How organizations can leverage internal communications to build competitive advantage through integrated sustainability approaches
Climate resilience advances fastest when nature, technology, and equity move in concert and when employees understand how their daily work reinforces that alignment. At the 2025 Climate and Sustainability Leadership Forum, Jason Rollins, Partner at FINN Partners guides a conversation with Kristen Delphos, VP, Communications & Public Affairs at UL Research Institutes and Chris Micolucci, Global Senior Communications Business Partner at Dematic that links open science, automation, and internal engagement to practical outcomes. The focus stays on translating research into safeguards, redesigning supply chains around lifecycle performance, and communicating clearly so people act with confidence. The intent is to offer actionable guidance that turns ambition into practices employees adopt and customers trust.
Open Science That Becomes Community Safeguards
Resilience accelerates when research, government, and business operate as one system that shares findings in the open. UL Research Institutes investigates battery energy storage safety, wildfire smoke, and sustainable materials and then publishes results so others can apply the work, Delphos explains. This open posture strengthens collaboration with agencies and universities and helps communities at greatest risk prepare for real hazards such as smoke exposure across the wildland urban interface. Safety becomes a starting condition for climate technology rather than a late stage check because the research directs mitigation before products scale.
Automation As A Lifecycle Strategy
Operational choices improve when customers request environmental answers at the beginning of solution design rather than after equipment is installed. Dematic now sees buyers asking about energy intensity, recyclability, and end to end footprint for warehouse automation, Micolucci notes. That shift from compliance to strategy has prompted certifications such as cradle to cradle for the Multishuttle platform and has changed how the company frames value with employees and clients. Market expectations and engineering progress reinforce each other when lifecycle thinking informs materials, power demand, and service models from the start.
Storytelling That Makes Risk Understandable
Behavior changes when complex risks are reframed through concrete stories that connect to daily life. Lithium ion batteries power phones, tools, vehicles, and warehouse systems and while generally safe they demand care because thermal runaway can escalate quickly, Delphos observes. Airline reminders about keeping batteries out of checked luggage become more persuasive when communicators explain why those procedures exist and what mitigation looks like in flight. Narrative that links safety science to familiar routines builds wiser habits and turns policy into shared practice across the workforce.
Internal Communication Built For Relevance
Commitment deepens when communication becomes a two way system designed around relevance, repetition, and proof. Dematic anchors messages in a people, planet, and products framework that employees can recall and apply, then reinforces the themes through the sustainability report, all hands dialogues, and a Sustainability Champions network, Micolucci explains. Live Q and A with tools such as Slido and manager toolkits for pre shift huddles help middle leaders translate strategy into local action. The cadence celebrates progress, invites inquiry, and keeps the journey visible without overwhelming frontline teams.
Better Jobs Through Practical Innovation
Technology strengthens morale and talent attraction when it removes difficult conditions and elevates safety. Automation that takes workers out of sub zero freezer aisles, ergonomic picking stations that reduce strain, and noise reduction that protects hearing all demonstrate how innovation improves jobs, Micolucci adds. Customers then use those gains in their own communications to retain teams and recruit candidates who value wellbeing alongside pay. The result is a workplace narrative where resilience and employee experience advance together because design choices consider human realities.
Measurement That Tracks Reach And Resonance
Impact multiplies when internal communication measures both what people see and what they use and share. UL Research Institutes combines email and intranet analytics with pulse surveys, town hall Q and A, and informal listening on Viva Engage to learn what sticks and where clarity is needed, Delphos explains. Researcher lunch and learns and short explainers make science accessible to non technical colleagues who still influence conversations at home and in communities. The approach favors behavior change over traffic counts and treats feedback as input to the next message rather than as a score.
Purpose That Builds Employer Reputation
Employer reputation strengthens when resilience connects to hope and service in ways that invite participation. Hands on education that brings safety science to schools, community campaigns tied to fire protection and food security, and visible volunteer programs give employees stories they want to tell, Delphos notes. Dematic frames customer relationships as a shared sustainability journey that values progress over perfection and keeps purpose practical. Credibility grows when leaders back claims with verifiable outcomes and when teams see their work reflected in benefits that matter at home and on the floor.
Tailoring Messages To Distinct Audiences
Engagement rises when messages reflect how different roles receive information and make decisions. Technical teams prefer deeper dives and peer led sessions, while support functions and frontline workers benefit from concise narratives that link tasks to outcomes, Delphos explains. Leadership teams respond to risk, strategy, and business value, and middle managers need language and tools that enable quick conversations during huddles and one to ones, Micolucci adds. A single storyline holds together when format, depth, and examples adjust to each audience without diluting the core.
What Changes Next
Future practice evolves toward impact evidence, regional nuance, and emotionally resonant storytelling supported by smart tools. European conversations continue shifting from reporting to demonstrated outcomes, while North American buyers sustain emphasis on energy performance and durable returns even as public messaging moderates, Micolucci observes. Artificial intelligence helps researchers detect patterns and helps communicators tailor formats, yet authenticity remains a human advantage because lived narratives carry emotional weight, Delphos explains. Immersive and interactive content that meets people where they are will complement open data and turn learning into motivation.
Leadership That Integrates The Pillars
Leadership coherence emerges as the throughline that binds nature, technology, and equity into a durable system. Open science informs product choices, automation advances both efficiency and dignity, and employees see themselves in the story because communication makes the work tangible. Resilience stops being an abstract goal and becomes how the organization operates when evidence, roles, and language align. Leaders who practice this integration convert climate commitments into daily operations that are safer, smarter, and fairer and they build the confidence that sustains progress over the long term.
