Retailers Calendar

You may wish to communicate your achievements differently to various stakeholders groups. For instance,
customers may be more effectively reached through supplements to conventional advertising or in-store
information while a more formal report might be more appropriate for suppliers or financial institutions.
The following table can help you decide which communication medium might be the most suitable for your needs.
Across the top row you list your most important stakeholders and in the left column list the methods you are
considering. Check off which stakeholders you can reach using each method.
How can your stakeholders be reached most effectively?
Means to report
Formal sustainability report
Newsletter
Press release
Conference
Meetings
Conventional advertising
supplement
Other(s)
Table 12.3: Reaching stakeholders efficiently
Get Recognition for Your Efforts
In-Store Issues Supply Chain Issues Customer
Relations Issues
Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder
Getting external recognition for your efforts can be an important part of communicating your green credentials to
your stakeholders. Many non-government and government organisations acknowledge outstanding performance
with awards of various kinds. Seek out different award schemes that are appropriate for your organisation and
apply for them. Receiving a sustainability award can add considerable exposure to your retail operation and will
enhance the profile of your sustainability program among top management.
Achieve Continuous Improvement
Striving for continuous improvement is clearly an important goal, however to fully realise the value of your efforts
you should also strive to continuously improve the means by which you communicate your achievements. The
final step in this section of the Retail Guidelines is to collect feedback from your internal and external
stakeholders on how to better meet their information needs in terms of structure, content and scope of your
communication efforts.
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