By Shane Price, Forbes Councils Member via Forbes • Reposted: October 20, 2023
It’s great to have goals—they’re the first step in the journey to accomplishment. However, as sustainability targets become a more and more prevalent business imperative, some are struggling to move beyond goals to carve an actionable path forward. Are you up for the challenge?
Let’s start with the good news: The business world has its sights on going green. According to a 2020 NAVEX survey, over 80% of companies globally have an environmental, social and governance (ESG) program in place, and an Accenture report found that more than a third (34%) of the world’s largest companies are committed to becoming net zero.
The bad news? The desire to help the planet doesn’t always translate into results. Accenture also found that 93% of companies that pledged to reach net zero will fail to achieve that standard by 2030 unless they drastically change their approach.
What’s standing in the way of those trying to push sustainability forward? Why are so many businesses seemingly set up to fail to deliver on their goals? It can be overwhelming, for big and small companies alike, to chart the course for a greener future. Even with a solid foundation of support and a clear plan to follow, there are some common stumbling blocks to avoid.
A 2023 survey of ESG executives conducted by Zurich Insurance Group found that three factors rose to the top of the list of impediments to headway. Across sectors and across the globe, cost and capital expenditure were the most significant barriers, followed closely by a lack of feasible solutions and difficulties in measuring and monitoring impact.
It’s a complex issue with some formidable challenges, but it’s imperative to forge ahead. Greenhouse gas emissions have reached an all-time high and will continue to rise without intervention, but now’s the time for action rather than despair. Here are some ways you can overcome common obstacles and help turn your net zero pledge into progress.
• Level set. If you’re starting from square one, begin with a full once-over of how your business operates. Look at everything from your energy consumption and efficiency, to your waste expenditure, to your partnerships. Setting a benchmark early can help you measure success as your environmentalism evolves.
• Quantify goals. A goal like “carbon neutral” or “net zero” sounds good, but exactly how many steps do you need to take to achieve it? How many years will it take to reach it? What will success look like? Having a sense of the numbers can bring goals into clearer focus. By tying your goals to your organization’s overall strategy, sustainability can actually help boost your bottom line.
• Start small. It can be tempting to tackle sustainability all at once, but try instead to build momentum with some key, strategic areas of focus. Amp up your recycling program. Identify a new, greener vendor. Take a look at your supply chain for areas of improvement. Little wins can add up to a big impact.
• Join forces. At the heart of every successful business is a suite of specific expertise. Focus on what you’re good at, and find a partner who specializes in environmentally friendly practices that can help you take strategic steps forward. Though partnerships often come with an upfront cost, they’re often a much more economical solution than trying to build it from scratch.
• Communicate consistently. What you do is important. How you share it may be equally so. If you reach a goal, share it broadly. If you have encouraging metrics, be loud and proud about them. If you fall short, share that also—along with a pledge to keep moving forward.
I know these strategies work because I’ve seen them play out firsthand. As the founder of Green Circle Salons, a sustainable salon solution dedicated to fighting beauty waste and climate change, when we set out to change the world, I set my sights on a big number: 10 million pounds of beauty waste recovered.
In 2023, we reached that goal—not because it was simple but because we were able to solve it together. The key to change is to champion solutions that are designed to overcome the barriers people face (cost, efficacy and impact monitoring) and place them directly in the hands of professionals who want to do good.
Our lofty, audacious target was reached thanks to the millions of small but meaningful daily actions our community of waste warriors has taken. The journey of 10 million pounds saved was paved with the actions of many—one haircut, one balayage, one box and one pound at a time.
No matter what industry you’re in, the path to true sustainability isn’t always easy. However, a verified partner, clear goals and a commitment to action can make sure it’s effective.
By Sam Darwish via Forbes • Reposted: October 20, 2022
Did you know that the mobile industry became one of the first sectors in the world to commit to the UN Sustainable Development Goals in 2016, according to GSMA? These 17 goals call for significant action to reduce carbon emissions and promote developments within the renewable energy sector.
Since then, the industry has demonstrated its commitment, as data traffic increases of 31% in 2022 were met with associated electricity increases of just 5% and carbon emissions increases of 2%.
To help keep emissions at bay, in October 2022, my company, IHS Towers, announced our Carbon Reduction Roadmap with the aim to reduce the scope 1 and scope 2 kilowatt-hour (kWh) emissions intensity of our tower portfolio. Our Project Green is the next significant step in that roadmap. It focuses on how we are increasing renewable energy sources on our African sites between now and the end of 2024. Our aim is dual—to reduce our reliance on diesel and generate long-term cost savings.
Here’s what I’ve learned from doing this work so far.
1. Start by setting a target.
If companies are to deliver on their commitments to reduce emissions, they must embrace renewable energy and the sector’s technological developments, and do so with a target in mind. That’s why we set ourselves the aim of reducing emissions by approximately 50% by 2030, and in the immediate term are integrating solar panel and battery storage solutions at off-grid locations, and where possible, connecting to the grid.
Setting targets is a powerful way of holding a business to account. It helps ensure they act on climate change and demonstrate their commitment to implementing strategies that mitigate its effects. That said, while having a target sends a strong, motivating message, it exposes your business to more scrutiny.
So before setting a target, every business leader should ask themselves why? Why are you creating another standard, a benchmark that holds you to account?
Firstly, there are the obvious stakeholder considerations—investors, customers, government programs and even employees. Secondly, carbon reduction can offer long-term capital expenditure savings and new growth opportunities.
Once you have determined that setting a target is the right course of action, you need to refine it against the macro setting. What are the national laws and global requirements applicable to your business? What are your peers doing and how do you benchmark?
My advice is to first consider the why, second the what and third the how. How are you going to set a target that meets your business needs and delivers progress? For the latter, third-party support is essential.
2. Lean on the experts.
Regardless of the sector you operate in, setting an emissions reduction target is always going to be complex. It’s likely going to take longer than anticipated, be more data intensive than expected and require the support of external specialists.
For example, on our emissions journey, we engaged an external environmental consultant to determine the specific level of carbon emissions reduction that was feasible for our business, and the markets in which we operate. We operate in a fast-moving, high-growth sector, and because of our organic growth, this third party helped us determine that an intensity-based target was more appropriate than an absolute emissions target.
Targets need to be realistic. They must both consider business growth and demonstrate a real commitment to carbon reduction.
Working with a climate consultant or other specialist is key; they provide the critical skills to help you navigate the balance between ambition and delivery.
3. Don’t underestimate the importance of internal stakeholders.
In setting our own target, the task’s enormity became quickly clear. Obtaining accurate data is essential. It’s a huge undertaking for any business, particularly large companies that operate across many markets, like mine. It also depends on the data available, e.g., GHG emissions, its quality, and having the right resources. Central to this is buy-in from your leadership team.
Your leadership team needs to be engaged from the get-go—the point at which you start quantifying emissions. Work with your external partner to help educate your leadership team on climate change, the risks and opportunities and principles of effective carbon management. Help them recognize both the environmental and business benefits and champion it as a pillar of your business and culture.
Achieving carbon reduction will require ongoing investment and so their support is critical. Reducing your carbon footprint is a journey that all leaders need to be carried along on. So, in addition to gaining their initial buy-in, communicating progress (however incremental) is vital.
At my company, we are communicating that progress to internal and external stakeholders; for example, we report on things like solar power solutions, generator run-times and decarbonizing our footprint. Yet simultaneously, we have been transparent in the capital expenditure required to hit our goals. By gaining support from our leadership team at the start of our carbon reduction journey, and communicating our progress so far, that additional capex becomes a recognized essential.
In terms of our financials, we expect significant annual savings by 2025 as a direct result of capex deployed. So, while setting this target was a complex, operationally intensive task, the benefits are clear.
4. Remember, climate action enables innovation.
With the roll out of artificial intelligence, virtual reality, IoT and blockchain, there is likely to be more seamless connectivity and the emergence of new business models that transform multiple sectors. By operating responsibly and fostering collaboration, businesses can help shape a more sustainably connected and prosperous future for all.
Reducing our environmental footprints, through a comprehensive carbon reduction strategy, is central to innovation.
By Fatima Fasih from Sustainable Brands • Reposted: October 18, 2023
Senior Advisor of Corporate Social Impact Erin Ceynar shares how the philanthropic partner and nonprofit accelerator helps its clients craft and stand by authentic social-impact efforts, even in the face of headwinds.
Globally, the corporate social-impact ecosystem is at an inflection point. There has been a more significant push for transparency for businesses by stakeholders — specifically on issues relating to human rights. There has also been a shift from the traditional model of shareholder capitalism — where companies prioritize shareholder returns above all else; towards stakeholder capitalism, where businesses are also accountable to all stakeholders — including employees, consumers, communities and the environment. However, against a backdrop of wars in Europe and the Middle East, global inflation, energy markets in turmoil, and ongoing political uncertainty and climate-fueled disasters, corporate social impact/responsibility is under a watchful eye — and being criticized for not being productive for businesses or the communities they aim to benefit.
To understand the current corporate social-impact landscape and the barriers it faces, Sustainable Brands® sat down with Erin Ceynar, Senior Advisor of Corporate Social Impact at Tides — a philanthropic partner and nonprofit accelerator that collaborates with donors, foundations, businesses and other social enterprises to promote and facilitate change in various societal areas. At Tides, Ceynar helps clients build strategic-investment programs from the ground up — including consumer activation and smaller impact efforts such as employee engagement. Her work includes designing and facilitating a participatory grantmaking process that encourages companies to shift from a transactional approach to a trust-based one.
We asked how her nearly 20 years’ experience in philanthropy and social impact helps her organization and its clients navigate such volatile times.
How do you and your team at Tides engage with companies on corporate social-impact projects?
Erin Ceynar: Tides is a nonprofit and philanthropic organization committed to advancing social justice. We’re about shifting power and centering equity in everything we do. We have deep connections with not only donors — including companies — but also doers. Since 1976, we’ve partnered with companies open and willing to begin investing in programs that center justice and equity to create meaningful social outcomes. My portfolio includes companies at all stages of their corporate social-impact journey. But the thread that runs through all of them is a willingness to use their resources and influence to invest in a just and equitable society. Tides takes companies through the entire process of developing their corporate social-impact goals — from building a concrete vision and point of view through strategy implementation to best practices, protocols and integral operations. We can be an extension of a company’s social-impact team — supporting all facets of the work, ensuring that every dollar is used effectively and efficiently, and that impact is measured through their theory of change and ESG.
During times of economic stress, what are some ways that companies can keep their social-impact programs on track?
