We explore a science-based approach to measuring, monitoring, and understanding trust to facilitate meaningful stakeholder engagement and drive sustainable business. This approach, called The Trust Index, is a key component of the altumINSIGHT platform developed by Attego ESG Impact Solutions, a division of RTI International. This presentation is an annotated version of the original, which was delivered at the 2017 Sustainable Brands New Metrics Conference.

1. Exploring Trust
Kellem Emanuele
Attego ESG Impact Solutions
Copyright Attego ESG Impact Solutions - A Division of RTI International

2. THIS SLIDE DECK WAS ORIGINALLY PRESENTED AT THE
NOVEMBER 2017 SUSTAINABLE BRANDS NEW METRICS CONFERENCE.
FOR THE BENEFIT OF THOSE WHO DID NOT EXPERIENCE THE ORIGINAL
PRESENTATION, A FEW TAKEAWAY NOTES HAVE BEEN ADDED TO EACH
SLIDE, INDICATED BY *.
CONTACT KELLEM EMANUELE AT KEMANUELE@ATTEGO.COM
WITH ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS.
INTRODUCTION
Copyright Attego ESG Impact Solutions - A Division of RTI International

3. THERE IS A SCIENCE TO TRUST
ACTIONABLE SCIENCE REQUIRES METRICS
*WHILE NEARLY EVERYONE AGREES THAT TRUST IS IMPORTANT TO BUSINESS,
WHAT’S MISSING IS AN OBJECTIVE, DATA-DRIVEN APPROACH TO UNDERSTAND IT.
WE CREATED THE TRUST INDEX TO ADDRESS THIS CHALLENGE.
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4. WE KNOW TRUST IS
TIED TO SUSTAINABILITY
*THE ISSUES THAT INFLUENCE STAKEHOLDER TRUST, AND
ARE IMPORTANT TO BUSINESS SUSTAINABILITY, ARE
NUMEROUS, VARIABLE, AND SUBJECT TO CHANGE.
FOR EXAMPLE...
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5. *FOR SOME STAKEHOLDERS, THE TOP PRIORITIES INCLUDE OPERATIONS, EXTERNALITIES, AND THE COMMUNITIES
AND ECOSYSTEMS THAT ARE AFFECTED BY THESE.
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6. *OTHER STAKEHOLDERS ARE PRIMARILY CONCERNED WITH ISSUES RELATED TO COMPETITION BETWEEN HABITAT
PRESERVATION AND RESOURCE NEEDS TO SUPPORT A GROWING POPULATION’S RIGHT TO TRANSITION FROM
POVERTY TO PROSPERITY.
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7. *WHILE OTHERS ARE FOCUSED ON ENSURING EFFECTIVE STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT ACROSS VALUE CHAINS.
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8. *AND FOR OTHERS, PRODUCT LIFECYCLE, WASTE, AND THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY MOST INFLUENCE TRUST.
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9. WE KNOW SOCIAL MEDIA
INFLUENCES BUSINESS VALUE
*SOCIAL MEDIA PROVIDES AN OUTLET FOR PEOPLE TO COMMUNICATE
WHAT THEY FEEL IS IMPORTANT. WE KNOW THAT SOCIAL MEDIA
MOVES AT A RAPID PACE, IS UNFILTERED, HAS RAPIDLY INCREASING
USE, AND IS ACCESSIBLE ACROSS KEY STAKEHOLDER GROUPS:
CUSTOMERS, VALUE CHAINS, COMMUNITIES, AND INVESTORS.
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10. IN A STUDY OF 2,000 PR CRISES
28% SPREAD INTERNATIONALLY WITHIN AN HOUR
69% REACH 11 COUNTRIES IN 24 HOURS
ONE YEAR LATER,
53% OF COMPANIES INVOLVED
HADN’T RECOVERED THEIR STOCK PRICE
Copyright Attego ESG Impact Solutions - A Division of RTI International

11. COMMUNICATION CONVEYS
PRIORITY AND SENTIMENT
*SOCIAL MEDIA AND OTHER PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS PROVIDE THE DATA
SOURCE THAT INFORMS THE TRUST INDEX. FOR A GIVEN COMPANY, ISSUE, OR
LOCATION, WE IDENTIFY BOTH THE PRIORITY TOPICS AS WELL AS THE
SENTIMENT TOWARD THEM.
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12. AIR QUALITY ISSUE TRACKING FOR A LARGE INDUSTRIAL PROJECT
*WE COMBINE DATA SCIENCE WITH SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTISE TO COLLECT AND INTERPRET THE DATA. THIS PROCESS IS TUNED AND
RETUNED OVER TIME TO KEEP PACE WITH COMMUNICATION TRENDS SUCH AS THE USE OF ACRONYMS AND EMOTICONS.
THIS GRAPH PROVIDES ONE EXAMPLE OF AN IMPORTANT ISSUE AT AN INDUSTRIAL PROJECT SITE.
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13. POSITIVE (OR NEGATIVE) SENTIMENT
DEMONSTRATES PRESENCE (OR ABSENCE) OF TRUST
*WE CREATE AN INDEX BY PLOTTING A TRUST SCORE OVER TIME.
THE SCORE IS CALCULATED AS A FUNCTION OF POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE SENTIMENT.
Copyright Attego ESG Impact Solutions - A Division of RTI International

