Eric Fischgrund

Speak to or receive feedback from the client's team members who are tasked with moving the business forward. These can be sales / business development people; marketing and SEO leaders; those tasked with raising capital; and others who can use public relations output as a tool in their day to day business. For example, if a brand is dependent on inbound inquiries via its website, then speak with the SEO team to understand PR and its in role in strengthening search position and domain authority.

One way to provide value is to volunteer counsel/brainstorming/feedback sessions for people in (or soon to be in) your network. This is easily done by carving out just a couple of hours a month, which could create four 30-minute sessions. Using this time to be a sounding board for others and share your own experience/insights benefits those around you, improves your own brand, and likely teaches you a few new things as well.

A short blog post or video demonstrating or explaining sustainability subject matter can be highly effective, especially if you personalize it. This means forgoing the costly, time-consuming process of hiring a copywriter or video production company / freelancer. Instead, try typing up a short summary of your efforts on a personal or work blog (or LinkedIn post), or shooting a 30 to 90 second video on your smart phone. It's free and effective.

LinkedIn is a great tool for demonstrating your own resume, experience and qualifications - but it should also been viewed as an opportunity to help others. By growing your network you will no doubt be exposed to those seeking jobs, as well as employers and brands seeking to fill roles. Help connect individuals and companies you think are good fits. Comment on job postings and tag parties you think may be interested/relevant. Similarly, provide feedback on others' work. LinkedIn is not solely for self-promotion - carve out time each day or week to review other insightful posts and share thoughts on why it's impactful. This engagement goes a long way in terms of building your personal brand as well as your reach.

Good ideas and initiatives often come from within. Ask your colleagues and/or strategic partners about what they think will work toward driving sustainability within your organization, as well as externally. You can do this by maintaining an open-door policy where colleagues are encouraged to bring their ideas forward, or commissioning surveys (public or anonymous) on an annual or quarterly basis. Similar to culture initiatives, companies of all sizes (but especially larger ones) should task committees to execute these collaborative brainstorming ideas. The committees should not have principals and decision makers on them, which enables more free thinking.

One of the most effective and personal ways to brand your sustainability / environmental efforts is to blog. This includes traditional (written word) or video, which is especially effective over LinkedIn. Don't overthink written content! 200 or 300 words a few times a week is far better than a 800 word piece every quarter. Make it easy on yourself by conveying what you're doing and why you're doing it, and try to publish once or twice per week in some long form setting, i.e. a LI post or blog. For video, keep it short and keep it simple. a 45 second video is fine, and there are numerous tools to record and edit effectively, including those on your phone.