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Sustainability reports need to contain more storytelling, a communications expert has said.
US-based consultant Michael Margolis argues that most reports are too dull for their readers because of their fixation on providing complex data and staid corporate messages.
Margolis, whose consultancy Get Storied advises firms on how to get their message across more successfully, makes his points in a new study published by the Global Reporting Initiative and the Volans consultancy. He was invited to give his comments by the study’s author, John Elkington, after looking at GRI-endorsed reports.
‘There’s too much reliance on statistics to communicate; it’s the story behind the numbers that matter,’ says Margolis. ‘Don’t imagine that numbers convince people of anything; your report needs lots of anecdotes... that bring the business to life in human terms.’
Margolis says the sustainability reports he has seen are too preoccupied with trying to make the company look good and not focused enough on telling the real story, which is usually the most interesting. ‘Skip the self-congratulations. If you only have good news to share, we know you’re not telling the full story,’ he says. ‘We all know that sustainability isn’t easy to deliver [and] a story without creative tension isn’t interesting or believable. Having the courage to discuss work in progress, with timelines, is a sign of real transparency.’
He added that the lack of proper storytelling too often means there is a ‘big gap between the official story coming from leadership versus the real story told by others’, such as customers, employees, and investors. ‘In an age of cynicism and scepticism, you have to stop trying to persuade, sell, or posture,’ he says. Margolis also condemns reports for trotting out dubious ‘Pinocchio’ claims such as ‘sustainability is core to our business’ which only a few companies are able to back up with hard evidence.
However, he has seen good examples of storytelling, including by Stockland, the Australian real estate company, whose sustainability report demonstrates ‘a willingness to discuss the good and the bad’.
US-based consultant Michael Margolis argues that most reports are too dull for their readers because of their fixation on providing complex data and staid corporate messages.
Margolis, whose consultancy Get Storied advises firms on how to get their message across more successfully, makes his points in a new study published by the Global Reporting Initiative and the Volans consultancy. He was invited to give his comments by the study’s author, John Elkington, after looking at GRI-endorsed reports.
‘There’s too much reliance on statistics to communicate; it’s the story behind the numbers that matter,’ says Margolis. ‘Don’t imagine that numbers convince people of anything; your report needs lots of anecdotes... that bring the business to life in human terms.’
Margolis says the sustainability reports he has seen are too preoccupied with trying to make the company look good and not focused enough on telling the real story, which is usually the most interesting. ‘Skip the self-congratulations. If you only have good news to share, we know you’re not telling the full story,’ he says. ‘We all know that sustainability isn’t easy to deliver [and] a story without creative tension isn’t interesting or believable. Having the courage to discuss work in progress, with timelines, is a sign of real transparency.’
He added that the lack of proper storytelling too often means there is a ‘big gap between the official story coming from leadership versus the real story told by others’, such as customers, employees, and investors. ‘In an age of cynicism and scepticism, you have to stop trying to persuade, sell, or posture,’ he says. Margolis also condemns reports for trotting out dubious ‘Pinocchio’ claims such as ‘sustainability is core to our business’ which only a few companies are able to back up with hard evidence.
However, he has seen good examples of storytelling, including by Stockland, the Australian real estate company, whose sustainability report demonstrates ‘a willingness to discuss the good and the bad’.
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