14. -0.12
-0.08
-0.03
0.02
0.06
0.11
MACD Signal
INCLINING (OR DECLINING) TRENDS IN SENTIMENT
REVEAL MOMENTUM GAINS (OR LOSSES) OF TRUST
*WE APPLY BUSINESS METHODOLOGIES, SUCH AS MOVING AVERAGE CONVERGENCE DIVERGENCE (MACD), TO EXPLORE POSSIBLE
TRENDS THOUGH APPROACHES THAT RESONATE WITH BUSINESS DECISION MAKERS.
Copyright Attego ESG Impact Solutions - A Division of RTI International

15. *IDENTIFYING THE LEVEL OF TRUST AND TRACKING IT OVER TIME IS ONE PART OF A
LARGER ANALYTICAL APPROACH. WE ALSO APPLY SOCIAL SCIENCE EXPERTISE TO
IDENTIFY AND UNDERSTAND THE EMOTIONS UNDERLYING SENTIMENT.
EMOTION DRIVES BEHAVIOR
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16. DIFFERENT EMOTIONS REQUIRE
DIFFERENT RESPONSES
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17. -1.00
-0.65
-0.30
0.05
0.40
6/2 6/9 6/16 6/23 6/30 7/7 7/14 7/21 7/28 8/4 8/11 8/18 8/25 9/1 9/8 9/15 9/22 9/29 10/6 10/13
TrustIndex
0
6
12
18
24
30
JOY
SURPRISE
NEUTRAL
SADNESS
FEAR
DISGUST
ANGER
0
6
13
19
25
JOY
SURPRISE
NEUTRAL
SADNESS
FEAR
DISGUST
ANGER
*FOR EXAMPLE, BOTH ANGER AND FEAR CONVEY NEGATIVE SENTIMENT AND CAN PRODUCE THE SAME TRUST INDEX SCORE.
HOWEVER, WE KNOW THAT EACH REQUIRES A DIFFERENT RESPONSE IN ORDER TO BUILD TRUST.
Copyright Attego ESG Impact Solutions - A Division of RTI International

18. COMMUNICATION IS NETWORKED
*EQUALLY IMPORTANT TO IDENTIFYING THE UNDERLYING EMOTIONS DRIVING
STAKEHOLDER SENTIMENT AND BEHAVIOR IS UNDERSTANDING HOW THAT
COMMUNICATION IS NETWORKED. THIS INCLUDES IDENTIFYING THE
COMMUNICATION HUBS THAT HAVE THE GREATEST INFLUENCE.
Copyright Attego ESG Impact Solutions - A Division of RTI International

19. *THROUGH THE APPLICATION OF THE TRUST INDEX AND OUR ANALYTICAL TOOLS, WE NOT ONLY OBJECTIVELY
IDENTIFY WHAT’S IMPORTANT, TO WHOM, AND HOW, WE ARE ABLE TO IDENTIFY HOW TO RESPOND AND
PROACTIVELY ENGAGE TO STRENGTHEN THIS KEY COMPONENT OF BUSINESS VALUE.
Copyright Attego ESG Impact Solutions - A Division of RTI International

20. IN CONCLUSION
WHILE TRUST IS LARGELY REGARDING AS INTANGIBLE, IT HAS SIGNIFICANT VALUE - TO BUSINESS,
SUSTAINABILITY, AND BUSINESS SUSTAINABILITY. AS SUCH, THE MEASUREMENT OF TRUST IS CRITICALLY
IMPORTANT, AND CAN BE ACCOMPLISHED.
THANK YOU.
BY COMBINING DATA SCIENCE WITH SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTISE, WE CAN
1. MONITOR AND MEASURE THE PRESENCE OR ABSENCE OF TRUST
2. IDENTIFY THE UNDERLYING EMOTIONS AND KEY ISSUES THAT INFORM STAKEHOLDER BEHAVIOR
3. MAP THE STRATEGIC PATHWAYS AND INTERVENTIONS TO OBJECTIVELY UNDERSTAND AND ENGAGE TO
ULTIMATELY REDUCE BUSINESS RISK AND ACHIEVE GREATER POSITIVE IMPACT
Copyright Attego ESG Impact Solutions - A Division of RTI International

21. REFERENCES
• INTANGIBLE VALUE
Prahalad, Deepa. Why Trust Matters More Than Ever for Brands https://hbr.org/2011/12/why-trust-matters-more-than-ev
• SOCIAL MEDIA - DELOITTE
https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/us/Documents/consumer-business/us-cb-navigating-the-new-digital-divide-051315.pdf
• CONNECTION BETWEEN EMOTIONS & BEHAVIOR
https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/jenniferlerner/files/annual_review_manuscript_june_16_final.final_.pdf
• PR CRISIS
https://www.freshfields.com/globalassets/campaign-landing/cyber-security/containing-a-crisis.pdf
Copyright Attego ESG Impact Solutions - A Division of RTI International