This week / What’s new? | Why does it matter? | What’s next? | What else? | Quotable | One more thing
This week
Read on to learn why:
① ESG is now a driving force for every financial services business.
② Using ESG to differentiate your brand requires far more commitment.
③ From an ESG perspective, you’ll need to mean it, live it, and spread it.
④ Green stocks are now mainstream and they’re here to stay.
⑤ Fintech exuberance shows no sign of waning.
⑥ Virtual events are permanent and tech providers are ready to help you host them.
⑦ Employers need to offer their staff meaning, and not just money.
This week / What’s new? / Why does it matter? | What’s next? | What else? | Quotable | One more thing
What’s new?
Deutsche Bank chief executive Christian Sewing has warned that lenders “risk losing their licence to operate” if they fail to make green finance a priority, the FT reports.
In short:
“Germany’s biggest bank on Thursday laid out plans to increase its financing aimed at environmentally sustainable projects to about €220bn by 2023, two years earlier and 10 per cent higher than its existing targets.”
“Facing pressure from investors and activists, Deutsche Bank for the first time broke down its targets across its businesses. The investment bank will have to account for €105bn of the green business; the private bank will be required to contribute €86bn and the corporate bank €30bn.”
“Deutsche Bank did not lay out sustainability targets for DWS, its asset management business which is listed separately and run as an independent company. DWS last month received a mediocre rating in a sustainability ranking conducted by French environmental lobby group Reclaim Finance.”
This week | What’s new? / Why does it matter? / What’s next? | What else? | Quotable | One more thing
Why does it matter?
① Whether it be financing more environmentally sustainable projects as Deutsche announced this week, or backing environmentally friendly businesses as most investors - both retail and institutional - are doing (see The Economist report below), there is no doubt that environmental, social and governance criteria are now a - perhaps the - driving force for every financial services business. Clients, shareholders and employees simply demand it.
This is good news for all sorts of reasons that are more important than marketing - not least stewardship of the world we all live in. But does it matter from a marketing perspective? I think we need to ask ourselves whether ESG is still a way we can differentiate our brand. Was James Goldsmith right when he said, “if you see a bandwagon, it’s too late”? I think the answer is yes. And no.
② He’s right in the sense that no one is going to notice, let alone be influenced by, most of the claims that used to pass for ESG. Now more than ever, running a business that mitigates its negative impact on the environment, that takes responsibility for its place in society, that is properly governed, is the least stakeholders expect. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t still ways to use ESG as a marketing differentiator - albeit with more effort and far more commitment.
This week | What’s new? | Why does it matter? / What’s next? / What else? | Quotable | One more thing
What’s next?
Take action
③ Take it as read then that running your business with ESG factors in mind is essential. To use Sewing’s words, it’s simply your licence to operate. External parties - your clients, your shareholders, and journalists - have a healthy skepticism for companies that look like they’re merely jumping on the ESG bandwagon. So, if you want to use ESG as a way to differentiate your brand, you’re going to have to do more than that. Broadly speaking, you’ll need to:
Mean it. Embed it in your corporate culture. From the top down and back again, your team needs to feel passionately about ESG - in and out of the office. If you decide to promote an ESG-related initiative, ensure there is substance behind it.
Live it: Although you can and should be looking at any way to improve the ESG credentials of your business, one way to live up to them it is to submit yourself to independent certification. B Corp, for example, is the only certification that measures a company’s entire social and environmental performance. From their website:
“The B Impact Assessment evaluates how your company’s operations and business model impact your workers, community, environment, and customers. From your supply chain and input materials to your charitable giving and employee benefits, B Corp Certification proves your business is meeting the highest standards of verified performance.”
Spread it: Enable ESG-friendly action beyond the boundaries of your own business. If you’re an investment firm, avoid stocks that aren’t green. If you’re a bank, commit to financing sustainable projects. Whatever your business, put policies in place that help your employees to be ESG-friendly in and out of the office.
Finally, perhaps most importantly from a marketing prospective, remember to communicate all of this - internally and externally - with humility.
Get help
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Whether it be as a permanent member of your team or with 'on demand' support, let me know if you need my help.
