Take control of SRI/ESG investor communications

SRI investors are a unique stakeholder type who deserve / demand specifically-tailored communications. In particular, they have come to expect:

• Focussed messages
• Well-structured presentations
• An appropriate presentation team

Focussed messages

SRI investors are most interested in hearing about the company’s performance on those social, environmental and economic issues that have most potential to affect a company’s valuation.

To help companies identify these, we describe, in Appendix B, what issues they expect to be covered and the angles of approach that they expect from companies.

Also, in the article Shape the key messages, we describe how companies can cross-refer between their strategic planning, IR & CSR teams to determine the priority issues and messages.

Structure of presentations

Companies should adopt the following structure for a one-hour meeting with investors

• 5 minutes on the company’s core strategy
• 5 minutes on the company’s overall approach to sustainability
• 5 minutes each on the three sustainability themes of most financial relevance to the company
• 35 minutes for questions – (although this seems like a long time, it is usually filled twice over)

Presenters

SRI investors and analysts typically want to meet the following people:

• Head of CSR / sustainability: Investors typically want to meet the person in a company who is best able to answer their questions.  For SRI, this means that they will want the person with operational responsibility for the relevant parts of a company’s social or environmental performance to be present at any meeting
• Technical experts and strategy-specialists: As investors’ interests become more financially-focussed, they will be increasingly interested in meeting technical experts or heads of strategy / business development who can set a company’s sustainability performance within the context of a broader technical or industry trend or within the context of the company’s long-term strategy.
• Investor relations: As we advise throughout, the IR team should supervise all communications between CSR / sustainability specialists & SRI investors.  Also, in the absence of the CEO & CFO, the IR manager should be the one to present and answer questions on the company’s strategy.
• Senior management: Senior management are not usually required for SRI presentations.  However, some companies will believe that sustainability is a particularly significant issue for them and may wish to put forward senior management to demonstrate how seriously the issues are taken and how deeply they are integrated into mainstream management practice.  While this is not essential, it is always noticed and appreciated by investors.