Take control of SRI/ESG investor communications

This page summarises a 10-step process that enables companies to communicate efficiently on sustainability to investors and analysts and lists the free support and 'paid-for' products and services from SRI-Connect and partner providers.

Steps

Step 1: Understand SRI

• Action: Familiarise yourself with key concepts in sustainable investment / ESG and the structure of the value chain.
• Full details: Step 1: Understand SRI
• For free: See the SRI Primer and the Ecology of SRI
• Paid for support: IR Society training on sustainable investor relations | SITA training on sustainable investor relations

Step 2: Identify SRI investor interest

• Action: Gauge the level of likely SRI investor interest in your company
• Full details: Step 2: Identify SRI investor interest
• For free: Use SRI-CONNECT’s Directory to look up investors and review their profiles to understand the nature of their interest (if any) in sustainable investment
• Paid for support:
  • Engagment Essentials reports (£1,500 + VAT (UK))
  • Investor Sustainability Interest Evaluation: Climate change reports (£1,500 + VAT (UK))
  • Investor Sustainability Interest Evaluation: Food, Fibre, Nature & Biodiversity reports (£1,500 + VAT (UK))

Step 3: Create a Register of SRI Interest

• Action: A 'Register' is a record of all your SRI contacts – buy-side, sell-side, and SRI agency analysts – and recent engagement.
• Full details: Step 3: Create a Register of SRI Interest
• For free: Use search of organisations and individuals to construct your own list of interested investors 
• Paid for support: 
  • Register of SRI Interest (£1,800 + VAT (UK))

Step 4: Record recent activity

• Action: Maintain a basic record of recent contact with SRI contacts, including points for follow-up action.
• Full details: Step 4: Record recent activity

Step 5: Plan

• Action: An SR-IR plan should detail your policy on SRI communication, objectives and plans for SRI engagement, resources allocated and team allocated and an activity schedule.
• Full details: Step 5: Plan
• Paid for support:
  • SRI/ESG Communications Mini-Audit (£1,800 + VAT (UK))
  • SRI/ESG Communications Strategy Development (£1,800 + VAT (UK))
  • SRI-ESG Strategy Facilitation (£2,500 + VAT (UK))

Step 6: Shape your message

• Action: Between your strategic planning, investor relations and CSR/sustainability department, identify the internal and external fundamental factors, current drivers and sustainability factors to help define and position your sustainability message.
• Full details: Step 6: Shape your message
• For free: Understand what issues investors are interested in by registering with SRI-Connect and tracking the flow of research published on your company, your sector and related issues
• Paid for support: 
  • Bespoke Investor Interest Review (£1,800 + VAT (UK))
  • Bespoke Investor Targeting (£2,400 + VAT (UK))
  • Message Preparation and Positioning (£4,000 + VAT)

Step 7: Report

• Action: To maximise the reach and impact of your report, issue a sustainability or CSR statement and distribute effectively.
• Full details: Step 7: Report
• For free: Distribute your report via Market Buzz

Step 8: Undertake an SRI/ESG roadshow

• Action: Plan and carry out direct communications with investors, sell-side analysts and SRI agency analysts. Brief your broker to make the process as efficient as possible. See here for tips on how to shape your presentations too.
• Full details: Step 8: Roadshow
• For free: Use SRI-C's Directory to identify relevant contacts and Events or Market Buzz to advertise events.
• Paid for support: 
  • Sustainability Results Webinar (£2,500 + VAT (UK))
  • ESG Ratings Agency Briefing Call (£2,500 + VAT (UK))
  • Broker Briefing (£1,200 + VAT (UK))
  • Sell-side SRI/ESG Roadshow (£1,500 + VAT (UK))
  • ESG Agency & Analyst Roadshow (£1,600 + VAT (UK))
  • Net Zero 'Fireside Chats' (£2,500 + VAT (UK))

Step 9: Respond to selected requests and questionnaires

• Action: Make the process of responding to ad hoc enquiries as efficient as possible by publishing SRI contact points and a calendar of key SRI dates and knowing which investors, questionnaires and agencies to prioritise.
• Full details: Step 9: Respond to selected requests and questionnaires

Step 10: Rest

• Action: Take a break from SRI communications and concentrate on making your core business more sustainable.
• Full details: Step 10: Rest

Free support

In addition to free support highlighted above, case studies, resources and contacts are covered on www.sustainable-ir.com.