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This week | What’s new? | Why does it matter? | What’s next? / What else? / Quotable | One more thing
What else?
Three other articles that are worthy of your time.
FINANCE
A green bubble? We dissect the investment boom
④ Green stocks are now mainstream and they’re here to stay.
“Green stocks are no longer the preserve of niche sustainable funds. Conventional funds have piled in; stocks are also touted on online forums for day traders, such as WallStreetBets. The enthusiasm reflects two trends: many clean-energy firms are now more viable; and retail investing has surged, and punters seem excited about new clean technologies.”
“A few things could sap that exuberance. Inflation is a worry. […] Many green firms’ valuations are based on earnings far into the future. Higher inflation would erode that. And enthusiasm could also wane if some of the more speculative technologies fail. The froth has already attracted short-sellers.”
“Still, many investors are optimistic. Few think that the energy transition will go into reverse. They argue that the prospects for the sector as a whole are promising, even if some firms end up being duds.”
TECHNOLOGY
Fintech billionaires invade The Times Rich List 2021
⑤ Fintech exuberance shows no sign of waning and that’s reflected in increasingly bullish valuations.
“Guillaume Pousaz, CEO and founder of Checkout.com, is now ranked as the 33rd richest person in the UK in 2021, with a fortune of £5.54bn. The entrepreneur wasn’t even ranked on the 2020 list.”
“His riches were super-charged over the last year as Checkout.com sealed two funding rounds, first valuing the business at $5.5bn in June 2020 and then at $15bn in January 2021—sending his equity stake soaring.”
“Pousaz is joined on the list by Revolut CEO and founder Nikolay Storonsky, who’s seen a similar explosion in fortune over the past year, pushing him to become the 165th richest person in the UK, with a fortune of £1bn.”
MEDIA & MARKETING
Zoom Events will try to re-create the in-person conference experience
⑥ Virtual events are a permanent fixture of the marketing landscape and tech providers are queuing up to help you host them.
“Zoom has announced an expanded live events product that’s launching this summer. Zoom Events layers in features that can support larger multiday events and non-video activities like chat.”
“The main way Zoom is focused on improving the experience for larger organizations is by making Zoom Events more friendly to conferences or large group meetings that could be split over multiple sessions.”
“Zoom is also adding access to text chat in places outside of a typical video call. If you show up to an event before the live video actually starts or stick around afterwards, you’ll be able to see who’s in the event lobby, participate in a group chat channel, and exchange contact information.”
This week | What’s new? | Why does it matter? | What’s next? | What else? / Quotable / One more thing
Quotable
⑦ Olivia Fahy of TCC Group, in Investment Week on healthy corporate culture:
“Employers need to offer their staff meaning, and not just money. As investors and customers alike place an increasing weight of importance on ESG, an unhealthy culture can ultimately lead to more than a loss of talent, but a fundamental loss in trust from consumers, as well as potential losses in investment from shareholders who are increasingly looking to invest in firms with good and robust business practices.”
This week | What’s new? | Why does it matter? | What’s next? | What else? | Quotable / One more thing
One more thing…
In the post-Covid world, we’re all turning to videos and podcasts to replace in-person interactions. But many marketers aren’t as comfortable as they should be with editing them. Well, Descript is a tool that makes editing audio and video as intuitive as editing a Word document.
(Descript is not a sponsor of this newsletter - sadly - I just love their product.)
Off cuts
The stories that almost made this week’s newsletter:
💰 Tuesday: Insight Partners leads $60M growth round in cross-border payments startup Thunes
📊 Tuesday: Finary wants to create the wealth management dashboard for the next generation
🤖 Tuesday: Goldman Sachs plans UK app launch, robo-adviser for 2022
🇪🇺 Wednesday: Payments FinTech Square launches in Europe
✔️ Thursday: Twitter is letting anyone apply for verification for the first time since 2017
👮🏻♂️ Thursday: American Express fined by ICO for 4m unlawful emails
🎟 Friday: Twitter previews Ticketed Spaces, says it’ll take a 20 percent cut of sales
🤑 Saturday: As bitcoin lurches, Wall Street plots its way into cryptoland
Green is good