How to Write & Design an ESG Presentation [A Detailed Guide]
- Ink Narrates | The Presentation Design Agency
- 3 hours ago
- 8 min read
Our client Dan asked us an interesting question while we were making his ESG presentation.
He said, "How do we make sure our ESG message actually sticks with our audience?"
Our Creative Director answered,
"You focus on clarity, relevance, and storytelling, and the rest falls into place."
As a presentation design agency, we work on many ESG presentations throughout the year and in the process, we’ve observed one common challenge: companies often overload their slides with data and buzzwords, leaving the audience overwhelmed and disengaged.
In this blog, you'll learn how to write & design your ESG presentations using the art of storytelling.
In case you didn't know, we specialize in only one thing: making presentations. We can help you by designing your slides and writing your content too.
What is an ESG Presentation
An ESG presentation is basically your company’s report card on how responsibly it’s running the business (environmentally, socially, and in governance). It’s your chance to turn dry metrics and policies into a story that actually makes sense to people.
Why do you make it?
Because people care about more than profits now. Investors, employees, and partners want to know you’re not just chasing money but actually doing good. And if you can’t show that clearly, you’ve already lost them.
2 Mistakes We've Seen People Make With their ESG Presentations
1. Data Overload Without Context
Many ESG presentations drown in numbers. Charts, percentages, and dashboards without explanation leave the audience confused instead of informed. Every data point should serve a purpose and move the story forward.
2. Focusing on Actions Instead of Impact
Listing every initiative sounds impressive but often misses the point. Your audience wants to know why your efforts matter and what difference they make. Connect actions to outcomes, or your presentation risks feeling like a laundry list.
How to Write Slide Content for Your ESG Efforts [+Topics]
1. Start With the Big Picture
Before you dive into numbers or initiatives, set the context. Think of your slides as the opening scene of a movie. Your audience should immediately know why your ESG efforts are relevant. Start with a slide that explains your company’s ESG philosophy or overarching goals.
For example, a slide could state your mission like this: “We aim to achieve net-zero emissions by 2035 while promoting diversity and ethical governance across all operations.” This sets the stage for everything else. It tells your audience: this isn’t just a compliance exercise; this is a strategic priority.
Keep it simple. One slide, one big idea. Don’t clutter it with sub-metrics or action points yet. The goal is to give your audience a mental anchor so they know why they’re paying attention.
2. Break Down Your ESG Focus Areas
ESG covers three broad areas: Environmental, Social, and Governance. Each of these areas should have its own section or set of slides in your presentation. Think of it as dividing your story into chapters:
Environmental (E) – Focus on your initiatives related to sustainability, resource management, and climate impact. Example topics: energy efficiency, carbon footprint reduction, waste management, water conservation, or renewable energy adoption.
Social (S) – Highlight efforts impacting people, both inside and outside your organization. Example topics: employee wellbeing, diversity and inclusion, community engagement, volunteer programs, health and safety standards.
Governance (G) – Show how your company operates responsibly at a structural level. Example topics: ethical decision-making, board diversity, transparency, compliance policies, anti-corruption measures, risk management frameworks.
For each focus area, dedicate slides to key initiatives, metrics, and stories of impact. Don’t try to cover everything; choose the most meaningful actions that show measurable results and strategic intent.
3. Include Initiatives, Not Just Policies
One of the biggest mistakes we see in ESG presentations is treating slides like a policy manual. Bullet points like “we follow XYZ standards” sound responsible but don’t resonate. Instead, show what you actually did.
For example, rather than saying:
“We have a diversity policy in place.”
Say:
“We implemented mentorship programs for underrepresented employees, resulting in a 25% increase in promotions for women and minority staff in the past year.”
Notice how the second version tells a story with context, action, and result. That’s what makes slide content memorable. Every initiative should have a clear outcome or measurable effect.
4. Tie Actions to Impact
Metrics are necessary, but numbers alone don’t communicate impact. Your slide content should always answer the question: why does this matter?
If you show a slide saying, “We reduced carbon emissions by 15%,” add context:
How does this compare to industry standards?
What does this mean for the environment or communities affected by your operations?
What’s next—are you on track to meet a long-term target?
Framing metrics within their broader impact gives your audience clarity and makes your ESG story meaningful, not just informational.
5. Prioritize Key Topics Per Slide
Every slide should cover one topic or one main idea. Overloading slides with multiple initiatives or metrics dilutes your message. Here’s a simple framework for your slide content:
Slide Title – Make it descriptive and assertive. Instead of “Energy Efficiency Efforts,” say “Cutting Energy Use by 20% Reduced Emissions by 10,000 Tons.”
Key Initiative – One sentence explaining the program or action.
Supporting Metric or Visual – Chart, graph, or image showing measurable results. Keep it simple. Avoid clutter.
Impact Statement – One sentence connecting the initiative to real-world outcomes or business goals.
Following this framework ensures your slides are focused, clear, and tell a story instead of just listing achievements.
6. Use Storytelling Within Each Focus Area
People remember stories, not spreadsheets. Even in ESG, narrative beats raw data every time. You can make your slides tell a story by following this simple approach:
Set the Scene – Explain the problem or challenge your initiative addresses. Example: “Our manufacturing process used 40% more water than industry standards, affecting local communities.”