'Paid-for' products and services

Download all products and services as a .pdf via here

Strategy & planning

SRI/ESG Communications Mini-Audit - We compare your firm’s activities with global best practice to generate ideas for improvement

An SRI/ESG Communications mini-audit delivers for a company a prioritised set of recommendations on how to improve their communications on sustainability to investors – where ‘improve’ is defined by:

• Increased reach
• Improved engagement of ‘mainstream’ financial investors
• Greater efficiency
• Ultimately, a better representation of investors interested in sustainability on the company’s shareholder register

Full product details | Price: £1,800 + VAT (UK)

SRI Communications Strategy Development- we write a plan for you

We will develop a simple strategy that maximises the reach and efficiency of your company’s communications with investors interested in sustainability.  After a briefing to understand your current approach, needs and objectives we produce a set of practical recommendations that carry you towards best industry practice.

Full product details | Price: £1,800 + VAT (UK)

SRI-ESG Strategy Facilitation – we work with your team to help you develop your own plan

We will facilitate for your investor relations and sustainability teams a half-day planning session that updates you on industry development and guides you through the process of collaboratively identifying priorities and making a sustainable investment plan setting that best meet your company's needs and resources.

Full product details | Price: £2,500 + VAT (UK)

SR-IR Breakfast Club - share ideas and experiences with peer companies

We host quarterly meetings for groups of companies (typically within the same geography but across sectors that enable them to share, with each other, what works and what doesn't in sustainable investor communications.

Full product details | Price: Free.  By invitation only.

Message Preparation and Positioning – shape the best sustainability messages for investors

We will produce a review of the sustainability themes that are likely to feature in sustainable investment research about your company and be raised through your contact with investors.  Alongside this, we will give guidance on how best to focus your sustainability messages in a way that will meet the needs of sustainability specialists, address the requirements of activist investors and engage 'mainstream' investors.

Full product details | Price: £4,000 + VAT (UK)

Investor & analyst targeting

Register of SRI interest – target the most suitable investors for your firm

We will prepare your company for sustainable investor engagement by identifying all of the analysts and portfolio managers that are relevant to your company, detailing their interest levels and enabling you to make direct contact with them.

Full product details | Price: £1,800 + VAT (UK)

Engagement Essentials reports - understand the ESG/sustainable investment practices of your investors

We will summarise and highlight the aspects of selected asset managers’ approach to sustainable investment in a way that will inform and help you prepare for direct engagement with the analysts or portfolio managers at those firms.

Full product details | Price: £1,500 + VAT (UK) 

Investor Sustainability Interest Evaluations: Climate change - explore and explain the interest in and activity on climate change by your largest investors

We will assess the interest of your largest investors in climate change and the investment actions that they are taking to address the issue. This will help your board members, senior executives and other colleagues understand whether / how actions that you take on this issue will have investment consequences.

Full product details | Sample report | Price: £1,500 + VAT (UK)

Investor Sustainability Interest Evaluations: Food, Fibre, Nature & Biodiversity - explore and explain the interest in and activity on nature & biodiversity by your largest investors

We will assess the interest of your largest investors in nature and biodiversity issues and the investment actions that they are taking. This will help your board members, senior executives and other colleagues understand whether / how actions that you take on this issue will have investment consequences.

Full product details | Sample report | Price: £1,500 + VAT (UK)

Bespoke Investor Interest Review - explore and explain which issues of specific relevance to your company are of most interest to sustainable investors

We will summarise the sustainability issues that are currently of most interest to SRI/CG investors – both across the board and also focused on your sector and company. We will project which of these key themes are most likely to interest investors and analysts in the year ahead and will give guidance on shaping your sustainability messages to ensure that you address all topics of interest and are prepared for questions that you are likely to asked.

Full product details | Price: £1,800 + VAT (UK)

Bespoke Investor Targeting - identify those sustainability investors that are most likely to be interested in the investment proposition presented by your company

The aim of bespoke investor targeting is to identify those investors - from the universe of investors globally with an interest in sustainability - that are most likely to be interested in the specific sustainability and investment proposition of your company and its market positioning. We will identify these and the individuals at these firms that are most likely to be receptive to contact from you.