EC: Undoubtedly, the corporate social-impact ecosystem is enduring growth and retraction. Some days, the pendulum is swinging forward; and some days, I feel whiplash. Companies are being challenged by their stakeholders, both customers and employees, to make meaningful social investments. And they don’t want words; they want action.
At the same time, corporate social-impact programs are being asked to do more with less. There have been cuts to staff and budgets; but with so many critical social-justice issues at stake — the climate crisisand fundamental human rights like access to voting, health and education — companies must, at a minimum, stay the course on their social-impact goals. Better yet, they must double down and commit to deepening their impact. For most companies we work with, staying steady in their social-impact programs through turbulence means exploring new ways of connecting social-impact work to core business efforts. Setting up a sustainable, integrated, corporate social-impact approach means it’s more likely to resonate with employees and customers; they see themselves reflected in the company’s purpose. Time and time again, these programs weather all kinds of uncertainty — be it economic, leadership change, a pandemic, etc. These companies must remember that they aren’t just investing in community outcomes; they’re building their brand and reputation.
Younger employees expect to work for companies that take a stand on social issues and reflect their values. How can corporate social-impact programs play a role in engaging employees?
EC: My work as a Senior Advisor in corporate social impact means I interact with many different companies. Throughout the year, companies run the gamut about engaging employees or having a pulse on employees’ expectations. Many toe a fine line — especially on the heels of layoffs and reorganizations. Engaging employees has to be meaningful; it has to be authentic. If it isn’t, employees will read right through it. Some companies do this well. Some not.
Employee engagement can be everything from volunteer events to highly specific, skills-based volunteering. The outcomes for both may vary. Single-experience employee volunteering is often low impact for the nonprofit but high impact for employees. When we help our partners think about engaging employees, we’re focused on aligning those engagement programs with the employees’ desires, the company’s goals and its bottom line.
Importantly, it’s no longer okay for companies to stay agnostic on social issues. Younger employees are pushing for brands to take a stand from within; and younger customers are also making their expectations known by where they spend their money. Social-impact programs are a critical component of attracting and retaining top talent. These programs reflect the values of the company and many of the employees who work there. They motivate, inspire and give power to their employees — who may become more likely to stay with these companies for the long haul.
Tides is focused on shifting power to changemakers and communities that have historically faced systemic barriers to opportunities. How do you see corporate social giving reflecting that commitment?
EC: Sometimes, it’s not so much what companies are doing, but how they are doing it. Could their corporate philanthropy be more nonprofit-centric? Could their volunteer programs focus on impact rather than outputs? Could their disaster-relief efforts center on communities often left behind by national or global efforts? Could they be using their real estate for social good? Could they be activating their customers to be better citizens of the world by using their communication channels? Could they shine more light on historically marginalized communities in their corporate philanthropy? Every company has the opportunity to use its positional power for good: A recent poll by Benevity found that “80 percent of US employees believe it is the responsibility of company leaders to take action in addressing racial justice and equity issues.” Don’t stay on the sidelines.
As an advisor, it is my ethical responsibility to amplify the work of historically marginalized communities. I want to sit at the table when corporations build their corporate social-impact programs. If invited, I provide a viewpoint often not heard within business circles. Investing in organizations with leaders who share the identity, lived experience, and/or geography of the community they serve is a highly effective way to drive impact and improve relationships with the communities a company seeks to support. Communities and their leaders know what they need to thrive; and there is growing evidence that nonprofits led by and for people closest to a community or issue are more innovative and better problem-solvers. However, only 4 percent of US philanthropic dollars go to organizations led by people of color most impacted by systemic inequity. For companies, this means that there is an opportunity and an obligation to stand out by supporting under-resourced and highly effective grassroots organizations.
A growing list of brands and investors are experiencing backlash for their ESG/social-impact initiatives. How does Tides advise its corporate partners to stay the course in such a charged climate?
EC: Companies need to take a hard look at their purpose. What are they solving for? How are they showing up in the world? Are you doing more harm than good? And if the company is doing some damage, how might they mitigate that with authenticity and integrity?
Backlash is noise and often doesn’t matter much. What does matter is a corporate regulatory environment that will only see more, not less, mandatory reporting in the future — despite backlash coming primarily from vocal fringes, media and sometimes employees. Take, for instance, the recent chilling effect we’re witnessing with corporate DEI on the heels of the Supreme Court‘s affirmative-action decision regarding college admissions. The shifting legal landscape doesn’t mean it’s time to step back on DEI efforts. Companies can’t afford to. By 2045, this country is on track to have mostly people of color. Aside from the moral and ethical imperative to advance equity and social justice, business has no choice but to prioritize DEI to serve customers, attract the best talent, and reach new markets. The Supreme Court’s ruling doesn’t change these facts.
I do advise businesses to ask their legal counsel to partner with them in protecting companywide DEI efforts; this isn’t about rolling back DEI programs but about protecting them. Lastly, ensure you socialize how core DEI is to your company’s success. Gaining internal alignment will dispel internal misconceptions.
How do you see the corporate social impact landscape changing over the next five years?
EC: Full disclosure: I have a graduate degree in Sociology. That said, I find the ‘S’ in ESGvery important. I encourage companies to start reporting more consistently on S data. These standards start from the ground up. Irrespective of rating agencies, companies have their own fiduciary duty to measure and disclose material S information to shareholders. Companies are beginning to see that they can’t wait for the world to agree on corporate performance standards on racial and social justice. We’re seeing early-adopter corporations stepping up with S impact data. And honestly, more ESG investor funds require it. There is no doubt that S impact data is complex; it cannot be simply captured in a survey. It requires specialized taxonomies, questionnaires and independent verification.
In the next five years, we’ll see S impact data informing a company’s growth potential, competitive employee advantage, new market potential and more. At Tides, we know that focusing solely on the environment only gets you so far. People live on this planet; and we need to measure their improvement. Creating better S data gives the market something to price. That said, we will see practitioners of corporate social impact buying “outcomes” in social marketplaces, similar to how one accepts carbon or environmental credits now. The ‘E’ in ESG has led innovation in this area. Organizations like Impact Genome andOutcomesX are changing this narrative; they’re building a market where nonprofits can sell their measurable and verified socially positive outcomes.
Climate Week attendees strike a pose at the SDG Pavilion in front of the United Nations Headquarters in New York City on September 21, 2023. Image credit: U.N. Partnerships/Pier Paolo Cito via Flickr
By Mary Riddle from Triple Pundit • Reposted: October 14, 2023
As the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) reach their midpoint, the world is “woefully off-track” in meeting the targets by the 2030 deadline, the United Nations warned this summer. Only 15 percent of the SGDs are on track, according to the U.N. Global Compact. Progress on 37 percent of the targets has either stagnated or reversed, while efforts on the remaining half are considered weak or insufficient. With seven years left to meet the Global Goals, the U.N. is calling on the private sector to help accelerate implementation.
While business leaders remain confident about the vision for the future underscored in the SDGs, their confidence in meeting the targets by 2030 dwindled from 92 percent in 2022 to 51 percent this year, according to a new report.
Last month, Accenture partnered with the U.N. Global Compact to publish the Global Private-Sector Stocktake, a first-of-its-kind look at private-sector impact on the SDGs, with tangible action items and resources that companies can consider to drive progress on the road to 2030. The report outlined 10 key pathways for corporations — which include putting existing markets to work for social equity by way of a living wage and addressing gender pay gaps, as well as more transformative moves to integrate the SDGs into corporate finance and promote sustainability leadership in the private sector.
Sustainable corporate finance
“There is a lot of momentum around impact accounting, which ensures companies are taking into full account both tangible outcomes like revenues and returns for shareholders, but also the intangible outcomes like indirect carbon emissions,” said Vik Viniak, senior managing director and North America sustainability lead at Accenture.
“For example, Mastercard links incentives for executives and employees to their ESG [environmental, social and governance] objectives, which include gender equity and emissions reductions,” he said. “With Google and Amazon, if you look at their tech businesses like Google Cloud and [Amazon Web Services], they are using green principles to create more energy-efficient computing systems, and that ties into their executive remuneration. In most public companies, your compensation is tied to shareholder value, but it is important to remember that ESG is also directly tied to shareholder value.”
Sustainable corporate finance just makes good business sense. Impact accounting helps corporations establish better decision-making frameworks and can give companies leverage in discussions with their supply chain partners.
“If you are looking at two suppliers in your supply chain and everything else is equal, but one supplier has a better record on emissions, suddenly the decision becomes much easier,” Viniak said. Impact accounting should also be part of a company’s public reports, he said.
However, he emphasized that sustainable finance is an evolving space. The U.N. Global Compact launched the CFO Coalition last month to put clear definitions and guidelines in place to help companies integrate the SDGs into their corporate financing. Viniak is optimistic about the coalition’s work. “The current state of confusion is causing companies to not take action,” he said. “There is a paralysis. This clarity can help get blood flowing so it can function.”
Strengthening sustainability leadership for the SDGs
“True sustainability leadership is about holding senior leaders accountable,” Viniak said. “Empower everyone in the organization to take action, but make sure leaders are talking the talk and walking the walk. We need humility and self-realization in organizations. Management can lead by being humble and knowing that they can do more.”
There are clear benefits to corporate support for the SDGs, but it is important for companies to be able to substantiate their claims, show their metrics, and transparently report on their goals, reasoning and progress. “The market has gotten smarter,” Viniak said. “Investors and consumers can identify SDG-washing in companies that can’t support their claims.”
When leaders embrace the SDGs, it can serve to engage the entire workforce, Viniak said. “For leaders, one of the most important incentives for working toward the SDGs is that people are going to get excited,” he told us. “At Accenture, we have a huge, young workforce, and this workforce is asking Accenture what we are doing for the SDGs. Our CEO always says that we need to be our best credential. We have rallied our workforce around the mission of sustainability, and in our global workforce, in every community we are in, our people are making an impact. You can rally your whole organization around the SDGs and give them the tools to measure their impacts, and we can all hold each other accountable.”
The SDG Stocktake is a clarion call for all corporations
For companies that have yet to examine their impact on the SDGs, Viniak emphasized that it is not too late. “I encourage every company to start the process of understanding specific ESG impacts based on their industry and sector,” he said. “The biggest positive and negative impacts need to inform strategy.”
Once a corporation clearly understands their ESG impacts, they can evaluate how those impacts could help meet the targets of the SDGs and embed that into their decision-making frameworks.
