From Claims to Trust — Sustainability Communication in the Age of Scrutiny
A one-day practical workshop on how to build clear and credible Sustainability Communication. Participants use a practical playbook to turn real sustainability work into responsible communication that builds stakeholder trust and strengthens brand credibility.
Enrollment
Your Faculty
Led by expert practitioners with deep experience in corporate sustainability, brand communications, and stakeholder trust.
Shalini Singh
Sustainability & Communication Leader | Ex Holcim | Tata Power | RPG Group
Shalini brings deep expertise in sustainability communication and brand credibility, helping organisations transition from vague claims to trusted, evidence-backed narratives.
Concept & Impact
Why This Matters Now
Sustainability communication has entered a phase of intense scrutiny. Organisations are now expected to communicate sustainability as part of business performance and brand credibility, not as isolated initiatives or feel-good campaigns. Climate transition, responsible value chains, circularity, social impact, governance and ESG disclosures are being examined by investors, consumers, employees, regulators, communities and business partners at the same time.
The Skills Gap It Closes
Most organisations struggle because the sustainability work, the supporting data and the final communication often sit with different teams. Sustainability and ESG teams may hold the evidence. Business teams may own the actual initiatives. Communication, brand or marketing teams may shape the narrative. Leadership may want a strong public position. The challenge is to bring these pieces together without saying too much, which risks greenwashing, or saying too little, which leads to greenhushing.
What You Will Be Able To Do
By the end of the two intensive days, you will have built practical competencies to apply inside your organization:
Distinguish between a claim, proof, evidence, impact and narrative.
Understand different stakeholder expectations and how they shape corporate reputation.
Build evidence-based, credible sustainability communication using the TADD model.
Test a sustainability claim using a practical credibility filter, and differentiate credible communication from weak claims, greenwashing and greenhushing.
What You Leave With
This is not a theoretical session. You will build a comprehensive, custom-tailored **Biodiversity Business Toolkit** section by section:
Sustainability Communication Playbook
A five-part playbook built during the workshop. Includes Risk Lens, TADD Authenticity Check, Claim and Proof Map, Stakeholder Trust Map, and Communication Build Framework to test and build credible narratives.
The Course Modules
Interactive modules covered in one day.
Understand Risk
Objective: Understand why sustainability communication has become high-stakes and what risks to watch for.
Key Topics Covered
- •The evolution of sustainability communication and the rise of ESG scrutiny
- •The four forces driving scrutiny: media, investors, stakeholders, internal misalignment
- •Why communication fails: overclaiming, vague jargon, and the say-do gap
- •Greenwashing and greenhushing, in brief
- •Why trust has broken down
Group Activity
Case discussion (group). Teams look at the examples and name what made the communication fail.
Check Authenticity
Objective: Use TADD to judge whether a piece of communication is authentic.
Key Topics Covered
- •TADD and its four pillars: transparency, accountability, data, dialogue
- •How each pillar shows up in real communication
- •Using TADD to audit a piece of communication
- •Spotting vague claims, missing proof, misleading visuals and data gaps
Group Activity
Greenwashing Audit Lab (group). Teams audit a piece of sustainability communication against TADD.
Connect Claim and Proof
Objective: Separate what can be claimed from what must be proven, and avoid greenwashing and greenhushing.
Key Topics Covered
- •The Claim, Proof, Impact model: what you say, what backs it, what changed
- •The Credibility Filter: specific, evidenced, proportionate, clear, defensible
- •Deciding what can be responsibly said
- •Identifying the proof needed: data, documentation, validation, ownership
- •Avoiding greenwashing and greenhushing
Group Activity
Claim and proof exercise (group). Teams take claims and decide what can be said and what proof is required.
Map Stakeholder Trust
Objective: Understand stakeholder expectations, how they shape reputation, and build narratives stakeholders trust.
Key Topics Covered
- •Who reads a claim: investors, consumers, regulators, media, employees, communities
- •What each stakeholder expects, and how that shapes reputation
- •Storytelling and story-proving: a clear story carried by proof
- •Human-centred, purpose-driven narratives
- •Communicating to executives and boards
Group Activity
Stakeholder narrative exercise (group). Teams build a narrative shaped for different stakeholders.
Build the Communication
Objective: Run the whole playbook on a real case from start to finish.
Key Topics Covered
- •Identify the real work behind the case
- •Find the proof
- •Make credible claims using TADD
- •Map the stakeholders
- •Write an effective communication narrative
Group Activity
Group project and expert / peer feedback. Teams build the communication, then present it for feedback.
Who is this for?
- Sustainability and ESG professionals
- Corporate communications teams
- Marketing and brand managers
- Functional leaders who own ESG in their part of the business
- Strategy teams
- Investor Relations teams
- Professionals looking to move into sustainability communication or branding roles
Have Queries?
Have questions about the curriculum, custom/group corporate training, schedule, or fit for your career? We are here to help.