Full product details | Price: £1,400 + VAT (UK)

Communications – roadshows & events

Sustainability Results Webinar – in-depth performance communication

We will organise a whole-market-facing webinar that ensures that all SRI investors and analysts have heard about your company’s sustainability performance in a way that enables you to communicate context and depth; to give investors and analysts time to feed back on their needs and ask questions.

Full product details | Price: £2,500 + VAT (UK)

ESG Ratings Agency Briefing Call - help ESG ratings agency analysts understand your business

We will organise a focused briefing for analysts from ESG ratings agencies and specialist sustainable investment & corporate governance research firms to give you the opportunity to present your sustainability exposures and practices in a way that sets your activity within the context of your business operations and the realities, practicalities and priorities of the markets in which you operate

Full product details | Price: £2,500 + VAT (UK)

SRI-ESG Roadshow – communicate directly and efficiently to investors & analysts

We will organise and fully manage a virtual roadshow to enable you to present your sustainability exposures and management practices directly to the investors that are interested in these.  This work will include the targeting of investors, the issuance and chasing of invitations, the organisation of all logistics, help understanding investor interests, support with messaging – as well as on day management of the event.

Full product details | Price: £2,500 per day + VAT (UK)

Net Zero Fireside Chat – communicate your net zero ambitions & pathway

We will organise a 'fireside chat' with investors and analysts to help your company communicate its pathway to 'net zero' carbon emissions.  'Fireside chats' are informal alternatives to traditional corporate presentations which are particularly suited to the challenge of 'net zero' as they allow for engaged and in-depth discussion on particular themes.  The format may be adapted to other issues / strategic transitions such as 'nature net zero' or 'water neutrality'.

Full product details | Price: £2,500 + VAT (UK)

Sell-side SRI-ESG Roadshow – influence the market influencers

We will organise a short programme of group and one-on-one meetings to ensure that your company has communicated its sustainability message effectively to the specialist SRI analysts at ‘sell-side’ brokers whose research is widely influential within the market.

Full product details | Price: £1,500 + VAT (UK)

Broker Briefing - help (& force) suppliers to meet your sustainability needs

If you use 'sell-side brokers' or other corporate access providers without sustainability capabilities for investor outreach, we can prepare (for you to send to them) a briefing note that articulates any sustainability-related expectations (analysts to reach, subjects to focus on etc) that you may have ahead of the event organisation.

Full product details | Price: £1,200 + VAT (UK)

ESG Ratings Agency Roadshow – we take control of agency dialogue

We will organise a short programme of group and one-on-one meetings to ensure you have communicated your sustainability message effectively to the analysts at ESG ratings agencies and independent sustainable investment research providers.  This enables you to communicate your exposures and performance within the context of your business rather than on terms set by the agencies; to get to know the agencies and analysts who cover your stock and to initiate a dialogue for more effective future communication.

Full product details | Price: £1,000 + VAT (UK) 

Training and market intelligence

Sustainable Investor Relations Training – learn to communicate efficiently

We, via SITA (Sustainable Investor Training Associates) and the UK Investor Relations Society, deliver half-day courses on Sustainable Investment for Investor Relations to help IROs understand current and future trends in sustainable investment and prepares them to target investors, shape messages and organise sustainable investment briefings and roadshows.

Full product details via SITA | Full product details via the IR Society | Price: £519 + VAT (UK)

Impact Evaluation – understand your strengths and areas for improvement

We will establish a baseline of how investor stakeholders perceive your company’s sustainability exposures and management practices.  We will evaluate the impact of your current SRI communications practices and benchmark those against peers and best market practice to identify areas of potential improvement.

Full product details | Price £4,000 + VAT (UK)

Other

Support for Consultants –back-end support for your corporate client service

We will help consultants and service providers develop their own support and services for companies - including when their products and services compete directly with ours.  We believe that demand for such services is far greater than current capacity globally can handle.

Full product details | Price: £1,500 + VAT (UK) 

Retainer – whatever you need; whenever you need it

In our experience, many companies know that they need help but don't know what help they need or when they will need it.  To avoid discomfort about using us as a reference point with any questions - no matter how large or small - we offer a retainer programme whereby companies commit to pay for a number of hours of advice and use the contracted time up as and when needs arise.

Full product details | Price: 2,000 + VAT (UK) for eight hours taken whenever required