What makes a good sustainability website, and which companies are producing them?
In the March issue of Vanity Fair, Michael Wolf contends ”Web sites and Web pages are out of date. Media is no longer a product. …it is how we contribute to and how we benefit from our collective expressiveness.”
That’s a complicated way of saying that one-way online communications is dead. Long live an interactive platform where people can creatively share ideas. This kind of communications is also exactly what’s needed to bring corporate sustainability and transparency to the next level.
A European-wide ranking of the best CSR sites was just launched by communications consultancy H&H. Their ‘Top 500’ list ranks company sites on the scope of sustainability issues they communicate, as well as targets, policies and reporting practices. Their best performers have enough pages of data to fill an encyclopaedia.
H&H’s approach is a perfectly legitimate way of evaluating a company’s sustainability performance. But shouldn’t a CSR web ranking also laud the companies that are leveraging the unique way the Internet can engage stakeholders in their work?
That’s where H&H went off-track. The companies using the Internet to creatively encourage a conversation or raise awareness on issues crucial to them were few and far between on that list.
That’s why we at One Stone went surfing. We found some great examples of how companies are using the web to talk sustainability. Why do they stick out from the crowd?
- Their sustainability work is prominent at their site
- They’ve done their homework, preferably the GRI way.
- They demonstrate through practical examples the efforts they are making, rather than just presenting dull data.
- Their work with sustainability is given a voice—or many voices—through blogs, videos and podcasts.
- They are engaging readers in the issues by inviting stakeholders to continue the conversation, and giving them opportunities to creatively express their perspectives—all in the name of inclusiveness.
- Their innovative use of video, flash animation and social media.
In the next few weeks we’ll be presenting the good examples we’ve found from Australia, Europe and North America. Meanwhile, we look forward to seeing your picks of the companies we should add to our list. Here’s a taste of what is to come.
Amy Brown 3:45 am on March 8, 2010 Permalink
With campaigns designed to engage young people to focus their creativity around energy efficiency, stimulating podcasts and frequent use of Twitter (http://twitter.com/shelldotcom), Shell seems to be embracing the interactivity offered by the web.
The Shell Eco-marathon challenges high school and college student teams from around the world to design, build and test energy efficient vehicles. With annual events in the Americas, Europe and Asia, the winner is the team that goes the furthest distance using the least amount of energy.
A series of podcasts on climate change sought to provide context to the international debate on climate change. Shell has partnered with Earthsky to share its perspective on the issue. EarthSky has partnerships with over 1,700 radio broadcasters in 167 countries. In this podcast series Shell experts share their views on CO2 management, advocacy, the role of the markets and industry. Listen at http://www.shell.com/home/content/media/news_and_library/speeches/2009/climate_change_podcasts.html
april.streeter 4:05 pm on March 8, 2010 Permalink
And my winner (by a long shot) is Seventh Generation (SG), U.S. based home cleaning giant. It is not that SG has a perfectly sterling sustainability record – they battled some bad press when cancer-causing 1,4 dioxane was found in some of their products. Regardless (or perhaps because of what they have learned) SG does most things right in web-based CSR communications.
Seventh Generation has the important social media links to Facebook, MySpace and Twitter down pat, plus the site has smart, but not overwhelming use of video and flash animations. In addition, there’s a direct incentive to visitors who can see and print a product coupon right from the home page. That home page also contains various knowledge sources, such as “Ask Science Man.” The “CSR” link takes you to a provocative letter from Jeffrey Hollender, SG’s CEO. And really innovative: SR is sponsoring a “crowd sourced” online book documenting people’s innovative CSR work. Spot on! Not only does the web communication give to consumers, it also encourages interaction.
The one possible flaw: is the title of their sustainability report: The Corporate Consciousness Report? Could be a little too cheesy. See it all at http://www.seventhgeneration.com/
Virginia 7:06 pm on March 8, 2010 Permalink
As far as using the web as a platform to drive real solutions, the Green exchange, http://greenxchange.force.com/, founded by Nike uses a digital platform for open source innovation. A very exciting move.
Andrea Spencer-Cooke 9:06 pm on March 10, 2010 Permalink
Australian property development company Lend Lease makes great use of short video clips to showcase senior company figures talking about sustainability. Chief Executive Officer Steve McCann and Board member Julie Hill both feature, giving a strong sense that Lend Lease ‘gets’ the importance of sustainability to their core business – a good message. The site’s design is snazzy and uses the web’s great asset, mouse interactivity, to great effect: from any page you can click on Lend Lease’s Milestones, Contribution, Influence on suppliers and 23 aspirations. A comprehensive, easy-access downloads page also gives visitors the chance to learn more without having to dig for it. See http://www.lendlease.com/llweb/llc/main.nsf/all/all_sust
Morten Lange 8:40 pm on March 14, 2010 Permalink
I have not done an evaluation of Allianz knowledge, and how theirweb communications oin sustainability measures up, but I have been quite impressed by how radical messages they seem to dare to publish.
And when I replied (on twitter to http://twitter.com/AZ_Knowledge ) on some of the stories, and on their site, I was invited to be interviewed by them, on cycling and how it is a viable alternative to focusing on e.g bio-fuels on cars, and how victim blaming cyclists amongst other things have reduced the growth in cycling that could have been even greater.
Astrid von Schmeling 4:01 pm on April 28, 2010 Permalink
Thanks for the tip Morten. I was curious to see what you meant by radical messages, so I made a visit to Allianz. I agree, their approach is fresh. You might expect the piece on melting glaciers in an Op Ed of an environmental magazine, and not on a corporate website. There’s no positioning on the issue, no insurance context. Just concern. Judge for yourself at Allianz knowledge.