Ethical Business welcomes unsolicited contributions. See the procedures below for submitting an article either for online publication.
The majority of content on www.ethicalbusiness.info is written by Iliad Media Ltd staff and paid editorial contributors. However, we do consider submissions from Ethical Business members, practitioners, providers, academics, non-profit and non-governmental organisations, and communication firms that have practical experience or academic credentials in any area of green business, health, urban planning, corporate responsibility, sustainability/environmental issues to philanthropy, and communications to supply chain.
Essence: We are a business-to-business media and events platform focusing on corporate sustainability practices and strategy, and the technologies, strategies and persons accelerating the green economy. Our overall goal is to inform and reform powerful market practices to better match Africa’s economic system with the planet’s ecological system and community interests. This is via facilitating professionals in companies and institutions across sectors leverage sustainability practices and clean-tech to create value and reduce risk while addressing the world’s most pressing social and environmental challenges.
Target audience: Individuals, businesses, business leaders, entrepreneurs and NGOs to provide information, advocacy and opportunities for them to become part of greener solutions and build a synergistic green community. They are affluent, progressive, well-educated. They are inveterate learners, and passionate advocates for environmental conservation and sustainability as well as significant thought leaders driven by their values. Their organisations are driven by conventional business and financial goals as well as social and environmental ones, and they’re seeking to harmonise the two.
Tone: First and foremost, own it. Generally, we aim to be affable, professional, dependable and provocative. You can choose to write in the first person and address the audience directly. Address topics at both the elevated – overarching trends and circumstance – and the ground level – the realities of life in the grassroots. Be honest, upbeat and empowering. Humor is welcome!
What we desire: Both shorter (500-800 word) and longer (800-1,200 word) pieces across a range of topics. Examples include (but are not limited to):
- Stories of companies or initiatives and how they achieved (or failed to achieve) sustainability goals
- Inside stories of innovative corporate initiatives
- Emerging trends in business or society that have implications, positive or negative, for social and environmental sustainability
- Insights into business or public-sector processes, operations, or technologies
- Thought leadership from business executives and entrepreneurs
- Empirical research by your organisation or others, along with context and perspective
- Personal observations, insights and experiences – for example, “What I’ve learned” or “How I got my job”
- Advice and how-to articles aimed at a sophisticated business audience
What we spike: Technical or scientific debates; politics, bar if it directly affects companies’ sustainability strategy; product reviews; consumer advice or product pitches; repurposed press releases; or outright and aggressive P.R, whether of yourself or others. We don’t run articles destined to drive traffic to another website. Articles that market a product or service will be referred to our sales team. We rarely accept submissions by executives that are writing about a product or service they sell; those are referred to our sales team.
What we value: Diversity in all its many forms — of writers, ideas, viewpoints, organisations, and people quoted or profiled. We strive to elevate individuals and communities whose voices are often overlooked.
Key topics: While we cover a broad range of stories at the intersection of sustainability, clean technology and business, we focus on these topics:
- Carbon and climate
- Clean Tech and Eco-Innovation
- Transportation and mobility
- Circular economy
- Sustainable food systems
- Renewable Energy
- ESG reporting and investing
- Cities and communities
Types of Editorial Considered:
1. Columns (print and online)
Topic— Should fit into one of the following areas or a function that address climate change, housing, transportation, urban planning, sustainable living, home and garden, green business, green energy, natural resources, recycling, forests, mining, oil and gas, fair trade, compliance, CSR, ethics, governance, risk management, sustainability, workforce issues/diversity, international, communications, legal, etc.
Length—500-800 words
Content—Columns should address a timely aspect of the aforementioned subjects from a new perspective and include the following elements: Statistics (current research, data on the scope of the issue)
Anecdotes/examples (specific cases of corporations/individuals, examples of what has/has not worked)
Expert Advice (what industry experts, NGOs, other thought leaders are recommending)
Tone: Our readers are looking for lessons learned, best-in-class, how tos, and concrete, implementable advice from peers and experts in the area. We try to avoid being too preachy (“should” “must”) and rely on evidence gathered from research, experts and/or practitioners (ideally citing specific corporate initiatives in the area or quoting practitioners/experts in the field.)
2. Case Studies (online)
Topic—Case studies should address a address climate change, housing, transportation, urban planning, healthy living, home and garden, green business, green energy, natural resources, recycling, forests, mining, oil and gas, fair trade, compliance, CSR, ethics, governance, risk management, sustainability, workforce issues/diversity, international, communications, legal that a nation, corporation or practitioner faced and how the issue was addressed.
Length—600 words max
Content—Each study should answer the following 6 questions
- Who is subject?
- What problem or issue did they face?
- How did they identify and approach the issue?
- What was the proposed solution?
- What steps did they put in place to implement the solution?
- What are the outcomes to date?
Tone—Text should be written in plain language. Please spell out or avoid using acronyms and technical jargon.
3. Expert Q&As (online and e-newsletters)
We shall introduce a new series on ethicalbusiness.info. Each month, we shall highlight an expert in a particular field and take inquiries from readers. These would be narrowed down to 3-4 common questions, which our expert would then answer. The final column will be promoted on ethicalbusiness.info homepage and in our biweekly e-newsletter. Interested “Experts” should contact the editorial department (editorial@ethicalbusiness.info) with proposed areas of expertise, background and availability.
4. Opinion Pieces (online)
On occasion, we do take Op-Ed pieces from authors with a history and variety of experience in their respective fiel. If you are interested in submitting an op-ed piece, please contact the editorial department (editorial@ethicalbusiness.info) with your concept, background in the field and writing samples.
5. Notes (Online)
This section highlights members’ new initiatives, milestones, and recognition in the fields of sustainable lifestyle, energy and natural resources, environment, cities and communities, sustainability and corporate responsibility. To submit content for consideration, please e-mail editorial@ethicalbusiness.info
6. Book Excerpts (Online)
To pitch an excerpt for our book column, please contact editorial@ethicalbusiness.info. The book should address a timely topic on sustainability. Please suggest a section of the book (approximately 800 to 1,800 words) and provide a link to the publisher’s page.
How to pitch us: Send completed drafts as a Word attachment or as a Google doc link to editorial@ethicalbusiness.info. Please use the word “Submission” in the subject line. If we’re interested in your article, we’ll respond within one week, though it could take up to three weeks for a piece to be published, depending on the topic and how much editing is required. We cannot respond to every pitch we receive, especially those that clearly don’t meet the above guidelines. All other story ideas and pitches should be e-mailed to editorial@ethicalbusiness.info
Please note: All submissions should be discussed with the editorial department prior to submission (e-mail editorial@ethicalbusiness.info) and are subject to editorial review and final approval. Publication decisions are made independent of submitter’s advertising in or sponsorship of Iliad Media Ltd publications, events or online offerings.