Show the Action – Highlight what the company did to solve the problem. Example: “We installed water recycling systems and optimized production processes.”
Present the Result – Show measurable outcomes or qualitative benefits. Example: “This reduced water usage by 30%, restoring local groundwater levels.”
This structure works across Environmental, Social, and Governance areas. Each initiative becomes a mini-story, making the audience care about the efforts rather than just scanning metrics.
7. Incorporate Visuals to Reinforce Your Points
Even in the “writing slide content” phase, think about how visuals will support your words. Charts, icons, and infographics can help communicate complex information quickly. Use visuals to highlight impact:
Use bar graphs or line charts for trends over time.
Use pie charts for percentages and proportions.
Use icons or simple illustrations for initiatives, making them easier to remember.
Avoid turning slides into visual chaos. Each visual should have a purpose, reinforce your point, and make the data digestible.
8. Keep Language Clear and Direct
ESG presentations are often full of jargon: sustainability frameworks, regulatory terms, or technical metrics. Your audience doesn’t need to be an expert. Write slide content in plain, confident language.
Instead of:
“We implemented energy-efficient measures to enhance our corporate sustainability strategy.”
Say:
“We cut energy use by 20% in our plants, reducing emissions by 10,000 tons.”
Simple, specific, and outcome-focused. That’s the kind of language that sticks.
9. End Each Section With a Key Takeaway
After presenting initiatives and results in one ESG focus area, end the section with a summary slide. This could be a single sentence that captures the essence of your efforts and their impact.
Example for Environmental section:
“Our energy and water initiatives cut emissions and conserved resources, showing measurable progress toward our 2030 sustainability targets.”
Takeaways like this reinforce the story and ensure your audience walks away remembering the most important points.
10. Review and Edit Ruthlessly
Finally, writing slide content isn’t about adding more—it’s about cutting the unnecessary. Review each slide and ask:
Does this slide have one clear point?
Does every word support that point?
Would someone understand this without me explaining it?
If the answer is no, revise or remove content. Conciseness in ESG slide writing is critical because your audience will appreciate clarity over volume every time.
How to Design Your ESG Presentation
Design is not decoration. In ESG presentations, it’s the difference between your audience understanding your story or completely zoning out. A well-designed slide deck guides attention, highlights impact and makes complex information digestible.
Start with Your Brand, or Choose Colors Wisely
If your company has an established brand palette, stick to it. Consistent colors reinforce identity and make your presentation look professional.
If you don’t have a brand palette, pick 2–3 complementary colors that work well together. Use brighter colors sparingly to highlight key data or actions, and neutral tones for background and less critical info. Avoid too many competing colors—they distract, not inform.
Layout Design: Clarity Over Creativity
Keep layouts simple and structured. Each slide should have one main idea. Use headers to signal the topic, visuals to support it, and minimal text. Avoid overcrowding with too many graphs or paragraphs. White space is your friend, it gives your content room to breathe and makes it easier for your audience to follow the story.
Typography That Guides the Eye
Font choice and hierarchy matter more than most people realize. Use one or two clean, legible fonts. Headings should be bold and larger to signal importance. Body text should be smaller but readable. Avoid fancy fonts that look nice but are hard to read. Use size, weight, and color to guide the audience’s attention to the most important information first.
At the end of the day, the design of your ESG presentation should serve the content, not compete with it. Every layout, color choice, and typographic decision should make your story easier to follow, your metrics easier to digest, and your impact impossible to miss.
Things to Keep in Mind While Presenting Your ESG Ideas
Know Your Story Inside Out
Don’t just read the slides. You should know the story so well that the slides are just cues. This allows you to speak naturally, answer questions confidently, and keep the audience focused on your narrative rather than on your hesitation.
Keep It Simple and Focused
Your audience doesn’t need to know every single metric or every policy detail. Stick to the key points that matter most and tie them to outcomes and impact. If you overload them, they’ll tune out. Your job is to make the ESG story clear, memorable, and actionable.
Use Your Slides as a Guide, Not a Script
Slides are there to support your story, not replace it. Avoid reading them verbatim. Instead, highlight key figures, visuals, or examples, and expand on them verbally. This keeps your delivery engaging and prevents your audience from checking out.
Engage, Don’t Lecture
Ask questions, pause to let points sink in, and reference real-world examples or stories. ESG presentations are not just about numbers—they’re about people and impact. Bringing that human element into your delivery makes it stick.
Body Language and Tone Matter
Stand tall, maintain eye contact, and vary your tone to emphasize important points. If you seem nervous or disengaged, your audience will notice. Confidence conveys credibility, especially when you’re talking about initiatives that affect people, the environment, and governance.
Why Hire Us to Build your Presentation?
If you're reading this, you're probably working on a presentation right now. You could do it all yourself. But the reality is - that’s not going to give you the high-impact presentation you need. It’s a lot of guesswork, a lot of trial and error. And at the end of the day, you’ll be left with a presentation that’s “good enough,” not one that gets results. On the other hand, we’ve spent years crafting thousands of presentations, mastering both storytelling and design. Let us handle this for you, so you can focus on what you do best.
How To Get Started?
If you want to hire us for your presentation design project, the process is extremely easy.
Just click on the "Start a Project" button on our website, calculate the price, make payment, and we'll take it from there.
We look forward to working with you!