ESG leaders are influencing your customers’ buying decisions. Who? What? How? Why? Your complete guide.

How do you reach ESG leaders as they are already influencing your customer’s buying decisions?  

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) considerations guide business strategy across many sectors. For B2B marketers, understanding ESG and who drives this within their target customers is becoming more important. They are a new player in the buying unit, whose influence is growing. 

At Velo, we’ve conducted several studies to build our understanding of who, how and when to target ESG leads. We share this insight in this article. 

Not all sectors are the same 

Based on research and market trends, some sectors are prioritising ESG more than others. Energy, manufacturing, construction and transportation are more mature. Why? These industries are under significant regulatory pressure, with frameworks like the UK’s Climate Change Act and Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) driving compliance.  

Consumer-facing sectors, including retail and fashion, are also focusing on ESG due to rising consumer expectations and brand reputation concerns. Different drivers, but the same result. 

What is driving it? 

This varies based on the sector, but the most common drivers started with compliance, but through this, many companies have seen that harnessed properly, it a driver of competitive advantage. It is driving operational efficiency. Developing new products. Changing supply chains. And it is fast becoming an important part of corporate reputation management. Many report that their staff, particularly those joining in junior positions, attribute significant importance to working for employers with good environmental credentials.   

It varies per industry, but there are patterns. For industries in transition, such as heavy manufacturing or logistics, ESG offers a pathway to innovation and operational efficiency. For those in professional services, it is about corporate reputation, competitive differentiation and developing new services. For those in retail, it is about overhauling supply chains and driving out exploitation or bad practice. 

Marketers who align with these priorities can position their brands as essential partners in achieving sustainability goals. 

A model of ESG maturity 

There is a pattern of how companies approach ESG. Many claim to be on a “journey” but in fact, it is a path well-trodden.  

Once urgency is established through supply chain pressure (customers trying to assess their scope 3 emissions), compliance or feedback from staff, they start by looking to understand their operation and their carbon footprint, looking to TPIs like Auditel or software such as Sage Earth to calculate the impact they have. This acts as the basis of a strategy. 

As the strategy is developed, it touches areas including carbon emissions to workforce relations, operating practices and relationships with other organisations. Goals are set, then almost all document the intention in some form of ESG commitment such as in an ESG report or a sustainability page on their website. The presence of either of these is a signal of maturity.  

Most companies begin looking to be compliant, before exploring opportunities to be more efficient transforming business operations. Companies such as Auditel provide guidance and planning to help companies move ahead. There us however only so much that can be achieved, as most businesses will emit carbon through operating, so techniques such as Carbon Credits through platforms such as Carbonplace are explored. 

As ESG initiatives become both more understood, and more accepted by all stakeholders, they become more strategically integrated, guiding organisational direction, with many moving ahead to the point of using it as a sector differentiator. At this point, sustainability initiatives will be across their social media, about us and recruitment content on their sites. In addition, new products/services or practices will appear citing sustainability as part of their make-up. 

The maturity model also shows itself in who is responsible   

Our studies have found some common patterns in how companies allocate responsibilities 

• Emerging: Sustainability is an add-on to an existing role, often finance. Our studies have revealed that at this point, decision-making roles frequently overlap, with sustainability, finance, and procurement departments working together. Recognising these nuances ensures your campaigns target the right stakeholders effectively.Common job titles at this point see sustainability added to the responsibilities of an existing role, often Health, Safety & Quality. Common job titles contain EHS, H&S, HSE, EH&S, SHEQ.
   

• Exploring: Create a sustainability contact who acts as an agent to Lines of Business Leaders. Tends to be a mid-level appointment.
   
• Leading: Appoint a sustainability leader with C Suite/Senior Director job titles 

Typical job titles include Sustainability, ESG and CSR with “Manager” through to “Director” being indicative of organisational maturity. 

Their areas of influence span the majority of the organisation including: 

• Compliance: A key motivation is compliance with any regulation 

• Operations: They include transforming operational processes to reduce impact. 

• Product Development: Most then provide enhanced offerings to their clients. 

• Corporate Comms: Greenwashing is a concern. Teams managing the organisation’s reputation management own comms but not the strategy. 

• HR: Activities within the sustainability strategies often transcend HR and people strategy (motivation and ethics) too. 

• Organisational Planning: Almost all businesses have targets as part of a published strategy with short-term activities. These activities change over time. 

Channels to reach them 

Reaching ESG-focused decision-makers requires a data-driven, multi-channel approach. Our research has shown that they can be identified in these ways: 

Combining these targeting methods always gives the best results. 

Talk the talk, walk the walk 

Many companies publish their ESG commitments in a dedicated report – an ethos of visibility causing accountability, as well as having a self-contained and ready-to-go document to use in any procurement conversations.  

Authenticity is vital to avoid any suggestions of greenwashing and we provide guidance on how to build your story in this piece. 

As an agency, we also publish an ESG report and have done so since 2021. We’re one of the few independent B2B agencies to do this. You can read out latest edition on our site here. 

Conclusion 

For B2B marketers, ESG is more than a buzzword; it’s a strategic lever for differentiation and value creation. By prioritising key sectors, understanding the decision-making landscape, and aligning your efforts with ESG maturity models, you can craft campaigns that resonate deeply with your audience. Dive into these strategies to unlock new opportunities and elevate your marketing impact. 

Paul Crabtree

Managing Director

An IDM-qualified senior sales and marketing professional who has held board positions in various marketing agencies since 2005. Although he claims not to look old enough, the emerging silver locks tell a different story. As MD, founder and owner of Velo, his role is to lead the agency maintaining our quality standards to be the level that means we continue to be built on recommendation. He has a particular focus on new business, overseeing all our client relationships and leading our strategy function to make sure that our team has the skills and capabilities that our clients need, so we continue always craft great work to be proud of. Find him on LinkedIn here.