5 Ways Media Intelligence Can Help Companies Maintain High ESG Scores

As the world becomes more connected and complex, companies are recognizing the need for sustainability. They realise that achieving a balance between economic growth and environmental protection requires both internal and external efforts. In the 21st century, ESG has gained significant traction as a major component of business ethics which business executives cannot neglect.

What is ESG?

ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) refers to a set of standards that assess the ways a company manages its environmental, social and governance risks.

Why is ESG important for companies?

Companies with high ESG scores are more likely to be socially responsible, ethical, and sustainable. ESG scores can be used as part of an overall compliance strategy to ensure that you meet the legal and ethical standards required in your industry. They are also useful for benchmarking against competitors, helping you identify areas where you may be falling behind the curve.

ESG also helps investors assess how sustainable a company is. ESG investing uses principles that are designed to protect people and the planet and ensures investors that their money isn’t funding companies that harm the environment or mistreat their workers.

How can media intelligence help companies maintain high ESG scores?

Media Intelligence is the process of monitoring, analysing and reporting news about your company. It shows you how your company and products are represented in the media. The best way to stay on top of your media coverage is by using a media intelligence tool that provides real-time insights into what’s being said about you online. 

Here are five ways media intelligence can help you reach your sustainability goals:

1. Assess whether you are hitting your ESG goals

Media intelligence looks at the bigger picture and gives you information that internal performance assessment processes might miss. For example, if your company has set ambitious goals in terms of reducing its carbon footprint but you do not have sufficient knowledge about its current performance in this area, you might miss some opportunities for improvement. Media intelligence can help you understand where you currently stand in comparison with competitors and highlight areas where you can improve in order to reach those ambitious goals.

Similarly, if your company has no idea how it’s doing when it comes to social responsibility or the environment (e.g. water consumption), you may be unaware of potential risks connected with those parameters and therefore unable to implement appropriate measures against these threats early enough to prevent significant business disruptions later on. Public opinion matters and the success of your ESG efforts is closely linked to how well they are received by the public.

2. Spot potential issues that could affect your business

A company can have the best ESG policies in place, but if it doesn’t have a clear view of what is being reported about them, it will be difficult to identify any gaps or issues. For example, if you are a retailer, you might choose not to sell certain products over concerns they are not ethical or sustainable. However, if you don’t know who your suppliers are and what product lines they produce then this policy may be completely ineffective as there will be no way for you to ensure that your suppliers aren’t selling those products elsewhere.
In this particular example, media monitoring can help you stay atop conversations about your suppliers and be on the lookout for any negative coverage about them that can spill over to you. Users online are very quick to investigate and point out which companies collaborate with these suppliers, and even though your company might not be engaging in unethical practices, your reputation will still be at risk of getting tainted.

3. Monitor competitor activities

Monitoring your competitors can be done by reviewing articles, news releases, and social media posts from and about them. The main purpose is to identify key areas of concern that may merit further investigation into opportunities or risks for your company. Monitoring competitor activities will also help you identify trends in the industry as well as potential issues that might affect companies’ reputations or brand value. You can learn a lot by looking at what other companies are doing in their own operations. Other companies’ actions have the power to impact your company since many new initiatives start first within one company before becoming industry standards later on if successful enough. More importantly, you can also learn a lot from their failures and how to avoid going down the same path.

4. Receive actionable data insights based on trends

Media intelligence provides actionable insights to business leaders and their teams, who may not have the time or resources to identify key areas of concern on their own. In this way, media intelligence tools can provide an objective perspective on how social and environmental issues are being reported in the mainstream press, as well as how your company’s competitors are responding to these issues. Monitoring mentions can help you adjust your ESG strategy by:

• Identifying areas of improvement. Data will show where there are opportunities for improvement, such as in the areas of safety or recycling practices. You can use this information to make sure your company is operating at its highest level possible at all times.
• Highlighting areas of concern. Data will also show where improvements need to be made by identifying areas that have potential issues such as low employee morale or high turnover rates because these metrics often lead to more serious problems down the road if not addressed quickly enough.

5. React fast to risky coverage

Timely crisis communication is paramount and one of the key elements of mitigating risk is fast response time. If a negative story emerges, it’s crucial that you can communicate your response in a clear way that aligns with your communications strategy, brand, and values.

Media intelligence platforms allow you to monitor stories in real-time. However, having access to this data is half the battle; being able to act on it quickly and effectively is more important. That is why you need to either form a team that will train the platform to capture the right content or outsource this service to companies that have experienced teams that provide insights daily. You can use these insights to determine which issues need more attention from management, as well as how much time and money should be allocated to them.

Conclusion

Companies that want to maintain a high ESG rating need to constantly monitor the media landscape and respond quickly when they see something negative. Media intelligence helps companies by providing data analysis and insights into how their brand is viewed by various stakeholders. With the right media intelligence tools and teams in place, businesses can assess their performance and progress toward their ESG goals.

How can we help?

At A Data Pro, we keep an eye on what’s happening in the news, analyse key developments in the field, and make sure you stay up-to-date on everything that concerns you without having to do any of the work yourself.

Let us help you meet your sustainability goals!