Axios House: How to navigate messaging when DEI, ESG are under attack

NEW YORK – Crafting strategic communication around environmental and social issues has become increasingly difficult, but focusing on company values can help guide internal and external messaging, communications leaders said at Axios House for Climate Week and UNGA.

• Axios communications strategist and writer Eleanor Hawkins moderated conversations with Ralph Lauren chief global impact and communications officer Katie Ioanilli and Danone North America senior vice president of corporate affairs Gemma Hart at the event, which was sponsored by Weber Shandwick.

Why it matters: Backlash around ESG and DEI has made companies more wary about how they communicate their own purpose-driven pledges and whether they take stances on social issues.

What they're saying: "I think there are plenty of examples where companies, brands, leaders have stumbled because they weren't staying true to who they are and they were using language to make a point that was perhaps divisive or not aligned to who they are as a brand," said Ioanilli.

• Ioanilli said she is "obsessed" with language choice and aims to communicate in ways that align with Ralph Lauren's values as a brand.
• Ioanilli recalled a conversation she had with Ralph Lauren a few years ago when companies were increasingly being called on to speak out on certain issues, in which he said "we don't have to be the first, we don't have to be the fastest. We have to stay true to who we are, we have to have integrity, and it has to be authentic."

Decisions around when to speak up on an issue depends on what makes sense for Danone as a business, said Hart. The company's reliance on nature for many of their food products informs their ESG strategy.

• "I think we're very fortunate because of the nature of our business, that sustainability is our business," Hart said.

Sponsored content:

In a View From the Top sponsored segment, Weber Shandwick North America CEO Jim O'Leary said he doesn't think DEI is dead despite a decrease in companies using language mentioning DEI and ESG in earnings calls.

• "Certainly there is a reluctance to use language that previously was being used by companies," O'Leary said. "But I think fundamentally, what underpins DEI and ESG [is] very much still a priority for the world's leading businesses."