What I did

Built ESG capability

  • Completed a crash course to master ESG frameworks, ratings logic, and disclosure norms.

  • Brought in an ESG advisory agency to pressure-test our approach.

Created a group-wide research framework

Designed and ran an internal audit across 9 countries, covering six pillars:

  • Workforce & Workplace (people, culture, DEI, safety)

  • Customers & Content (editorial standards, audience safety, accessibility)

  • Communities (education, media literacy, philanthropy)

  • Environment (energy, waste, production footprint)

  • Ethics (code of conduct, anti-corruption, data ethics)

  • Governance (board oversight, policies, reporting cadence)

Mapped disclosure vs. performance

  • Built a matrix of what we did vs. what we said, flagging strong activities that were invisible externally.

  • Conducted a peer benchmark against major broadcasters to identify missing disclosures and best-practice phrasing.

Rewrote the corporate story

  • Redesigned CME’s corporate website ESG pages to surface verifiable programs, policies, KPIs, and case studies.

  • Refreshed quarterly earnings materials (press releases, decks, Q&A) so ESG proof points reinforced the investment thesis.

  • Set up an annual reporting rhythm so updates landed before rating data-collection windows.

Established governance & repeatability

  • Created an internal data pipeline with clear owners per market/pillar.

  • Implemented sign-off and evidence folders for auditors and ratings analysts.

Results

  • Rating uplift: advanced from a ‘very poor’ to a ‘very good’ third-party ESG rating in the next annual cycle.

  • Investor confidence: fewer ESG-related challenges; stronger alignment between IR and Comms.

  • Operational lift: centralized, reusable ESG data; clearer roles across 9 markets.

  • Reputation: narrative shifted from defensive to proactive, anchored in verifiable proof.

Turning ESG from a risk to a reputation asset at CME

Investor questions about a poor ESG rating put pressure on Central European Media Enterprises (CME) at a sensitive time. The rating in question was driven largely by publicly available information, and our narrative didn’t reflect the full breadth of what we were actually doing across our 9 markets. With no prior ESG background, I was asked to fix it… fast.

Our reality was stronger than our reputation. As Corporate PR Manager, my job was to close that gap.