Faced with ESG, where fresh graduates can earn up to 40,000 yuan a month, how should marketing be integrated and leveraged?

In today's highly competitive workplace, the ESG concept, where fresh graduates can earn up to 40,000 yuan a month, has become a focus of attention. This article will explore in depth how marketing should develop in combination with the ESG concept under the new trend of the new generation of professionals paying close attention to corporate social responsibility.

Recently, there have been rumors online that some companies are recruiting ESG department managers with a monthly salary of 100,000 to 150,000 yuan, and even the starting salary for fresh graduates can reach 20,000 to 40,000 yuan. This has brightened the eyes of countless workers who are struggling to find career development opportunities in the economic winter, and has also sparked heated discussions.

In fact, ESG is undoubtedly one of the hottest buzzwords in the global business field in 2023. Whether it is daily media communication or corporate activities or industry summits in various fields such as business, finance, marketing, technology, and automobiles, it is not uncommon to mention ESG. If listed companies, well-known companies or business leaders do not understand ESG, they are already behind the times.

"In today's era, sustainable development is no longer a simple concept, but a global consensus that needs to be achieved urgently. With the transformation of the domestic economic growth model and the steady advancement of the 'dual carbon' strategy, the ESG concept has gradually received high attention from all sectors of society." Professor Wang Hong, President of China Europe International Business School, once said.

This article will take you to understand the current development status of ESG and how marketing work should be combined with ESG? I hope it will help you grasp this trend.

What exactly is ESG? What is ESG? I believe many people still don’t quite understand it.

In fact, ESG is the abbreviation of three English words: Environmental, Social, and Governance, namely environment, society, and corporate governance. It evaluates the sustainability of corporate operations and its impact on social values ​​from these three dimensions.

In the capital investment market, it is regarded by many investors as a measure to evaluate a company's non-financial performance. Therefore, it has been paid attention to by large companies, especially listed companies, in recent years.

The development of ESG (Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance) is as follows:

1. The embryonic stage
   ESG originated from ethical investment, which is mainly based on religious beliefs and morals. At this stage, investors began to pay attention to the ethics and social responsibilities of companies, but ESG has not yet become a mainstream investment concept.
2. Rise stage
   ESG investing began to gain popularity in the 1960s as the public paid attention to anti-war, racial equality and social issues. During this period, some investors began to consider environmental, social and corporate governance factors in their investment decisions, but this attention was still in its infancy.
3. Concept deepening stage
   In 2006, the United Nations established the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and issued the PRI Statement, which pledged to incorporate environmental, social and corporate governance issues into investment decisions and follow relevant standards. This event marked that ESG investment has become a global investment concept. Subsequently, governments and international organizations began to gradually standardize ESG and sustainable investment, forming a complete system.
4. Rapid development stage <br /> As people pay more attention to sustainable development and social responsibility, ESG investment has developed rapidly around the world. Investors have begun to realize the impact of ESG factors on the long-term value and risk of enterprises, and therefore pay more attention to the role of ESG factors in investment decisions. At the same time, governments and regulators have also begun to strengthen the supervision and regulation of ESG investment.

At present, there are relatively mature ESG rating systems (ESG Ratings) created by commercial and non-profit organizations to evaluate how a company's commitment, performance, business model and structure are consistent with sustainable development goals. The ESG rating system was first used by investment companies to screen or evaluate companies in their various funds and investment portfolios.

In addition, job applicants, customers and others can use these ratings when evaluating business relationships, and rated companies can also use the ESG evaluation system to better understand their strengths, weaknesses, risks and opportunities.

As mentioned earlier, ESG is viewed by investors in the capital market as a measure for evaluating a company's non-financial performance. Therefore, listed companies pay special attention to ESG. But in fact, ordinary companies should also pay attention to ESG because it is related to the development of the company's existing business and the creation of future sustainable development potential.

First, good ESG performance can enhance a company’s reputation and brand image, helping it win the trust and recognition of consumers and investors, thereby increasing the market share of its business, maintaining a stable or even increasing its market value, and gaining more development opportunities.

