There are lots of reasons why companies should engage in public policy advocacy.

Yes, some of these go beyond the kinds of rationale that would end up in a ROI calculation or business case.

But there are plenty of reasons why your company should engage in advocacy from a value creation perspective as well.

These factors don't always fit neatly into these two buckets.

But here's a quick summary of "why advocacy" with this framing.

What's in it for your company:

• Help level the playing field with companies that aren't investing in sustainability
• Build and strengthen credibility with customers
• Reduce potential regulatory risk and costs
• Increase access to resources and infrastructure to support your growth

What's in it for people & the planet:

• Dramatically increase the positive impact your company is having on issues that matter
• Go beyond your sphere of control and influence to help transform industries
• Support actions that improve lives up and down value chains

Not every issue requires changing laws or updating public policy.

But it’s difficult to even make that determination if you haven’t defined the problem you’re trying to solve.

In our work with business clients, we commonly find that an problem they are considering for an advocacy campaign is misdiagnosed or already addressed through existing laws.

We find that your credibility and ability to engage effectively on an issue in an authentic way with stakeholders and policymakers needs a legitimate link to your business.

That said, we also believe that some issues are material to all businesses across all industries (e.g. protecting democratic institutions, rule of law, voter access).

Materiality is one of our threshold tests for making a determination about which problems are right for business advocacy - more on these tests below.

Watch Out

We advise against taking positions or engaging in advocacy campaigns on issues that are not materially relevant to a businesses operations, products, or supply chain.

Before we start building a campaign plan with our clients we make sure that the problem we’re trying to address make sense for an advocacy campaign.

To help with this assessment we apply what we call “threshold tests” to determine if it makes sense to pursue a campaign further.

In general, these thresholds include the following:

1. Is this issue materially relevant to the business?

2. Is this issue suitable for changes in public policy (read broad)?

3. Is action on this issue timely?

If the answers to all of these questions is “yes” then we proceed with crafting a campaign plan.

Transformative change and the business value that comes along with it requires time and intention.

You’ll need a smart campaign plan to be successful.

The plan should include:

1. Policy gap analysis

2. Stakeholder landscape assessment

3. Legislative strategy

4. Community engagement & communications roadmap

We’ve worked with lobbyists at the local, state, and federal levels across the country.

If you’re looking for advice on when and how to build a campaign plan, engage grassroots, build community, or partner with a lobbying firm we can help you find a guide: info@heyhilde.com

Business is competitive. We get it.

And advocacy can provide value to your business in a number of ways.

But to be successful in an advocacy campaign you’ll need to be collaborative.

That means working in coalition with competitors, partnering with NGOs, and mobilizing your community.

Throughout implementation of your campaign plan the key to value creation is authenticity.

To have authenticity you’ll need to be mindful of the following:

• Identify spending and membership in trade associations, political spending, other government affairs actions that contradict your values and the solution you’re pursuing.

• Make sure you’re sharing credit with partners including NGOs

• Do not overstate your role or impact of the change.