“You can’t improve what you can’t measure,” Viniak said. “Companies must reflect on their impact on the SDGs. Then, they must set goals, identify how they can continue to accelerate the areas in which they lead, and how they can double down to improve those areas where they might be behind.”
Scaling up new incentive systems is also key to move progress forward. In the Global Private-Sector Stocktake report, business leaders clearly identified the support they need. “There is a huge lack of clarity in terms of goals and measurements,” Viniak explained. “Eighty percent of business leaders claim there are insufficient policy incentives to incorporate ESG considerations, and 84 percent are uncertain about measurements and calculations.”
Fortunately, the private sector is rapidly innovating to address leadership concerns, with new data management companies and softwares regularly coming to market that address these challenges. “There are now data providers that are helping companies define specific impacts on the SDGs,” Viniak said. “This kind of data could help companies understand their own impact in a measurable way for the first time.”
But for these services to make a difference, companies have to use them. “Companies need to see the value of this and pay for it,” Viniak said. “This data could revolutionize incentives if tied to accounting and taxation in the future. We may be able to crack the data measurement problem soon. While companies are currently not being held accountable in consistent ways, with emerging data tools, they can be and should be.”
Viniak recognizes that the private sector is off track, but he remains optimistic. “Games are won in the second half, not the first,” he said. “Yes, we are trailing. We are behind, but we can win. The private sector is a key player to achieve the SDGs. It is time to step up in the second half to win this game.”
Mary Riddle is a writer and sustainability consultant based in Florence, Italy. As a former farmer and farm educator, she is passionate about regenerative agriculture and sustainable food systems. to See the original post, follow this link: https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2023/ways-business-support-sdgs/785016
By Richard Howells, VP, ERP and Digital Supply Chain at SAP via ERP Today • Reposted: October 14, 2023
With a world caught up in climate difficulties, sustainability needs to take the priority, along with ensuring ethical practices.
Consumers want to buy sustainable products from ethical companies, and they’re willing to put their money where their mouth is. In fact, recent studies show that eight out of ten consumers said they would pay up to 5 percent more for sustainably produced goods.
Yet it can be challenging for consumers to identify which products are truly sustainable. While regulators establish minimum standards for everything from drinking water to vehicle emissions, individual retailers are beginning to adopt expanded measures that go considerably further as a way to address consumer concerns and advance their own sustainability goals. In June, for example, Walmart and Sam’s Club announced an initiative to raise supplier standards around tuna fishing. Their new policy aims to address issues such as accidental catching of species other than tuna, illegal fishing and abandonment of fishing gear. All of these factors pose a threat to ocean ecosystems.
To ensure suppliers are complying with these standards, Walmart and Sam’s Club will need increased visibility across the tuna supply chain, and they’re not alone in this need. Whether companies are seeking to comply with regulatory standards or track progress against their internal policies, they need transparency in every tier of their complex supply chains.
Efficient, effective technology can help businesses acquire and manage the data and information they need to measure compliance, minimize risk and boost sustainability. IoT devices, embedded in fishing vessels and storage facilities, can collect data on fishing practices, temperatures and handling conditions, contributing to effective oversight and management of sustainability practices. This kind of data will also be of great interest to retailers.
Gain access to relevant data
Accessing accurate data is the first step for businesses to gather the sustainability information they need. Walmart and Sam’s Club are focused on their oversight of transshipment – the practice of transferring fish products from one fishing vessel to another at sea or in port – which offers opportunities for bad actors to hide illegal or unregulated fishing activities. By 2027, Walmart and Sam’s Club will only source from fisheries that offer 100% monitoring of transshipment activity – a process that will produce massive amounts of data.
One solution is to implement a technology layer that can gather data, measure KPIs and benchmark against other companies in the same industry. The ability to track and trace the movement of products from one location or company to another lets businesses create an unbroken chain of ownership from raw materials to finished goods. Or in this instance, from sea to plate.
Rely on collaboration tools to share data
With accurate data in hand, companies need collaboration tools that ensure the data’s integrity and authenticity from end to end. As a decentralized and unchangeable ledger, blockchain technology can ensure data is uncompromized as it moves from one company to another, or otherwise changes ownership.
This data must be housed in a system that allows companies to determine exactly which end products their raw materials went into, as well as every step they underwent along the way. This type of system enhances the ability of companies like Walmart and Sam’s Club to monitor reports from transshipment observers and other inputs. It can also be helpful in the event of a product recall or other product safety concerns.
Showcase sustainability to customers
Companies can now focus on the customer experience, implementing tech-enabled features that allow end consumers to access the information they’ve gathered about their supply chain. This type of transparency builds trust and strengthens brand reputation. That’s especially true for Gen Z consumers, who are particularly conscious of sustainability.
Stay on top of regulatory and compliance issues
Regulatory oversight of supply chain issues is increasing around the world. Several European countries and the United States have recently passed legislation mandating due diligence in supply chains, while the European Union and Canada have proposals under consideration. Technology solutions can help businesses track their compliance with constantly changing regulations to back up their sustainability claims.
What companies need to learn about supply chain visibility
The tuna fishing policy serves as a powerful case study for other companies looking to embrace sustainability as a core business principle. Like SAP, companies in our industry are committing to zero emissions, zero waste and zero inequality. Stakeholders aren’t settling for less, even amid growing anti-ESG backlash.
In this environment, a holistic approach to sustainability is key. Businesses must examine their value chains comprehensively, from sourcing raw materials to understanding the end product’s lifecycle.
By adopting technology-driven solutions like blockchain and IoT, companies can ensure that their sustainability efforts extend beyond the surface level to every aspect of their operations. Regulations and rules will only continue to grow in number, but with the right technology, companies can achieve greater supply chain visibility and meet their sustainability targets.
By Torod B. Neptune via Triple Pundit • Reposted: October 13., 2023
Businesses face rapidly growing, and often contradictory, expectations regarding their role in society. Alongside calls to do more to address deeply rooted societal issues are opposing voices telling companies to “stay in their lane.” Without clear values as a guide, brands find themselves at an impasse, unsure if they should stay the course or take the next exit.
We can debate if these expectations are fair. In most cases, I’d argue they are. Business wields indisputable power to improve circumstances for people and our planet while making a fair profit. At Medtronic, we talk about these responsibilities openly, from our Mission written 60 years ago, to our sustainability report published today. (You can read highlights here.)
Expectations won’t diminish any time soon, and it’s not just external stakeholders applying pressure. A Glassdoor study of job-seekers found 86 percent “would not consider working for a company with bad social standing.” An Edelman survey of more than 200 chief communications officers across the Fortune 500 and Forbes Global 1,000 revealed employees are “putting the most pressure on companies to act on social issues” (61 percent), ahead of regulators, investors and NGOs.
Navigating these divergent expectations is no small challenge. Executives are faced with a tremendous obligation — to employees, communities and shareholders — and an unparalleled opportunity. How can leaders chart a path forward? Transparency, accountability and commitment — what I’d argue are the three non-negotiables of responsible business.
Transparency
The era where any company can simply call itself responsible is behind us — today, business must prove it. Unfortunately, economic anxiety, disinformation, and increased polarization have eroded trust in institutions, and left people feeling vulnerable. As a result, brands are facing increased scrutiny, and the need to build trust is more urgent. Per a special report from Edelman, 71 percent of consumers say, “It is more important to trust the brands I buy or use today than in the past.”
At its core, transparency is about building trust. It’s being open and honest, telling people what they can expect, and how your business is upholding its promises. Transparency is easy when the news is good, but even more important when a business falls short. In those honest moments, businesses can build trust and even attract new partners and allies who understand that the goals most worthy of our time and effort are often the hardest to accomplish.
This is one reason Medtronic publishes an annual sustainability report and annual inclusion, diversity, and equity report. Through these reports and other channels, we and other companies can share stories, document our progress, and acknowledge where we need to do more.
Accountability
Transparency means more when tied to clear goals. Perhaps you’ve heard “measure what matters” or read John Doerr’s book of the same title. Setting clear targets sends a signal about what matters to a company and provides a framework to publiclyhold businesses accountable.
This is simply good business. Research shows consumers are more likely to buy from brands that commit to taking actions like improving access to healthcare (seven times more likely), addressing climate change (five times more likely) and ending racism (4.5 times more likely). But consumers also want action.
Aligning with leading reporting frameworks and standards, including the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) helps companies demonstrate accountability for our impact and share it with our stakeholders. Medtronic also ties our business operations to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, recognizing the collective power of the private and public sectors to address the world’s greatest challenges.
Commitment
In recent years, business has faced criticism for talking too much and not doing enough, on societal issues ranging from racial justice to climate change and income inequality. These are deeply rooted, systemic issues that have been compounding for centuries. Meaningful progress will take years and is possible only through collective action.
This doesn’t excuse business from inaction. I can’t think of a single brand that can’t have a positive impact by being conscious of how it conducts its day-to-day business. A responsible business recognizes its power and influence — and uses both accordingly. Medtronic has built our commitments into how we operate, including work in hiring and diverse suppliers. We also leverage our expertise in healthcare technology to improve healthcare access for underserved communities around the world, including significant investments in Medtronic LABS.
Change is constant, and expectations of companies continue to evolve. That’s a good thing — for our brands and all our of stakeholders. There will likely be rough waters as business continues to navigate its role, but staying focused on transparency, accountability and commitment will help all of us chart a path forward.
By Timothy Smith, Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility via Harvard Law School Forum • Reposted: October 13, 2023
Attacks on ESG Investing and “Woke Capitalism“ are also attacks on company endorsements of and support for Sustainability.
In the last year there has been a mounting wave of attacks against “ Woke Capitalism” and ESG Investing . These attacks are seen in state legislatures and the Congress, by Presidential candidates and conservative nonprofits. These attacks are mostly part of the American landscape while in Europe support for ESG Investing and company sustainability are widely supported. Interestingly these public attacks on “woke capitalism” include Wal-Mart as much as BlackRock.
Literally thousands of major companies publish annual sustainability or Corporate Responsibility reports where they discuss their values, the business case for acting as responsible corporate citizens and detail their goals and work on the environment , social issues and governance. Others work along other companies in their industry to promote leadership on issues like methane reduction, human rights in the supply chain, reduction of the use of plastic, or use of minority owned vendors.
And The Business Roundtable’s 2019 Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation, endorsed by 181 CEOs, correctly acknowledged that the modern corporation had to be accountable to all its stakeholders including its workers, customers, and the communities where it operates. Sustainability for business includes scores of corporate responsibility issues.
