The world needs less storytelling and more storydoing
Telling a compelling brand story is no easy feat – especially in a time where companies worldwide are being judged under greater passion, against higher standards and being held accountable if they get it wrong.
More than ever, business leaders are asking themselves: do our marketing activities represent our diverse society? Do our industry partners uphold the same core values as ours?
And that makes sense. Events that happened in the past 12 months, from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic to the growth of the Black Lives Matter movement, represented a monumental cultural change. 2020 further deepened our collective understanding of what really matters. In simpler terms, it shifted our priorities – and what was once thought of as essential might as well have been put aside as frivolous.
But what does this mean for company leaders, in particular? Well, from Expereo’s perspective, it highlighted the fact that we, as a team, need to stand for something more than just simplifying global networks.
Our core values
We started thinking beyond what makes us effective – our service excellence, our product quality – and asked ourselves: are we doing enough? Bearing in mind our core values are constantly shaping how our business operates globally, today, we understand that enshrining such values is a core part of our identity.
But simply learning what our core values are is not enough. It’s also important to understand how they are translating into our business strategy and what that says about Expereo. Ensuring that all our teams have a thorough knowledge of our company values is fundamental, as well as identifying any partners that might be against our company principles. Additionally, we took a deep dive into the meaning of Corporate Social Responsibility.
Corporate Social Responsibility
According to UNIDO, “Corporate Social Responsibility is a management concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and interactions with their stakeholders. CSR is generally understood as being the way through which a company achieves a balance of economic, environmental and social imperatives (“Triple-Bottom-Line- Approach”), while at the same time addressing the expectations of shareholders and stakeholders”.
Naturally, Corporate Social Responsibility goes hand in hand with socially responsible practices. That means that all our stakeholders must practice ethical behaviors and join the community in promoting responsible marketing efforts.
However, it’s worth noting that solely putting on appearances or greenwashing – the practice of promoting deceptive environmentally-friendly processes or products – is easily detectable and can ultimately hurt a company’s brand and its success. It is true that things are a lot easier said than done. But it is only by doing that consumers will see true value in your brand – and we understand that at Expereo.
Making this world a better place
Because we believe that every society, every human has the right to live in a healthy and safe environment, we participate in projects to improve local people’s health and conditions of living. We follow the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals guidelines when choosing initiatives to support. Since 2019, we have supported two major initiatives that are helping meet these goals.
We have proudly worked together with the Climate Neutral Group to help manufacture and provide efficient cookstoves in Uganda. Globally, four million people die from respiratory diseases caused by cooking over an open fire, usually indoors. By participating in this project, we help the local households to access cleaner, healthier and more cost-effective cooking methods. The stoves’ efficient combustion system also decreases wood and charcoal use by 50%. This means improved indoor air quality, reduced deforestation as well as the emission of CO2.
Additionally, we are working with the Climate Neutral Group to help offset our carbon footprint from all of our company’s international travel. In 2019, for example, Expereo compensated CO2 Emissions on all business flights across Europe. We are also working hard to ensure a sustainable mobile phone regime, and move ever closer to a truly paperless office.
Future plans
Our goal is to continue working with CNG, but also participate in various CSR programs, philanthropy, and volunteer efforts. In Expereo we believe that more people should have access to equal opportunities so that everyone can benefit from a society where they are able to reach their full potential.