Green Advisors Oy

Category: Communications and content creation

  • Sustainability communications in small and medium-sized enterprises

    Sustainability communications in small and medium-sized enterprises

    Why is communicating about sustainability important for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)?

    Sustainability is no longer just part of large corporations’ communications strategy. Increasingly, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are recognizing the importance of sustainability in their business operations, and communicating about their sustainability activities is a key part of this development.

    Communicating about their sustainability activities and ESG (environmental, social, governance) goals is important for SMEs because it

    • is a way of promoting the company’s values
    • builds trust with customers
    • helps differentiate from competitors, and
    • strengthens the company’s brand.

    What benefits does communicating about sustainability bring to SMEs?

    Well-executed sustainability communications can bring tangible benefits to SMEs:

    • Building trust: Customers, employees, and partners value transparency and responsibility. Clear communication about sustainability efforts and ESG goals enhances the company’s reputation as a trustworthy actor.
    • Competitive advantage: Sustainability can be a significant differentiator in the market, especially when products or services are otherwise similar.
    • Recruitment and engagement: More and more job seekers are looking for employers whose values align with their own. Sustainability communications can attract motivated and committed talent. Successful sustainability work and communication also strengthen the commitment of existing staff.
    • Stakeholder expectations: Investors, customers, and authorities increasingly expect information about a company’s sustainability activities and ESG targets. Proactive communication helps meet these expectations and simplifies data collection when, for example, a financial institution requires documentation for funding decisions.

    How should you communicate about your sustainability activities?

    Sustainability communication doesn’t need to be complicated. Here are a few tips:

    • Be concrete: Explain what you do, why you do it, and what the tangible impacts are. For example: “We have switched to renewable energy, which reduces our carbon footprint by 30% annually.”
    • Be honest: Not everything needs to be perfect before you communicate about it. It’s acceptable to talk about areas for improvement and future goals. This conveys a sense of long-term and planned sustainability activities, which adds credibility.
    • Target your message: Identify the expectations of your audience: Are you speaking to customers, employees, or investors? The tone of voice and content of the message may vary depending on the interests of the target group.

    What is greenwashing and how can it be avoided?

    Greenwashing (or green claims) refers to exaggerating or misleading communication where a company presents itself as more sustainable than it actually is. Examples of greenwashing include:

    • A product claimed to be biodegradable, but it requires industrial composting facilities to break down, or takes so long to decompose that it ends up polluting soil and water.
    • A company advertising a single sustainability action as carbon neutral, when the neutrality is achieved through offsetting emissions rather than actually reducing them.

    How can we help your company develop its sustainability communications?

    Communicating about sustainability is not just a trend: It’s an essential part of modern business. SMEs have a unique opportunity to share their sustainability efforts in an authentic and impactful way. When communication is honest, concrete, and targeted, it can bring significant value to the company.

    Would you need help finalizing a sustainability report? Or perhaps writing or polishing an English-language report or other content?

    We at Green Advisors can help you plan what kind of sustainability communications your company could implement. We offer hourly services for writing or refining website content, blog posts, or your company’s sustainability report from scratch. Get in touch and let’s plan together how we can best develop not only your company’s sustainability but also other communications.

    Related links:

    Our communications and content creation services

    How to write clearer and more understandable technical texts?

    What is voluntary sustainability reporting?

    EU proposal for green claims directive

  • How to write clearer and more understandable technical texts?

    How to write clearer and more understandable technical texts?

    How to write clearer, smarter, and more inclusive technical documentation with the help of Simplified Technical English (STE)?

    Are you a non-native English speaker struggling to write clear and professional technical documentation? Do you find yourself second-guessing grammar, terminology, or tone of voice when creating user manuals, internal technical documentation, or software documentation?

    If so, you’re not alone—and there’s a powerful solution that can transform your writing: Simplified Technical English (STE).

    What is STE and why should you learn about it?

    Simplified Technical English (STE) is a standardized, controlled language developed to make technical documentation clear, concise, and unambiguous—especially for non-native English speakers. Originally designed for the aerospace industry, STE is now used across sectors where precision and clarity are critical.

    The official name of the standard is ASD-STE100, created by the Aerospace and Defence Industries Association of Europe (ASD).

    What does the STE standard include?

    STE consists of two key components:

    • Writing rules: These cover grammar, style, and terminology usage —essentially the best practices of technical writing.
    • Controlled dictionary: A curated list of approved words (about 280 pages!) that are simple, clear, and typically have only one meaning and one part of speech.

    Here’s an axample:

    • Correct: When the motor is in operation, keep your hands away from the blade.
    • Incorrect: Keep your hands away from the blade when the motor is in use.

    STE prefers the word “operation” instead of using the word “use” as a noun. The word “use” is only used as a verb.

    Another example: STE uses only the verb “start” and doesn’t allow the use of “begin” or “commence” at all, which makes the text easier to understand and also easier to translate.

    Why STE Is a game-changer for non-native writers?

    Using STE to support you in writing technical and other company content

    • reduces ambiguity in instructions and descriptive content
    • improves readability for global audiences
    • boosts consistency across documentation
    • minimizes translation errors and localization costs.

    Whether you’re writing for internal teams, external users or your customers, STE helps ensure your message is understood the first time — no matter the reader’s native language.

    What’s new in the 2025 update?

    The STE standard was updated in January this year. From the numerous updates, we’d like to point out two major enhancements:

    Use active voice instead of passive voice

    STE strongly recommends using active voice in both procedural and descriptive writing. Passive voice is only allowed when the agent is unknown.

    • Correct: The computer calculates the energy consumption from these values.
    • Incorrect: The energy consumption is calculated from these values.

    Use inclusive language

    STE now prohibits gender-specific pronouns like “he” or “she.” Instead, it promotes gender-neutral constructions, such as using singular “they.”

    This aligns with modern writing standards and helps create documentation that’s respectful and inclusive for all readers.

    • Correct: Many companies want to make it as easy as possible for the user to find what they need, when they need it.
    • Incorrect: Many companies want to make it as easy as possible for the user to find what she/he needs, when he/she needs it.

    Is STE alone enough to support me in writing good-quality technical content?

    STE works best when combined with your company’s style guide and terminology list. If you don’t have one, STE is a great starting point. For software documentation, we recommend pairing STE with the Microsoft Writing Style Guide for even greater clarity and consistency.

    You can request the latest version of the STE standard online — completely free: Request a copy of STE.
     

    Ready to master STE? Let’s train together!

    If you’re ready to elevate your technical writing skills and make your documentation (technical or not technical) world-class, we offer customized trainings tailored to your needs. Whether you’re an individual writer or part of a documentation team, we’ll help you:

    • understand and apply STE rules effectively
    • build your own terminology and style guide
    • write clearer, more consistent and inclusive content
    • save time and reduce editing cycles.

    Contact us today to plan your customized STE training and start writing with confidence! We also organize training on other topics, see our trainings and workshops site.