As the level of economic development and social civilization continues to improve, consumers and investors no longer expect companies to provide only high-quality products and services, but also require companies to do something about environmental protection and social responsibility. This means that if brands want to gain recognition and support from consumers and investors, they must pay attention to ESG.

For example, the fast fashion brand H&M is committed to reducing the negative impact of the fast fashion industry on the environment by promoting sustainable fashion, which not only meets consumers' pursuit of environmental protection, but also improves the brand image and market share;

Coca-Cola's proactive actions in water resource management and reducing carbon emissions have enhanced its environmental image in the public's mind. While its market share continues to increase, it has also won the favor of investors.

Secondly, companies need to strengthen ESG work to meet regulatory requirements, reduce potential compliance risks faced in development, and ensure the stability and security of their business.

Many countries and regions have formulated laws and regulations related to environmental protection, social responsibility and corporate governance. If companies lack an ESG work system, omit, ignore or deliberately fail to comply with these regulations, they may cause problems such as environmental accidents, consumer complaints, and employee rights infringement disputes, and may face risks such as fines, legal proceedings and reputational loss.

By strengthening ESG work, companies can establish effective internal control and risk management mechanisms to ensure that their own behavior complies with the requirements of laws and regulations as much as possible, prevent and resolve potential risks in advance, reduce the interference of related issues on corporate development, and ensure the stability and security of the business.

In addition, ESG practices can help companies discover new business opportunities, establish closer partnerships with stakeholders, and promote the exploration of more business innovations.

As consumers pay more attention to environmental and social issues, the market demand for sustainable products and services continues to increase, and ESG can help companies accurately and deeply understand these needs and develop related products and services. For example, a cosmetics company can develop environmentally friendly, animal-free products and indicate on the packaging that its production process complies with sustainable development requirements. Such products can attract more consumers who pay attention to environmental protection and social responsibility, thereby increasing market share.

ESG sets consistent sustainable development goals for stakeholders including enterprises, suppliers, customers, investors, employees, government agencies, etc. In order to achieve this goal, all parties come closer and realize more exciting business innovations through communication, sharing and cooperation, creating more business opportunities and development space.

For example, companies can work with suppliers to jointly develop sustainable development plans, promote environmentally friendly materials and production technologies, reduce production costs and improve product quality. In addition, companies can also cooperate with government departments, non-governmental organizations, etc., participate in public welfare and environmental protection projects, enter new market areas and gain greater development space.

More importantly, strengthening ESG practices can help companies improve their governance and enhance their potential for sustainable development.

In the process of ESG practice, companies can establish more complete governance structures and mechanisms, such as setting up an ESG committee or working group to formulate and oversee the implementation of ESG strategies, and incorporating ESG factors into board decisions to ensure that companies fully consider environmental, social and governance factors when making decisions, improve the transparency of information disclosure during the development process, timely identify, assess and manage these risks, enhance the trust and support of stakeholders, and create a robust internal and external environment required for sustainable development of the company.

ESG focuses on improving the working environment and welfare benefits, and can resonate with employees' personal values ​​through values, which helps companies attract more outstanding talents and improve employee participation and loyalty, providing the stable and efficient human resources needed for sustainable development of enterprises; in addition, strengthening ESG practices helps companies improve their technological research and development capabilities, supply chain management capabilities and customer service capabilities to meet the market and society's demand for sustainable development products and services and high-quality requirements for products and services. All of these enhance the potential for sustainable development of enterprises, making it possible for them to achieve greater commercial success and social value.

How can marketing be combined with ESG? Having said so much, how should marketing be combined with ESG? How should friends who are engaged in branding, marketing, operations, public relations, sales, etc. make efforts?

For the first time, the company needs to establish a clear ESG vision and goals at the strategic level, and then break it down into executable plans and distribute them to various functional departments, including marketing, to promote implementation. Without this foundation, it will be difficult for any department to take spontaneous actions and achieve the desired results.