The point is not whether every company endorsing sustainability would receive a A+ Grade for delivering on each of these issues. Rather that these companies understand the compelling business case for sustainability, the long term positive impact on shareholder value and the need to endorse it. They endorse this direction not because they are following a “left wing agenda” as alleged, or were compelled to do so by outside pressure groups, but because they understand this is a sensible and prudent way to do business. This is a growing trend in the global business community and is not one that companies are likely to retreat from.
It is important to highlight examples of corporate commitment to sustainability to drive this point home. We include a series of quotes from companies making the case for sustainability in their business. The quotes are just the tip of a very large iceberg!
In summary, the attacks on ESG and “woke capitalism” are attacks on the views and sustainability work of thousands of companies who invest capital, make products and hire employees in the very states that are leading the attacks against ESG.
Accenture CEO, Julie Sweet: “I’m a CEO who understands what brings value… Sustainability matters to our employees from a recruiting standpoint, it matters to our clients, it’s part of our regulatory landscape, it matters to consumers. That’s not changing because of what politicians want to call it (in reference to Gov. DeSantis). ESG has been fantastic for recruits, brings it to life for our clients, and we are embedding it in our work.”
Alphabet CFO, Ruth Porat: “Operating our business in an environmentally and socially responsible way has been a core value since our founding in 1998. Google has been carbon neutral since 2007 and we’ve matched our entire electricity consumption with renewables for the past three years. We continue to make major investments in afford- able housing and have made a number of significant commitments to promote racial equity.”
Alphabet Chief Sustainability Officer, Kate Brandt: “Climate change affects all aspects of society, from food pro- duction and human health to infrastructure and the economy. These impacts are interconnected and can have a cascading effect on people and the planet. The response calls for systemic, global action to reduce emissions, improve watershed health, maximize the reuse of finite resources, and protect biodiversity.
Since Google was founded, our efforts to mitigate climate change have started with our own operations, and we’ve worked hard to lead by example with the ultimate goal of driving larger systemic change. In our third decade of climate action, we’ll continue to take a science-based approach to our efforts, while sharing our own lessons and progress with others.
I joined Google eight years ago to lead our sustainability efforts and have witnessed our sense of urgency and ambition firsthand. We’re empowering individuals, governments, businesses, and other organizations to make decisions that can drive positive action for people and our planet.
We expect this new era of technological innovation to open up even greater opportunities to accelerate system level change. It’s a big part of the reason we’re optimistic about what’s possible in the years ahead. If we move forward collectively and decisively, there’s no limit to what we can achieve.”
Amazon CEO, Andy Jassy: “By joining the First Movers Coalition, we are sending a clear signal that companies like Amazon are seeking long-term low-carbon fuel solutions to help us achieve net-zero carbon by 2040. We welcome the Biden administration and the World Economic Forum’s decision to launch the First Movers Coalition, which will help further accelerate our efforts to decarbonize our operations through real business change and innovation.”
Apple CEO, Tim Cook: “The choice between the bottom line and the future of our planet is a false one, and each new green innovation offers the proof. This is no time for changes at the margins. Together, we can transition to a car-bon-neutral economy and usher in a new era of inclusive opportunity.”
Bank of America CEO, Brian Moynihan: “How can we rely on and help the innovation and energy of capitalism to address the priorities of our communities and society AND benefit our shareholders? Capitalism provides the money, the creativity, and the expertise to solve the needs of society.
Our goal continues to be a company where people want to work today and build a career. The reward for our share- holders is lower turnover costs.
We continue to recruit, develop, and retain a diverse and inclusive workplace. We know that when our workforce reflects the communities we serve, we can better serve our clients while also creating an environment where people want to perform their best.
We continue to help drive sustainability through our work with clients to help them transition to a secure, low-car- bon economy. We are committed to helping facilitate that just energy transition, with clean energy that is affordable, sustainable and secure.
At the same time, we are helping catalyze efforts globally by playing a lead role in multiple global organizations to give private companies from all sectors the opportunity to exchange ideas and consider transactions and investments that can help accelerate the transition.
What we show in the metrics in this report is the progress we are making as well as the alignment to what society wants from capitalism—to produce profits and purpose. That perpetual motion machine of capitalism can continuously invest in progress on the goals described below. Charity is wonderful, but it doesn’t provide enough money. Governments are large spenders, but they are short on cash and run huge deficits, so they really don’t have the money to drive sustained progress. Government policies shift and therefore long-term change is hard to achieve. Companies around the world, when aligned to the tasks generate activity that dwarfs the efforts of other sectors. It is sustained by the profits, which draw more capital.”
Charter Communications CEO, Christopher L. Winfrey: “Our ESG efforts continue to be structured in a comprehensive three-pillar framework to reflect how our business drives sustained value in a virtuous cycle. By investing in a highly skilled workforce, we are able to deliver a superior network that connects communities. The services we deliver are vital to our customers and the communities we serve, which is why we established the following goals to help create long-term value through sustainable connectivity.”
Chevron General Manager, Lisa Epifani: “Sustainability is not a new concept for Chevron. The goals of sustainability are reflected in the values of The Chevron Way and are key to our objective to deliver higher returns, lower carbon. Through our company history, we have worked on areas related to environmental stewardship, social issues and good governance — even if they were not yet called ESG or sustainability.”
Citi CEO, Jane Fraser: “We are living through a period defined by unprecedented change. Every company I know is continually assessing its strategies, because it is abundantly clear that the geopolitical, social, environmental and technological developments of the next decade will have impacts for generations to come.
At Citi, helping our clients navigate the challenges and embrace the opportunities of our rapidly changing world is fundamental to our mission of enabling growth and economic progress. Importantly, it’s also vital to our own business and central to how we deliver for our clients and help them sustain their businesses for the future.
Simply put, the energy transition, energy security and economic growth are not mutually exclusive and must be tackled simultaneously.
Within our own walls, we are committed to creating a company that reflects the diverse communities we serve. This ensures that we have a multitude of perspectives to truly understand our clients’ challenges and opportunities and help them prosper. It also gives us a competitive edge in the talent market and helps us attract and retain the best talent from all backgrounds.
Whether it’s the drive to net zero, expanding financial inclusion, or investments in local infrastructure, we are backing up our commitments with action and measurable results and positioning Citi for a new era of success.
Coca-Cola CEO, James Quincey: “If ESG becomes toxic as a phrase… It doesn’t matter to me. I’m just gonna stop saying ‘ESG’. But the idea that for my basic product, I want to be water positive, I want to have a circular economy on my packaging and I want to grow our business with less sugar– you can call it anything you like but no one with common sense says those are bad ideas. My business strategy is constant and clear and centered around the business and the things that consumers care about and that fix societal problems. If people want to attach labels to it, that’s their issue. I’m saying that business will be great if I fix these problems, and it will be good for shareholders and be good for society.”
“Our strategy is clear. It’s centered around people – our consumers and employees – and driving sustainable solutions that build resilience into our business to respond to current and future challenges, while creating positive change for the planet.
Our water, packaging and climate goals are interconnected. For example, by creating a circular economy for packaging, we can lower our carbon footprint. By approaching water stewardship from a basin perspective, we participate in initiatives that increase communities’ resilience to extreme weather events, alongside our partners. Our approach to climate is rooted in science, and we’ve set a science-based target to reduce absolute greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2030, against a 2015 baseline. As of 2022, we have reduced our emissions by 7% against this baseline.
We’re committed to creating a culture of inclusion and belonging and to driving meaningful change in our communities. By 2030, we aspire to be 50% led by women globally. Today, 39% of our senior leaders are women.”
Con Edison CEO, Tim Cawley: “Sustainability means many things to Con Edison, but above all, it means meeting the needs of the 10 million people who rely on us for energy in New York City, Westchester, Orange and Rockland Counties in a way that’s consistent with the fight against climate change. That will require us to decarbonize our own facilities, deliver climate-neutral energy to our customers, and harden our infrastructure so it can withstand the impacts of climate change.
Con Edison’s workers are tasked with achieving these ambitions, while maintaining safe and reliable service, and keeping customer affordability in mind. Project by project, street by street, we are building a grid that will deliver carbon-free energy by 2040.
In the years ahead, demand for electricity will rise sharply while demand for natural gas falls, as our customers shift to electric vehicles and keep warm with electric heat pumps. Meeting that electric demand growth requires transformative investments in the grid today.
Sustainability means fostering a vibrant workforce that’s passionate about the job at hand, equipped to meet the challenges ahead, and reflective of the communities we serve. More than simply a great place to work, we want our employees to know they are making a lasting impact on society. As our workplace becomes more diverse, equitable and inclusive, the company becomes stronger, more resilient, and more intertwined with New York’s communities.”
ConocoPhillips CEO, Ryan Lance: “Throughout 2021, a year of challenge and transformation, our sustainable development (SD) priorities remained a foundational element of our long-term value proposition. Environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance, including climate risk management, remained a strong focus of our ongoing engagements with a wide range of external stakeholders including the financial sector, policymakers, and residents in the areas in which we operate.”
Exxon CEO, Darren Woods: “I don’t think any company’s been around—particularly one that has the exposure that we do with regards to the impact on the environments and communities that we operate in—I don’t think you can survive for 140 years and not have ESG elements, or the focus of ESG, embedded in your organization. It’s a really critical component of our success.”
Ford Executive Chair, Bill Ford and CEO, Jim Farley: “Today, our industry and our world are going through a period of immense change. We believe it gives us the opportunity to create the most value for the company and our customers since Henry Ford scaled the Model T.
Climate change, for example, is among the biggest challenges of our generation. We all share the responsibility to address the threat it poses to our economy, our health, and our way of life. Just like the Model T revolutionized mobility, we believe electrification can do the same for reducing carbon emissions. So, we have been transforming our business to lead the electric revolution at scale, creating distinct but complementary businesses – Ford Model e, Ford Blue and Ford Pro – that will help us compete and win in the new era of electric and connected vehicles.
Our aspiration is to achieve a business model that goes beyond net-zero and becomes a net positive for both the environment and the economy.
Investing in electric vehicles is the right thing to do for our children and grandchildren. It is also the right thing to do for our business. We are proving that you can drive prosperity and protect the planet at the same time, and investors are taking notice.
At Ford, we have always strived to take the long view on the environment, even when it was unpopular. We were one of the first industrial companies to publish our progress towards sustainability, one of the first automakers to support the Paris Agreement, and the only full-line American automaker to partner with California on more stringent emissions standards. Now, we intend to lead the industry in another respect by putting a spotlight on human rights.
