MAGENTA’S GOOD BUSINESS CAMPAIGN
Firms operating in the built environment have a role to play in protecting the planet from yet more damage. ESG is in the spotlight for a reason. If the way buildings are developed, built, designed and managed doesn’t change, it will not be possible to achieve net zero targets nor will the country’s infrastructure and building stock be able to mitigate the damaging consequences of climate change.
It’s about the health of the planet and the people occupying it. Considering the increases in stress, loneliness, anxiety and depression, business leaders have a duty to create and manage work environments, networks and initiatives that support people’s mental, physical and financial wellbeing.
Campaign will focus on four areas:
Purchasing
People
Policy making
Positioning
Following a series of interviews with procurement, HR, marketing and ESG leaders in the built environment, the campaign will survey representatives of these professions, along with 2,000 employees, to learn their opinions, expectations, and challenges in these areas.
Ultimately, it will create a call to action to encourage businesses within the built environment to do more than pay lip service to ESG. Our campaign seeks to understand exactly what must change, as well as the metrics that will help keep track of progress. The aim is to celebrate the good while calling out the bad to inspire and trigger real change.
We’d love you to take part and to hear your good business stories
| PURCHASING | PEOPLE | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Maintaining standards | When partnering with large corporates/SMEs, how important are standards and credentials such as ISO, IBOS, WELL, BREEAM, LEED? If essential, does this risk penalising small businesses? | Pay & benefits | The importance (and challenge) of offering the Real Living Wage to HQ and frontline staff? Examples of leadership initiatives to increase wages or benefits? |
| How much weight and value do awards that recognise “good” business efforts carry? How else do smaller, lesser known suppliers get on procurement’s radar? | Examples of financial products, programmes, or services that help to improve financial health & wellbeing? | ||
| What are the alternative ways small and large businesses can prove their commitment to environmental sustainability and social value? | What does “family friendly” actually mean? Examples of best in class primary and secondary parental leave policies? How do employers support working parents and help remedy the childcare conundrum? | ||
| Aligned suppliers | What are the steps involved in identifying, partnering and collaborating with environmentally and socially conscious suppliers? And how can procurement promote diversity within a supply chain? | Health & wellness | Examples of innovative health & wellness programmes? Should free or subsidised access to mental and behavioral health counseling services be an essential offering in light of the mental health crisis? |
| Talk through the processes to understand, monitor & evaluate how suppliers are promoting social value and environmental sustainability? | DE&I: how do you create a safe space that champions diversity and supports diversity of thought? What practices promote diversity, equity, and inclusion? | ||
| Give examples of the policies or programmes that help supply chain partners bolster social and environmental impact? | How to boost social and spiritual wellness? i.e. employee community service, volunteering and donation matching – the importance of “giving back” to communities in need. | ||
| Cost versus value | How would you define value? | Professional & personal development | How to engage and empower workers? Best employee listening tactics? And effective approaches to develop from within when working in a hybrid way? |
| What does a balanced cost-to-value ratio look like? | The Apprenticeship Levy: an honest appraisal. | ||
| Should purchasing policies include targets to engage “good” businesses, such as charities, not for profits, social enterprises, certified B corporations, employee ownership trusts? If so, what does a balanced target look like? | How to get disadvantaged / underrepresented groups into the workforce? From internships and returnships – the importance (and challenge) of partnerimg with schools & colleges & other networks to provide internship opportunities or work-study programmes? | ||
| POSITIONING | POLICY MAKING | ||
| Spearheading change | What’s the business case for businesses to think more about the impact they are having on society and the environment? And what’s marketing’s role in getting this message across internally and externally? | Decision making | How to integrate social and environmental performance into decision-making? What should be the Board of Directors (or equivalent) role in reviewing social or environmental performance? |
| What is the potential sway of marketing at board level when it comes to shaping and driving “good” business policies and practices? Examples of marketing-led ESG initatives? | What practices does your company have in place to promote ethical decision-making and prevent corruption? | ||
| How does marketing work alongside ESG & HR to ensure values are embraced across an organisation? | Effective decision making requires diversity of thought. Is your company majority-owned or -led by individuals from underrepresented groups (women, racial/ethnic minority, veterans, LGBTQIA+)? | ||
| Responsible marketing | How do you build trust with your target audience, without letting “vanity comms” creep in? What’s the balance between celebrating the good and calling out the bad? | Cultivating ambassadors | How can social or environmental performance principles and practices be incorporated into employee training programmes? |
| How do you demonstrate knowledge and understanding of customer/client, employee and stakeholder needs, and create feedback loops to drive debate relating to key societal, economic and political issues? | How to engage stakeholders and employees about social and environmental performance, and get them onboard as ESG ambassadors? | ||
| What should the weighting be when it comes to ESG comms as part of an overall marketing strategy? | How to give individuals from underrepresented groups a voice / platform? And why is this essential? | ||
| Anti-washing | How would you define greenwashing / wokewashing? And what are the real world consquences of each? | Lobbying & public affairs | How to identify, measure, and manage the social and environmental issues relevant to your operations and business model? |
| How do you avoid vague or misleading language, making false claims, cherry picking data, etc? | The importance of making social and environmental performance publicly available and transparent? | ||
| Best practice when accumulating and scrutinising evidence before green or social value claims are made – and the place of external validation? | Public affairs & lobbying; how to work with stakeholders, MPs, industry bodies and competitors to lobby for regulatory & legislation reform? What are you currently campaigning for? |
The key content areas of B2E comms
to discuss how Magenta can help you.
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