A clear ESG vision can help companies clarify their long-term goals and commitments in the environment, society and governance. It should be consistent with the company's core business and values, and be able to inspire resonance and participation from employees. In addition, setting specific ESG goals can provide a clear direction for the work of specific functional departments. These goals should be measurable, achievable and time-limited so that companies can evaluate their progress in ESG. For example, setting specific ESG goals such as reducing carbon emissions, improving energy efficiency, and improving employee welfare.

On the basis of establishing a clear ESG vision and goals, marketing work can be combined with it to formulate ESG marketing strategies and promote the implementation of related marketing plans, help companies meet relevant standards in brand image, product services, sales channels, etc., and stamp the brand of excellent ESG responsibility fulfillers.

First, marketing should play the basic role of market research and collect relevant intelligence to understand the market's existing needs and development trends for ESG. For example, through questionnaire surveys, user interviews, on-site observations, product operation data analysis and other means, we can gain an in-depth understanding of consumers' and investors' attention to and needs for ESG, such as what environmentally friendly products or functions customers need, whether investors are satisfied with the company's information disclosure, and what information they need to obtain.

Based on clear and accurate insights into market demand, we provide feedback to management for decision-making, and work together to promote innovation in subsequent products and services, integrating ESG concepts into the company's business.

For example, the marketing department reported to the top management that the market has a strong demand for environmentally friendly materials and energy-saving products. The company subsequently carried out technological innovation and developed new products, achieving the effect of reducing energy consumption and emissions and improving resource utilization efficiency. After all, products and services that meet the ESG concept are the basis for winning consumer recognition and purchase, and are also the prerequisite for carrying out ESG marketing and communication.

Subsequently, marketing efforts can be carried out to promote the ESG concept by upgrading the brand’s visual image, optimizing marketing channels, and planning relevant communication content and marketing activities, leaving a deep impression on internal employees and external consumers and investors.

For example, the visual image in the logo, official website, self-media accounts, advertisements and other promotional materials can be upgraded and renewed, with more sustainable and socially responsible visual elements adopted to convey to consumers and investors the message that the company is committed to sustainable development.

For example, cooperate with media and platforms that are consistent with the ESG concept and plan related communication content and marketing activities, such as adding ESG logos and emphasizing related topics such as environmental protection and animal protection in advertisements, reporting company-related news to introduce the company's sustainable development practices and social responsibility projects, organizing online and offline activities to guide consumers to participate in ESG practices, and participating in industry summits to discuss theoretical research and practical activities on ESG. There are many similar examples, and I would like to list them all.

In order to quickly enhance the brand's image of actively practicing ESG and increase its relevant awareness and reputation among the target audience, brands can cleverly leverage the momentum in the specific ESG marketing execution process, such as cooperating with charitable organizations that are popular during festivals.

Because relevant festivals and public welfare organizations already have a considerable mass base of awareness, the cost of marketing communication can be reduced, such as Arbor Day, Earth Day, World Oceans Day and other festivals and public welfare organizations such as Animal Protection Associations and Children and Teenagers Foundation.

In addition, ESG marketing should not be based on grand narratives at the conceptual level, but should be implemented in specific practices with small incisions. No matter how many theories, concepts, and cognitions are talked about, even if they are exaggerated without actual actions, they are just castles in the air, which will give people a sense of being flashy or even deceptive.

Therefore, after clarifying their vision and goals, companies should take action at all levels inside and outside the company. There is no need to cover all three dimensions of ESG. Whether it is the environment, society or governance, as long as they can find a small incision to implement actions and spread them, it will be an effective practical achievement.

Finally, I would like to share with you one thing: ESG marketing needs to adhere to long-termism.

Brand marketing is a long-term project, and ESG is related to the sustainable development of the brand. It is impossible to achieve it overnight, nor is it a short-term action. It is a long-term project for sustainable development. ESG marketing needs to adhere to long-termism and infiltrate the concept of ESG into the long-term operation and management practice of the brand. It should be implemented through daily business operations and daily marketing communications, and strengthened with major projects. It also requires the coordination of all departments of the company to truly implement it.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. This is especially important for ESG marketing.

Author: Chen Hao, WeChat public account: Brand Market Relativity