Ford is publishing a Human Rights Report – a first for the company and for our industry. It will examine how our materials are sourced, where our products are manufactured, and how our labor standards measure up. Countries around the world are defining access to clean air and water as fundamental human rights. We at Ford agree – and are setting clear targets for reducing the global emissions of our entire supply chain. Whenever the world faces disruption and uncertainty, Ford has stepped up to shape it for the better. We are at our best when we are creating something larger than ourselves. In this time of profound change, we will answer the call to lead our industry towards a more sustainable future, while giving our customers the very best of Ford.”
General Mills CEO, Jeffery Harmening: “Today, we are more committed than ever to ensure the G in General Mills stands for Good – for the people we serve and the planet we depend on.
This past year we have made progress against our ongoing commitment to diversity in leadership and talent acquisition, including an increase in the percentage of people of color in leadership roles across General Mills, and an increase in the percentage of women on our Board of Directors.
Our focus on standing for people extends across our business – from the farmers who grow our ingredients to all workers in our supply chains. We are accelerating action to respect human rights to positively impact all the people we depend on – and who depend on us.
Our business is inherently dependent on the Earth. We know that a healthy planet is critical for our company to continue making food the world loves, yet the negative impacts of climate change are widespread and severe. We recognize that we must regenerate the world’s resources, strengthen ecosystems, and build community resilience.”
General Motors General: “Our vision is of a world with zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion.
We aspire to be the world’s most inclusive company and to conduct ourselves with fairness and transparency. These are the values and behaviors by which we measure ourselves.”
GM CEO, Mary Barra: “When General Motors began the journey to an electric and autonomous future, our mission was to help create a better and safer future for all, guided by our vision of zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion.
We remain committed to eliminating tailpipe emissions from new U.S. light-duty vehicles by 2035. Last year, we went even further, securing enough renewable energy to power our U.S. facilities by 2025—25 years earlier than we originally shared. It’s a huge step toward making our business carbon neutral by 2040.”
Honeywell CEO, Darius Adamczykl: “Honeywell has a century-long track record of innovating to make the world a better place. Today, making the world a better place means solving the world’s most daunting Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) challenges and Honeywell will continue to face them head-on as we have for the past 100+ years.”
Intel CEO, Pat Gelsinger: “We remain committed to the highest ethical standards and use our resources and ingenuity to solve the world’s greatest challenges. Our dedication to environmental, social and corporate governance is key to our success as a business.”
Intel CEO, Pat Gelsinger: “2022 was a challenging year for Intel. We continue to operate in a tough market, while simultaneously pursuing our multiyear transformation. To overcome these challenges, we remain committed to the highest ethical standards and use our resources and ingenuity to solve the world’s greatest challenges. Our dedication to environmental, social, and corporate governance is key to our success as a business.
We’re committed to deepening our collaborations to build on our current successes. Together, we can further drive tech as a force for good—ensuring the scale of our work with others to create a more responsible, inclusive, and sustainable world, enabled through technology and the expertise and passion of our employees.
We are all part of a globally interconnected evolution. As we continue to transform human progress, we must continue to create world-changing technology that improves the life of every person on the planet. Intel remains fully commit- ted to executing our strategy to deliver leadership products anchored on open and secure platforms, powered by at- scale manufacturing, and supercharged by our people. Our company and our people will continue to have a profound influence driving business and society forward by creating radical innovation that revolutionizes the way we live.”
JPMorgan Chase CEO, Jamie Dimon: “Shareholder value can be built only if you maintain a healthy and vibrant company, which means doing a good job of taking care of your customers, employees, and communities. Conversely, how can you have a healthy company if you neglect any of these stakeholders? As we have learned over the past few years, there are myriad ways an institution can demonstrate its compassion for its employees and its communities while still upholding shareholder value.”
JPMorgan Chase CEO, Jamie Dimon: “This year’s ESG Report explains how we leverage our business and expertise to help address economic and societal challenges, primarily by supporting our clients and providing targeted capital to contribute to an inclusive, sustainable economy. We pursue these initiatives because we truly believe it is right for our customer and communities, not to chase the latest fads or trends.
In a time of ongoing war, global sanctions and economic uncertainty we strive to help support energy security around the globe, while also accelerating the development and transition to affordable, reliable and lower-carbon energy solutions. We recognize the significant economic and societal opportunities associated with a successful transition to a low-carbon economy.
Our business is stronger when our economy is more inclusive. We are striving to advance economic inclusion around the world, including our efforts to help close the racial wealth gap among Black, Hispanic and Latino communities in the U.S. through the Firm’s $30 billion Racial Equity Commitment. Our commitment to advancing racial equity in the
U.S. is a long term journey for the Firm, and we are already thinking of what comes after the five-year mark. Our people drive our success, and it is through their ingenuity, excellence and integrity that we seek to build a prosperous business.”
Kimberly-Clark CEO, Mike Hsu: “Our purpose brings together our heritage of innovation and our commitment to providing care with our intention to be even better in the areas that deliver value to our stakeholders: providing better products, contributing to a better planet, creating a better workplace, and fostering a better society.
For Kimberly-Clark, providing better products means driving innovation that helps deliver enhanced consumer benefits while striving to both use less material and increase our use of sustainable materials.
We are actively working to do our part to help limit the rise of global temperatures and help restore the planet’s natural ecosystems.
We are building a purpose-led, performance driven culture underpinned by our values and commitment to inclusion, equity, diversity, wellbeing, and human rights.”
Kroger CEO, Rodney McMullen: “Introduced in 2021, Kroger’s ESG strategy, Thriving Together, is our roadmap for driving positive changes for people, our planet, and natural systems by 2030 and beyond. Leaders are focused on integrating this strategy across our business to accelerate progress toward long-term commitments. For example, retail leaders continue to operationalize Zero Hunger | Zero Waste performance objectives into company-, division- and store-level plans and training… We see incredible opportunities to reach more customers through our seamless ecosystem and expanding Delivery platform. Our shared-value strategy will bring affordable fresh, planet-forward options to even more homes, giving customers easy ways to live a healthier and more sustainable lifestyle—no matter where they live…We recognize our dual responsibilities when managing climate impact: reducing the adverse impacts of our operations on a changing climate and mitigating the potential impacts of a changing climate on our business. Kroger’s current target is to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 30% by 2030, from a 2018 baseline. In 2022, we committed to strengthen our Scope 1 and 2 target and set a new Scope 3 target for supply chain emissions reduction with the Science Based Targets initiative.”
McDonald’s CEO, Chris Kempczinski: “As communities around the world experience the impacts of climate change, we believe we need to be part of the solution. That’s why, in 2021, we set an ambition to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. We’re prioritizing action on the largest elements of our carbon footprint – from restaurant energy use to packaging and waste, and the sourcing of key ingredients for our menu… Meaningful change also requires us to find alternative and sustainable solutions to help protect the world’s natural resources and the communities that rely on them. This is the future of our business. We are committed to partnering with our suppliers around the world to scale innovative practices, from responsible sourcing and regenerative agriculture to widespread reuse and recycling pro- grams… The actions we continue to take today across people, communities and our planet will ensure we’re building a better business and a more trusted brand for generations to come.”
Meta CEO, Mark Zuckerberg: “The possibilities our technology will unlock for people only matter if we have a safe and thriving planet.”
Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella: “Our actions must be aligned with addressing the world’s problems, not creating new ones. At our core, we need to deliver innovation that helps drive broad economic growth.
As a company, we will do well when the world around us does well. That’s why we remain steadfast in our commitments to:
• Support inclusive economic growth
• Protect fundamental rights
• Create a sustainable future
• Earn trust
As we look back on our progress this year, we should all be proud. But it’s easy to talk about what we’re doing well. As we look ahead, we’ll continue to reflect on where the world needs us to do better.”
Microsoft Chief Sustainability Officer, Melanie Nakagawa and President, Brad Smith: “Meaningful climate action requires an enduring commitment from both government and business, with the private sector playing an increasingly important role in the transition from pledges to progress. As we reflect on the seriousness of the climate crisis, we have expanded our ambition to meet this urgent climate need by investing in a broad range of initiatives, technologies and approaches that support a net zero future.
In 2020, we made a bold set of commitments: to be a carbon negative, water positive, zero waste company that protects ecosystems—all by 2030. Three years into this journey, we remain steadfast in our commitment. 2022 was a reminder that to mitigate the most severe impacts of climate change, our commitments need to extend beyond our four walls, and we must continue to accelerate investments that will enable progress for decades to come.
We believe that Microsoft has an important role to play in developing and advancing new climate solutions, but also recognize that the climate crisis can’t be solved by any single company, organization, or government. The global community needs partnerships, new innovations, policies, and global commitment to ensure a healthy future for all.
Microsoft is deeply committed to using our voice to influence sustainability policies around the world. We support public policy initiatives to accelerate carbon reporting, reduction and removal, the transition to clean energy, water access and stress reduction, and the ability to measure, manage, and protect ecosystems. In 2022, we further com- mitted to shaping public policy by releasing policy briefs on carbon and electricity.
To move from pledges to progress, we cannot be deterred by near-term challenges, and must remain focused on developing innovative new solutions and in many cases, accelerating our actions. At Microsoft, we’re deeply committed to sustainability as a company, as a technology provider, and as citizens of planet Earth.”
Novartis CEO, Visant Narasimhan: “In the end, I think for all of us, we have to be super clear on the purpose and mission of our individual enterprises. Be super clear that when we deliver that purpose and mission, we actually do the biggest thing for ESG, forgetting all of the ESG rating stuff. Doesn’t matter, right? If we actually deliver on our missions in a sustainable way, that’s supposed to be why our corporations exist.”
P&G CEO, Jon R. Moeller: “We have been talking about the importance of balance for some time in the context of needing to deliver balanced growth and value creation. While that will always be an imperative, the world needs more from P&G now. It is not just top- and bottom-line growth that must be delivered and balanced. We must also endeavor to deliver against the needs of an increasing number of constituents — consumers, retail customers, employees, society and our shareowners. The needs of each of these constituents must be met.
People increasingly rely on us to deliver superior solutions that are sustainable. Our world requires that we do our part in this regard. This challenge is also an opportunity to extend our margin of superiority, further grow categories, and create more value. We are working across climate, waste, water and nature to improve our own environmental impact, enable consumers to reduce their footprint, and help society solve some of the most pressing global challenges.
We are committed to an equal, diverse and inclusive organization and culture; one which brings forth the best ideas and innovations needed to win with consumers and customers and for each other. We do this best when we have a pipeline of outstanding and diverse talent at every level and an environment that supports each of us in being our full and authentic selves. Externally, we support equality and inclusion efforts with our business partners and in our
communities because it is not only the right thing to do, but because it also can improve income and wealth equity for more people, creating more purchasing power, which drives market growth.”
