Dentsu Inc. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President & CEO: Hiroshi Igarashi) updated its 2018 SDGs Communication Guide,1 and renamed it the Sustainability Communication Guide. This it did under the guidance of the Sustainability Promotion Office and Dentsu Team SDGs which, together, are promoting sustainability-related projects across the Dentsu Group.

Dentsu Team SDGs had planned and produced the 2018 guide, which was made available to the public free of charge and was subsequently used by a great number of people. During the three years since, the Sustainability Promotion Office and Dentsu Team SDGs have been engaged in business-related sustainability domain innovations and value creation, while expanding knowledge and networks in the domain, and accumulating experience related to communications. Having added to this the opinions of experts, the updated and renamed guide now applies to an even broader range of people, and is available for downloading, free of charge, at the URL below.

The spread of COVID-19 and changes in social conditions have increased awareness of the SDGs over the past year, making sustainability a concern familiar to most consumers. Similarly, with respect to corporate and organizational SDGs, sustainability initiatives, and communication activities, increasingly opinions and discussions are being shared and held daily, in both mainstream and social media. This trend is deepening the importance of sustainability transformation (SX), which aims to transform management methods through individual measures as well as organization-wide efforts, by striking a balance between earnings power and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria.

The new guide presents sustainability issues that have been facing Japan and the rest of the world over the past few years, and provides checklists for each stage of communication, including examination, planning, production, and dissemination. In addition, it summarizes environmental and human rights perspectives that should be espoused. We believe that use of the updated guide, together with the further promotion of initiatives and communication activities related to sustainability, will help create a sustainable society.

Dentsu Inc. and the Dentsu Group will continue to work with client companies and all stakeholders in a bid to contribute to the realization of a sustainable society through various measures and businesses that include, but are not limited to, the advertising communications domain.

Sustainability Communication Guide: Overview

Introduction
Recent symbolic cases related to sustainability

Part 1: Practical Sustainability Communication
Checklist and Examples

　Checking perspectives
　　0. Before starting your communication
　　1. Preparing your communication
　　2. Planning expressions
　　3. Creating expressions
　　4. Using the SDGs logo
　　5. Upon completion of draft expression
　　6. After your communication
　Possible conflicts with stakeholders Pointers to constantly raising literacy
　Reference：Dentsu Advertising Awards SDGs Special Award winners

Part 2：Background and Context to Sustainability Communication
　Background social changes and perspectives to consider
　What you need to know as a prerequisite for SDG communication

Appendix
　Accelerated uptake of initiatives related to the SDGs
　Awareness of Japanese consumers regarding the SDGs
　Change in public awareness of social issues following COVID-19
　Little room for optimism under the current sustainability situation
　Notes on global communication design
　Identifying your company's global position
　Regulations related to environmental communications
　Regulations related to human rights communications
　Reference： Sustainability trends (detailed version)
　List of contributors

Distribution method: Available for downloading at:
https://www.dentsu.co.jp/en/sustainability/sdgs_action/pdf/sustainability_communication_guide.pdf

Sustainability Communication Guide: Excerpts








Reference:
Assistance in compiling the Sustainability Communication Guide was received from the following members.2

Mikako Awano
SusCon Japan Founder & CEO

Tsutomu Ando
Dentsu Diversity Lab

Soichi Ueda
Director and Producer, Think the Earth;
Visiting Professor, Tama Art University

Koichi Kaneda
Senior Specialist, ESG Promotion Department, NTT DATA Corporation;
Jury President, Dentsu Advertising Awards SDGs Special Award

Toshihiko Goto
Board Member, Global Compact Network Japan (GCNJ);
Chief Executive Officer, Sustainability Forum Japan

Kaoru Nemoto
Director, United Nations Information Centre, Tokyo

Notes:
1. SDG Communication Guide published in 2018
　https://www.dentsu.co.jp/en/sustainability/sdgs_action/pdf/sdgs_communication_guide.pdf
2. The affiliations and job titles of individuals are as of December 1, 2021.

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