Don’t Sleep on Executive Thought Leadership

Stephen Lease, CEO of goodr, talked about his company’s 1% for the Planet membership on stage at WBUR Festival in May 2026.

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Your leaders have a 1% for the Planet story worth telling. Here’s how to make the most of it.

You've done the work. You've committed 1% of annual revenue to fund environmental solutions. You've supported vetted environmental partners doing critical on-the-ground work so our planet and future generations can thrive. And you’ve had that giving certified every single year by your accountability buddy (that’s us!). 

So now what? The question isn’t if you should share this story with the world. Doing so bolsters your brand, brings new ones into the 1% for the Planet network, and helps grow the impact of the wider “business for good” movement. As 1% for the Planet CEO Kate Williams wrote in a Fast Company Executive board piece, “When businesses share their stories, it allows others to see what’s possible and puts positive pressure on them to step up.”

No, the real question is how you’ll talk about it. 

There is no shortage of options: Your 1% for the Planet story clicks for audiences when they see it integrated across retail displays, in your ad campaigns and throughout your content channels. 

But there’s another, often-underutilized channel that we’ve seen be particularly powerful for brands in the 1% for the Planet network: executive thought leadership.

Why executive voices build brand trust

Executive thought leadership is like a Trojan Horse for building brand trust. Your spokesperson grows an audience by sharing insights and points-of-view that are unique to them and their experience. That audience finds these offerings valuable and starts looking to them as a trusted leader of an industry or movement. And by proxy, these people trust your brand and become a new audience in your ecosystem.

By many measures, executive content is more effective than brand-owned content. For example, executive posts on LinkedIn garner 600% more reach on LinkedIn, and 64% of buyers find thought leadership content to be “a more trustworthy basis for assessing” a company’s capabilities than the brand’s marketing materials. 

For leaders in the 1% for the Planet network, in particular, there is also the opportunity to inspire peers to follow suit when talking about 1% for the Planet membership. If a CEO says something like, "We joined 1% for the Planet because accountability matters to us," it could be the final thing a fellow CEO or founder needed to hear to finally commit to environmental action.

Start with a few core talking points

Sometimes an executive spearheaded 1% for the Planet membership themselves and can wax poetic about its merits all day long. Sometimes it’s up to the impact or marketing team to make sure all spokespeople are up to speed on the details of your 1% for the Planet membership so they can easily and confidently speak about it in any public setting. The good news is that it's super simple. 

We recommend developing five or so approved talking points about your 1% for the Planet membership to roll out to the entire team, with particular attention paid to prepping spokespeople with this info.

1. When you joined and why.
2. A simple explanation of what 1% for the Planet is and how it works: 1% for the Planet is a global network of businesses committed to lasting environmental action. Members give at least 1% of annual revenue—not profits—to vetted environmental organizations working on the ground. 1% for the Planet certifies our contributions annually, ensuring our commitment is real, verified and impactful.

3. Names and brief descriptions of key environmental partners.
4. A few specific environmental outcomes that have resulted from contributions (e.g., number of acres conserved, trees planted or pounds of plastic removed). Work with your environmental partners to surface these metrics if you have not already done so. 
5. Key examples of how the business has benefited from 1% for the Planet membership (e.g., increases to employee retention).

It’s not about reciting these verbatim. (In fact, don’t try that. It’ll likely fall flat.) Focus on having spokespeople know these key details well enough that they are able to speak to them naturally and personally.

Where to tell your 1% for the Planet story

Thought leadership lives wherever your C-suite is interacting with the world. Your leaders have a strong impact story to tell, so make it travel across all of their touch points: 

• As a core pillar in your CEO’s LinkedIn strategy. Plan consistent posts about why your brand is a member, what impact you've made and what you've learned along the way.
  
  • Look to Magdalena Boulet, President of GU Energy Labs, for a great example that gets into why her company committed to 1% for the Planet and what that decision reflects about the brand's values.
• Media interviews and podcast appearances: Mention your membership, how long you've been a member and what it means for your brand.
• On panels and in keynotes: Weave 1% for the Planet in as part of your brand's values and sustainability storytelling on stage.
• Press kits and bios: Update external-facing assets to include your 1% for the Planet membership and key impact details.

Thought leadership best practices for purpose-driven leaders

Your impact story already has all the ingredients for great thought leadership: a meaningful commitment, a personal connection to the “why,” measurable outcomes, interesting partnerships, and hard-won learnings your peers and aspiring leaders are hungry for. A few tips to help you tell it well:   

• Focus on one main point. Especially when writing for a platform like LinkedIn, where your audience will be scrolling, it helps to hone in on one thing you have to say. 
• Make it personal. Speak from experience. 
• Be specific. Details, anecdotes and real numbers make content memorable. 
• Back claims with data. Cite impact metrics, your business outcomes, your membership tenure, etc.
• Keep it natural. Trying writing like you talk. (Reading it aloud helps.) 
• Last but not least, tag 1% for the Planet in your thought leadership on LinkedIn and Instagram! When encouraging other businesses to step up, link out to our interest form.

Not yet a member? Let’s talk.

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