Pepsi CEO, Ramon Laguarta: “When we launched pep+ in 2021, we knew we needed to do two things extremely well. First, we had to execute an end-to-end transformation of our business, with a focus on building a more sustainable future for people, the planet and our business. This meant rethinking the way we grow our ingredients, how we make, move and sell our iconic portfolio of products, and what choices to offer consumers.
Second, we had to perform whilst we transform. This meant having to grow and deliver value, even as we also reduce our use of natural resources.
A year and a half into this journey, we have put pep+ at the center of virtually everything we do. This focus has driven us to prioritize decisions around regenerative agriculture, reduce added sugars, increase recycled content in our packaging, create circular water systems, advance Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) and invest in our communities.
I am pleased to report that in 2022 we delivered our best business performance in a decade, whilst continuing to transform the company.”
Pepsi CFO, Hugh Johnston: “The strategic investments we’re making in pep+ will fuel our business to thrive in the long term and will help us build resilience across our global supply chain, while driving positive action for the planet and people.”
Pfizer CEO, Albert Bourla: “Pfizer’s vision is to be a best-in-class organization built on a strong foundation of ESG principles.”
Southern Company President, James Y. Kerr II: “In 2022, we expanded our environmental leadership and drove change to reduce our environmental footprint. We also continued to build on decades of efforts to modernize our infrastructure and deploy new technologies that enable us to better detect and repair methane leaks. We pursued renewable gas opportunities and conducted industry-leading research and development projects that empower our consumers to think and act more sustainably. Our commitment to sustainability extends to our communities as we implement initiatives to fuel an equitable future and advance environmental stewardship through our corporate responsibility programs and employee volunteer efforts.
At Southern Company Gas, we set high expectations for ourselves and are taking concrete steps to achieve our goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in our operations by 2050, in full support of Southern Company’s net-zero goal.”
UPS CEO, Carol B. Tomé: “ESG makes good business sense. We’ve seen how climate change and other socioeconomic challenges intersect, which is why we’re leading global conversations and delivering innovative solutions that will create a more sustainable, equitable, and inclusive world.”
Verizon CEO, Hans Vestberg: “Critical to these efforts is prioritizing the ESG issues and impacts that matter most to our stakeholders and driving consideration of these issues into the DNA of our company. At Verizon, ESG is integrated into the core of our business and everything we do. Citizen Verizon, our responsible business plan, keeps us laser-focused on areas where we can have the greatest impact and demonstrate responsible business practices.”
Walmart CEO, Doug McMillon: “At Walmart, we’re doing more than simply managing risks in these areas. Managing risk isn’t enough. We have to think differently, and we have to do more. We have adopted a mindset that prioritizes outcomes for business and society — and a regenerative ambition. I’m proud of the ways our team is bringing these principles to life across our business.”
Wells Fargo CEO, Charles W. Scharf: “In the pages that follow, you’ll find an overview of the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) work underway at Wells Fargo. This includes the work we are doing to build a sustainable, inclusive future in the communities we serve. These efforts span housing affordability, small business growth, financial inclusion, addressing climate change, and other initiatives. We consider this work a sustained, long-term commitment. We know that there is much work to do, and Wells Fargo is well-positioned to make a difference.”
By Ron Soonieus from INSEAD • Reposted: October 13, 2023
Amid regulatory and societal pressures to meet sustainability standards, strong personal leadership in the boardroom is needed to ensure competitive advantage and corporate longevity.
Driven by geopolitical uncertainty, trade risks and new technologies such as generative AI, the most profound business transformation in 50 years is underway. Alongside these factors, pressures from regulators and stakeholders are mounting around the reporting, transparency and accountability of companies’ social and environmental impacts.
The effects of regulatory requirements such as the European Sustainability Reporting Standards, which cover a full range of sustainability issues, including climate change, biodiversity and human rights, have a profound impact on organisations and their boards, according to recent global research I’ve done under the remit of the INSEAD Corporate Governance Centre, together with colleagues from BCG and Heidrick & Struggles.
In this year’s survey, regulations stood out as a big driver for sustainability efforts at the board level. Specifically, 51 percent of global board directors surveyed said they are acting on sustainability because of legislative requirements. Also, 69 percent of respondents indicated that sustainability-related concerns will take up more of board directors’ time.
Good news? Yes, to a certain extent. It means that boards are starting to pay serious attention to sustainability – a positive change from earlier research. However, while the rules and regulations serve a clear purpose, compliance alone does not guarantee the long-term success of a company.
That’s where the shoe pinches. Boards continue to wrestle with integrating sustainability fully into company strategy. In our report titled “The Role of the Board in the Sustainability Era”, 66 percent of global directors said that sustainability considerations should be fully integrated into business strategy. However, only 38 percent said that this is currently the case in the organisations they oversee.
Governance for sustainability
Board governance of sustainability involves three distinct areas. The most basic area is sustainability hygiene, which involves attention to sustainability-related matters including reporting, sustainability initiatives, data and stakeholder engagement. The next area of governance is controls and practices, which covers oversight of how the company is adopting controls and best practices to ensure the integrity of its sustainability journey. Finally, strategic reflection and implications is where boards should be focusing most of their time.
The strategic reflection area involves understanding how the world is changing, deciding what role the organisation should play in this changing world, and what that means to things such as the business and product portfolio. In this exercise, it’s not sufficient to look at sustainably issues in isolation; they should be viewed in relation to trends such as generative AI, inflation and geopolitical shifts. The views and strategy arising from these reflections should then drive sustainability hygiene, controls and practices – not the other way around.
It is important to focus on all three areas because focusing only on compliance might lead companies to believe that by complying with sustainability regulations, sustainability is “done”. As such, they may only work on incremental or operational improvements, or worse, become risk-averse and defensive.
Taking a strategic long-term perspective
In the evolving societal and business realities, sustainability can become a source of lasting competitive advantage and value creation. Boards have a key role to play in looking beyond the immediate horizon and ensuring sufficient weight is placed on making sustainability an integral part of strategy. In fact, the board provides the most value when it reflects and questions the status quo, presses management to reimagine the business, and stress-tests strategies for sustainable growth and new value creation.
Moving from the first two areas to strategic reflection demands critical thinking as well as taking tough and sometimes risky decisions – something that might not be straightforward for everyone. Venturing into an uncomfortable space requires a long-term view and personal leadership.
In addition to changing societal expectations, businesses ranging from producers to financial institutions are confronted with unconventional risks – such as water scarcity, flood and drought risks and crop failures – that are material to their business. Directors need new mechanisms in this increasingly complex world to pick up weak signals and identify emerging challenges. That is how they can tackle them effectively and turn them into competitive advantage.
When asked what is preventing board members from spending meaningful time on strategic thinking about sustainability, more than 72 percent of directors cited the need to devote time to other unrelated high-priority topics. Thirty-two percent said short-term sustainability matters take priority, while 35 percent don’t know enough about the long-term strategic implications of sustainability to have a meaningful discussion.
Fortunately, there are directors and organisations that have become very good at long-term planning. For instance, at the director roundtables we organised, we saw that companies that are asset-heavy and with long business cycles are naturally more accustomed to long-term thinking.
Modelling personal leadership
In practice, sustainability challenges such as balancing climate risks and energy needs, defining the role of business in regard to societal issues and responding to stakeholder capitalism are complex and often laden with contradictions.Moreover, in today’s dynamic environment, directors increasingly must bridge the divide between a wide range of competing interests and demands and provide clear guidance on the tough choices faced by management.
In a case study on Barry Callebaut – currently the world’s largest business-to-business (B2B) cocoa and chocolate company – my colleagues N. Craig Smith, Lisa Simone Duke and I detailed how its chairman, Andreas Jacobs, turned his dream for cocoa sustainability in West Africa into action. Driven by his desire to protect the livelihood of cocoa farmers, as well as safeguard the future of the company, he advocated a supply chain transformation towards more sustainable cocoa. Although his initial endeavour didn’t seem to work, he did not give up. Eventually, he won the support of the board and the company introduced sustainability as its fourth strategic pillar.
Strong personal leadership not only by management, but also in the boardroom, is more important than ever. It firstly involves building confidence among stakeholders in the strategy of the board and its ability to make hard choices with the longer term in mind. Directors can enhance confidence through greater transparency, such as by explaining the rationale of their decisions to stakeholders. Second, it requires directors to bridge divisions that might emerge among stakeholders and society at large. To ensure a broad perspective in decision-making, the board needs to constantly listen to and engage with groups with a variety of viewpoints on critical issues.
Making a moral stand
Indeed, expectations of the role of business in society are shifting. Expectations to “do good” have been added to boards’ traditional responsibilities of overseeing finances, managing risk and selecting leadership. But regulatory and societal pressures aside, there is a moral dimension to doing good.
Encouragingly, while 51 percent of global board directors said they are acting on sustainability because of legislative requirements and 41 percent said they are doing so due to expectations from investors, insurers and lenders, 52 percent said it was the “right thing to do”.
But what is the right thing to do? In a recent case study on nutrition, health and bioscience company DSM, my colleagues N. Craig Smith, Lisa Simone Duke and I describe an example of doing the right thing and creating shareholder value at the same time.
In August 2017, Helen Mets joined DSM as president of their Resins and Functional Materials (DRF) business, a long-standing chemicals division of the group. Although DSM was transitioning to a 100 percent nutrition and bioscience-based company that focussed on nutritional products that are good for people, Mets found that DRF sold legacy products that contained potentially harmful chemicals.
When Mets proposed to phase out these chemicals, the board’s first question was, “Is this a business we want to stay in?” Mets responded, “If not us, then who? There’s nobody better positioned to address the issues. If we’re a company that says we use our unique capabilities to address the big issues in the world, then this is one of our proof points. We are not moving the problem elsewhere, that’s not why I joined DSM.” The board signed off. It was a courageous plan, but the board agreed that to be a purpose-driven company, DSM needs to make difficult choices.
Path to sustainability
There is a clear path towards full integration of sustainability in the boardroom, as challenging as it may seem. First, governance can be sharpened by reevaluating board composition, using long-term perspectives to guide decision-making and increasing transparency on issues such as director selection and evaluation. Second, boards need to examine how sustainability will impact the business – from supply chain issues such as the scarcity of critical resources to exploring new business ecosystems for opportunities. Third, beyond governing, directors need to demonstrate strong leadership.
