t really care about ESG factors at all.
Skouras explains: “For most tech professionals, the overwhelming priority is keeping the business operational and safe. They’re up at night worrying about outages or data breaches, not ESG.
That may change over time – regulation can increase ESG’s importance, and it is starting to feature in RFPs, but it takes time for that to filter through and really suffuse an organization.
However, we should think about how we talk about ESG too. The fact is that things like outage protection and cyber security fall squarely under the ‘G’ of ESG, yet the general narrative doesn’t reflect that as strongly as environmental concerns, for example.”
Care and consequences: Are tech professionals properly supported?
We also asked whether communications and marketing professionals feel adequately supported in B2B tech ESG communications . In this respect, professionals feel exposed: only 37 percent believe they have a good degree or all the resources they need to do their job effectively, while 43 percent believe the opposite. Twenty-one percent even report a severe lack of resources.
Tech professionals more or less track the averages in this respect, suggesting they are neither better nor worse resourced than their peers.
That said, though B2B tech ESG communications professionals seem roughly on par with their peers in terms of resources and support, they are marginally more likely to say there have been ocassions where “we have had to communicate around ESG (on our organizations’ behalf or our clients’), when I have not felt the message has been fully justified or appropriate”
This sounds a note of caution for tech professionals: such scenarios introduce the risk of inadvertant greenwashing (or ESG-washing, impact-washing etc) – an injurious comms misstep.
Facing the future: Is ESG here to stay?
According to 47 percent of our total respondents, ESG is a passing trend that will disappear, or at least subside, while 28 percent think it won’t disappear, but will have to evolve. Only nine percent think ESG as we see it today will be a permanent fixture.
Tech professionals agree: an identical 28 percent predict evolution, but more than half (52 percent) think ESG is on the way out. Twelve percent think it’s here to stay – more than average, but still a low number.
Is the terminology the sticking point? Perhaps. Tech professionals do not seem particularly enamoured with the term ‘ESG’. Fewer respondents than average say the term works well, while more than average are satisfied with the term but think it needs better messaging. Fewer respondents also say it needs a new name, or that it should be jettisoned entirely. Overall the picture is one of broad but unenthusiastic agreement with the term, so it seems unlikely to be the source of discomfort.
A neat summary of the tension comes from Sarwar Khan, Sustainability Director at BT*: “It is quite clear to me that the key principles of ESG are here to stay, and that organizations should continue to focus on these to build a sustainable and more resilient business for the long-term. We cannot allow ourselves to get distracted by the current debate on the naming convention of ‘ESG’ – it is the principles that the term represents that are ultimately important to us as a business, our employees, and those that we serve.”
Skouras agrees: “ESG requirements will continue to grow in importance as customer requirements evolve and it’s the companies that are making moves now that will have head starts on the others. It’s easy to bury your head in the sand, particularly when you think ESG is just a passing hype train, but it’s here to stay long-term in some capacity.”
Want to know more about the practical and strategic considerations for effectively communicating your ESG efforts? Download our ESG whitepaper.
*Sarwar Khan is an Aspectus client. His quote appeared in the original whitepaper.
Key takeaways:
Do B2B tech ESG communications and marketing professionals think of ESG as more of a risk or opportunity?
Primarily as a risk, though they recognize there is opportunity to be had.
Do tech communications and marketing professionals care about ESG?
The tech sector has fewer professionals who are passionate about ESG than other sectors.
Do tech communications and marketing professionals have enough resources and support to communicate around ESG?
Across the board, our respondents report needing greater support and resourcing to communicate effectively around ESG. Tech professionals are broadly average in this respect.
Do tech communications and marketing professionals think ESG is here to stay?
A slim majority of tech professionals predict ESG will disappear, though more than a quarter think it will evolve rather than vanish entirely.
About the author:
Chris Bowman is an Associate Director at Aspectus and co-leads Aspectus’ ESG services. His experience is primarily in the energy and financial services sectors, and Chris specializes in brand strategy and messaging. He recently completed a short course on Sustainability Communication Strategies from the LSE.
Read more from this series:
Communicating ESG in B2B Energy: what professionals really think