Transitioning a business to a fully sustainable model is complex and affects every aspect of the organisation. In an increasingly volatile business environment, there are tough, consequential decisions to be made and priorities to be set. To push through the transformation successfully, directors need to model personal leadership and courage as well as take a moral stand in providing clear guidance amid the complexity. As the DSM case clearly shows, it is possible to do good and do well at the same time.
By Scot Case, VP, CSR & Sustainability from the National Retail Federation • Reposted: October 12, 2023
Consumer demand for more sustainable products from more sustainable companies continues to grow, but different consumers focus on different aspects of sustainability and use different language to talk about it. As a result, it is important for retail executives to recognize how the language around sustainability is evolving so they can meet the needs of consumers, employees and investors.
Understanding the following five sustainability terms — what they mean, how they evolved and how they connect with each other — is vital for success with sustainability-focused consumers and other stakeholders.
1. Sustainability
The most cited definition for sustainability was introduced by the United Nations Brundtland Commission report “Our Common Future” in 1987. The report defines sustainability as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” The definition is intentionally broad and incorporates human health, environmental, social, cultural and community needs.
Notably, the report also acknowledges the vital role of profit-motivated businesses to generate the capital necessary to invest in the needs of the future. When this aspect of sustainability was at risk of being overlooked, the business community, led by consultant John Elkington, began framing sustainability around the “triple bottom line” of “people, planet and profit.”
2. Corporate social responsibility
CSR is a vital component of any retail sustainability strategy because it addresses the direct connections between retailers and the communities they serve. CSR initiatives predate modern understandings of sustainability, dating to concerns about worker well-being in the mid-to-late 1800s. As retailers and others in the business community began integrating sustainability considerations into their business strategies in the 1990s, CSR initiatives were a natural place to begin because they focus on people.
Modern CSR priorities include charitable donations to local communities and supporting causes like local school sports teams, community improvement efforts, veterans’ issues, literacy campaigns, access to healthy food within inner-city neighborhoods, community beautification projects and other social and community issues.
3. Environmental, social and governance
By the early 2000s, more companies were integrating sustainability considerations into their business strategies, including efforts focused on environmental, social and community issues. Nonprofit organizations and investors, however, want evidence that those efforts are producing beneficial results. They want the ability to measure progress, to calculate returns on investment, cost savings and risk reduction, and to ensure companies have governance structures in place to manage the issues. ESG reporting became an important measurement tool for analyzing the effectiveness of sustainability strategies.
4. Circularity
Circularity is another sustainability framework attracting significant consumer, investor and retailer attention. As defined by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, a truly circular system mimics nature, where there is no waste because one species’ waste becomes the raw material for other species to thrive
Circular retail business models, including resale retail and refillable packaging solutions, attempt to replicate natural systems and eliminate consumer and manufacturing waste. They keep products circulating from one consumer to the next, reusing and repairing products rather than throwing them away, and recycling them when they are no longer needed so the recycled materials can be used to make new products.
5. Regenerative
The original definition of sustainability — meeting the needs of future generations — means ensuring that future generations have access to needed resources. In some parts of the world, this requires regenerating and restoring natural systems so they can continue providing for human needs long into the future.
Companies like Walmart, Target, Ahold Delhaize (owner of Giant Foods, Food Lion and Hannaford), Levi Strauss & Co. and Madewell are working with suppliers to improve farming, forestry or fishing practices in ways that restore and regenerate natural systems for the future. Encouraging organic and no-till farming techniques, for example, restores soil health, enhances biodiversity and improves long-term productive capacity. Regenerating ocean reefs, forests and other natural habitats protects entire ecosystems that provide valuable resources that will be needed in the future, including food, clean air, clean water and a stable climate.
The language around sustainability will continue to evolve as different stakeholders emphasize different aspects of sustainability. It is important for retail executives and others to understand that, like the blind elders exploring an elephant for the first time, they are all exploring sustainability even when they are focusing on different aspects and using different language to describe it. Helping consumers, employees, suppliers and investors see the entire elephant can help eliminate confusion and accelerate progress.
By Sohaib Ahmed from Total Retail • Reposted: October 12, 2023
In the last few decades, the market has witnessed a gradual power shift between brands and consumers. Previously, brands would work on their ideas and develop a product or service that they believed would help customers. Now, brands are taking notes and working on innovating and devising products and services that customers believe in. By conscientiously creating offerings to make consumers feel valued and needed, brands foster greater customer centricity.
Today’s Era Requires a Customer-Centric Approach
Prioritizing the customer above everything is no longer a fresh concept in terms of marketing, but it remains the most crucial of all. Being customer-centric allows brands to develop trust and a sense of reliability in the eyes of their customers.
Many companies that boasted being customer-centric in the pre-COVID era failed to deliver on their promises once the situation turned grave. Customers all over the globe realized that most brands didn’t have a plan B or plan C to ensure the convenience of purchase and a thorough customer service experience in case of a natural calamity such as COVID-19. How could they though? It was an unprecedented situation that completely shook the world. Whether it was helping customers virtually or providing them with detailed information on the product/service pre- and post-sale, most B2C and B2B brands struggled to ensure quality assistance in remote setups.
Consequently, brands faced revenue loss and an unfortunate erosion in reputation even though the quality of products/services was up to the mark.
Customer-centricity attracts brand loyalty, and in return, the frequency of purchases increases and so does positive word-of-mouth marketing. The positive consequences help the brand earn respect and a good reputation in the eyes of consumers.
Helping Brands Excel in Customer-Centricity
A brand or business is termed customer-centric when it puts forth the customer’s requirements above everything. All the strategies and important decisions are centered around the customer’s convenience and need.
The following 10 important factors can help a brand excel in the department of customer-centricity:
Anticipate customers’ needs beforehand. Many companies spend a lot of time and money hiring analysts who can help understand a typical consumer’s mindset. Brands that can predict a trend have a business advantage over their counterparts. Innovating in areas that can guarantee convenience for the end user surely makes it to the top of a consumer’s purchase preference. Many companies are turning to artificial intelligence-backed tools to gauge and understand future market dependencies.
Express empathy and concern. A brand that wishes to ensure a good reputation should invest in building a customer service team that’s trained to handle clients in emotional distress. Listening and being empathetic to a customer’s predicament instills trust in the customer’s mind. This, followed by an effective solution to the issue, creates a positive customer experience and thereby leads to brand loyalty. Commerce with compassion is a key step to achieving customer-centricity.
Deliver exemplary customer service. Customer service, at times, is single-handedly responsible for classifying a brand as customer-centric or the contrary. Brands that emphasize a pleasant customer experience during the sale and strive to retain the same kind of vibrations and impressions post-sale are truly valued. Outstanding customer service is a mélange of flexible and empathetic interactions at all touchpoints, effective solutions, fast response time, and customization.
Stay flexible. Today’s consumers like short and simple interactions. Brands that can provide frictionless customer-agent interactions at all touchpoints will earn themselves a favorable reputation. Flexibility also involves being present on multiple channels for easy and interruption-free conversations. According to Comm100, millennials prefer live chat for fast and convenient customer service, so it’s no wonder that many organizations have implemented a live chat experience.
Offer personalized experiences. Personalized experiences are essential to achieve customer-centricity. If a brand fails to create an experience that suits the customer’s time and convenience, the brand is most likely to lose its customer to one of its competitors. Also, personalization isn’t restricted to experiences. A customer-centric brand imbibes personalization through its promotional content, products and services. For instance, skincare giant Clinique came up with a moisturizing lotion that can be customized to suit the specific skin requirements of the user. One can add up to five booster cartridges of their choice.
Ensure ethical leadership. Ethical leadership is one of the most difficult goals to achieve for a brand aiming at customer-centricity. Conducting business in compliance with the resident country’s laws and regulations isn’t an obstacle-free path. When a company still chooses to do it, it becomes customer-centric and earns brand loyalty for life.
Maintain transparency and honesty. Customer-centric brands practice honesty and transparency while listing product/service features on their website or chosen platform of communication. They also encourage communication which sheds light on hidden charges, and prices inclusive of taxes and shipping.
Enlist affordable and user-friendly products/services. Purchase price and user friendliness are two important decision-making aspects for consumers. Today’s consumers are smart and quick to understand when a product or service is priced unjustly — or even justly for that matter. When a product/service is reasonably priced, the brand attracts affinity from a large group of consumers. In addition to this, the complexity level of operating a certain product also proves to be crucial if a customer has purchased it to save time.
Provide omnichannel support. If a brand wants to stay ahead of its customers, it must ensure an omnichannel support system. Modern customer engagement tools can mobilize and personalize customer journeys across multiple channels. For example, live chats, social media, offline and online messaging systems, calls, and emails. According to Microsoft, most customers continue to use three to five channels to get their issues resolved, so it doesn’t look like the omnichannel experience is going away anytime soon.
Respect your consumer’s privacy. There’s a fine line between approaching customers about their preferences and harassing them to leverage their data for business gains. When a brand makes a conscious choice to respect the customer’s privacy and actively protects sensitive or classified data, it becomes customer-centric.
Acknowledge Customer Expectations
Today’s consumers are more informed and more selective than their predecessors. This indicates that companies should step up their game and meet these ever-evolving expectations — or risk losing out to their competitors.
Furthermore, customer expectations are often based on past experiences. A true customer-centric brand will work meticulously to rise to the occasion by diminishing past biases, meeting new expectations, and even exceeding them in some cases.
Achieving long-term sustainability goals without innovation is unimaginable. Image: Getty
By Professor Ivanka Visnjic, Director of the Institute for Innovation and Knowledge Management at Esade via Forbes • Reposted: October 11, 2023
Innovation and sustainability are often perceived as competing strategies within companies. Research indicates that many corporations view them as either-or alternatives, often sidelining innovation in favor of sustainability. The truth, however, is just the opposite. Innovation is essential to be able to address challenges such as climate change, social inequality, and relentless resource depletion. It is the driver behind the development of new technologies, practices, and solutions that can achieve these results while also satisfying economic objectives. As Bill Gates eloquently elaborates in his bestseller, How to Avoid Climate Disaster, achieving long-term sustainability goals without innovation is unimaginable.
Lastly, leaders of large corporations that address unsustainable practices may face substantial backlash. For example, Erik Osmundsen, who led Norsk Gjenvinning’s transformative journey from a traditional waste management company to a recycling innovator, faced resistance and even threats from stakeholders who were skeptical of the company’s sustainable transition. Similarly, Emmanuel Faber argued that he was ousted as Danone’s CEO due to his efforts to make Danone more environmentally conscious. These examples highlight the tension that can arise between sustainability initiatives and legacy expectations.
Glimmers of hope…
In the world of startups, however, there is growing evidence of this virtuous alliance between innovation and sustainability. Take, for example, Prometheus Materials, a startup that has developed a “bioconcrete” technology to harness the power of photosynthesizing cyanobacteria to reduce CO2 emissions in cement production. Another startup, Basilisk, leverages biotechnology to produce self-healing concrete, a novel, ecologically-friendly solution that reduces the need for reinforced steel, reducing the associated CO2 emissions.
The budding success of sustainability-oriented startups signals a transformative shift in industry practices and underscores the considerable threat and missed opportunity for large corporations that stay on the sidelines and ignore “innovation for sustainability.” As Tesla, a pioneering electric vehicle manufacturer, has already demonstrated to automotive incumbents, large corporations cannot afford to not be part of this trend.
With their substantial resources and well-established infrastructures, incumbents are in a key position to adopt and scale sustainable innovations, amplifying their overall impact on the environment. Some early movers seem to understand this. For example, Enel, the Italian energy corporation, has pioneered what they call ‘Innovability’, combining innovation and sustainability and making it a cornerstone of its overall corporate strategy. As a result, Enel has not only achieved impressive sustainability targets but also positioned itself as a leader in the energy industry. Several other companies, such as the cement giant, Holcim, and paper manufacturer, Suzano, are following their example.
As we stand at the crossroads of an evolving business landscape, the intertwining of sustainability and innovation emerges as the pathway to a more equitable, cleaner future. Navigating these treacherous waters demands a fearless, visionary approach to sustainable innovation, one that can turn the greatest of challenges into even greater opportunities. By boldly embracing this interplay of sustainability and innovation, businesses can unlock unprecedented growth, simultaneously fostering societal progress and securing their place as architects of tomorrow.
Two-thirds of companies in Europe and the United Kingdom now include environmental criteria as part of their executive incentive schemes. Image: Shutterstock
By Leanne Keddie, Assistant Professor, Sprott School of Business, Carleton University and Michel Magnan, Professeur et Titulaire de la Chaire de Gouvernance S.A. Jarislowsky, Concordia University via The Conversation • Reposted: October 11, 2023
An increasing number of companies are paying bonuses to executives in the pursuit of sustainability. Driven by an ever-growing focus on global issues, more than three-quarters of large, publicly traded companies in Europe and North America now use environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) metrics when determining executive bonuses.
In addition, nearly two-thirds of companies in Europe and the United Kingdom now include environmental criteria as part of their executive incentive schemes.
While such incentives can enhance a firm’s ESG performance, they also present an opportunity for executives to obtain bigger bonuses under the illusion of “doing good.” There is always a risk of executives manipulating performance metrics to gain bonuses.
Examining ESG incentives
We first noticed that a significant number of executives were being paid bonuses for achieving ESG goals in 2015. By 2020, more than 43 per cent of executives from the largest 500 publicly traded U.S. firms had ESG incentives.
Since the use of ESG incentives is relatively new, we suspected they might be susceptible to abuse and decided to investigate. Our recent study examines how ESG incentives impact yearly bonuses for top executives.
Since these large companies are required to disclose information on how they pay their top executives, we used novel artificial intelligence to examine these companies’ documents.
In our analysis, we took into account how much money we expected executives to make, how much power they had over their firm’s board of directors, whether they used ESG incentives or not and whether a variety of corporate governance mechanisms (like sustainability committees) were in place.
The good news and the bad news
Our study found that overall, executives do not appear to be leveraging their power to get higher compensation through ESG incentives. That’s the good news.
The bad news, however, is that not all executives are wielding their power for good. Some executives seem to use their power to obtain higher bonuses from ESG incentives. This seems to happen particularly in environmentally sensitive industries (mining or oil and gas, for example) or in firms that have other corporate governance mechanisms in place, like sustainability committees.
It’s possible that tighter oversight is needed in certain industries or even that some corporate governance mechanisms may be more for show than for governance. For instance, board members should ensure they have the requisite knowledge to engage in meaningful conversations about the use of ESG incentives in compensation plans.
They may also need to put additional checks and balances in place to better monitor, control and advise management on the use of these incentives, especially with respect to the selection of ESG performance metrics.
Why does this matter?
Key stakeholders like the Canadian Coalition for Good Governance, standard setters like the International Sustainability Standards Board and rating agencies such as MSCI advise organizations to include ESG goals in executives’ compensation plans. The objective, presumably, is twofold: to measure what matters and provide executives with incentives to move their organizations toward sustainability.
However, the connection between ESG incentives and sustainability is not so clear-cut. We still need to learn more about the use of ESG incentives to be able to apply them properly. Moreover, firms often equate their ESG focus with sustainability, but the two are not the same.
A focus on ESG is a focus on how environmental, social and governance factors affect the financial performance of the firm while a focus on sustainability is a focus on how the firm affects society and the environment. Think of it as the difference between a selfie and a landscape photo — one looks inward (ESG) and the other outward (sustainability).
There is limited evidence that awarding bonuses based on ESG criteria automatically translates into improved sustainability for a company. While there is some evidence they might, it’s still too early for a definite answer.
ESG factors focus on risks and opportunities that affect financial performance, not necessarily those that are connected to planetary sustainability. In fact, there is no work to date that we are aware of that connects a firm’s ESG performance to planetary sustainability at all.
While ESG incentives may help a firm mitigate the risk of investors’ or regulators’ intervention, they don’t necessarily translate into sustainability performance. We cannot reiterate this enough: a focus on ESG is a focus on risk and opportunity management, not sustainability.
Our research is a reminder, to boards of directors, executives, regulators and standard-setters, that one-size-fits-all is rarely appropriate and without looking closely at what is happening, these incentives can be abused.
With a growing number of employees holding their organizations to account over sustainability commitments, the onus is on HR departments to explain a firm’s purpose and impact if they are to attract and retain talent. By Natalia Olynec. Chief Sustainability Officer and Lars Häggström, Senior Advisor at IMD • Reposted: October 10, 2023
In September, Shell CEO Wael Sawan faced a backlash from employees when he announced plans to scale back investments in renewables and low-carbon businesses as part of a strategy to boost profits.
Disgruntled staff issued a rare open letter, expressing their concern about the shift away from green energy and urging Sawan not to reduce investments in renewable energy. “For a long time, it has been Shell’s ambition to be a leader in the energy transition. It is the reason we work here,” said the letter, addressed to Sawan and Shell’s executive committee. The letter was viewed more than 80,000 times on Shell’s internal website, received 1,000 ‘likes’ and prompted a string of responses from other employees.
Shell is not alone. Jeff Bezos, the former CEO of Amazon, was urged in 2019 by thousands of employees to adopt a more ambitious climate plan to reach zero carbon emissions. Staff pointed out the online retailer’s continued use of fossil fuels, its donations to climate-denying politicians, its contracts with oil and gas companies, and its lack of transparency on its environmental impact.
Employee protests have not remained limited to climate targets. Lapses in terms of organizations’ commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) have recently come under scrutiny. Staff at Netflix staged a walkout in protest of American comedian Dave Chappelle’s comedy special, which was criticized for its content related to the LGBTQ+ community. Disney employees also pressured the company’s CEO to speak up about a law in Florida that restricts classroom discussions of LGBTQ+ related topics.
These incidents underscore the challenge organizations face in managing the gap between employee expectations and corporate realities as they navigate the trade-offs between short-term profits and long-term impact.
A growing number of people are looking for ways to make a positive difference through their work as the world faces unprecedented environmental and social challenges from climate change and biodiversity loss to inequality. They also increasingly expect their employers to align with their personal values and contribute to the greater good of society.
“This has prompted a bit of a flip in how HR has traditionally been viewed. While previously these departments’ roles were to assess talent and decide if they are a good fit for the company, now talent is assessing the company to see if it’s the right fit for them – and their values,” a report by Egon Zender says.
Employee activism aimed at holding firms accountable for commitments to sustainable business and diversity and inclusion is also on the rise, facilitated by their ability to amplify their views on social media. It can be risky for firms to ignore these calls for action, says Markus Graf, talent leader of a Switzerland-based multinational.
“Companies that want to be seen as the best employers for talent discuss these topics,” he said. “On social media, these topics generate the highest engagement with likes and comments. We will likely witness increased employee engagement, especially in countries where employees feel there is no fear of retaliation for expressing their views.”
This growing activism and spotlight on an organization’s social and environmental impact has also created a need for HR departments to add new capabilities to facilitate the creation of an integrated sustainability program in collaboration with other business functions.
“Sustainability is the future of work,” Graf said. “HR leaders have a critical role to play in driving change. The ability to work across the company to articulate an enterprise-wide stance on ESG and sustainability will be tremendously important.”
So what can HR departments do to manage employee expectations and get them engaged in shaping and supporting the organization’s sustainability strategy?
Be involved in defining the sustainability strategy
If HR is going to lead efforts to make sure an organization stays true to its sustainability commitments, they must also play a role in shaping strategy. The CHRO must work closely with the CEO to help set a clear purpose and strategic vision to drive change from the top. This prevents the firm from making lofty promises that are not held in the eyes of the employee. It also lends HR more credibility in any discussions they have with employees and management.
“In today’s world, sustainability is no longer a luxury; it’s a necessity, and it’s everyone’s responsibility, not just that of the Chief Sustainability Officer. Leaders at all levels need to be committed to sustainability, and the HR team can play a critical role in driving this change,” said Graf. “There is an expectation from employees for a clear strategy that demonstrates progress.”
One company that has successfully woven sustainability into the heart of its strategy is Finland’s Neste, which transformed itself over two decades from an oil refiner to a leading producer of renewable fuels. Their purpose, “creating a healthier planet for our children”, is a central part of their Employee Value Proposition (EVP). Similarly, Stora Enso, a Finnish provider of renewables products, packaging, and biomaterials, has crafted “Do good for people and the planet” as its purpose statement, while Swedish multinational industrial company Atlas Copco has launched ambitious targets to cut carbon emissions that are validated and approved by the Science Based Targets Initiative.
What links these three companies is that they are based in the Nordics, where there is a strong tradition of allowing and encouraging employees to speak their mind without the risk of facing sanctions.
Solicit employees’ input on sustainability practices
This brings us onto our next point. It’s important to recognize that activists are engaged and passionate employees, not disloyal ones. Understanding their concerns is key to hiring and retaining a new generation of talent, so why not involve them in the decision-making process by soliciting their input and suggestions on sustainability practices? Asking employees why they joined your organization, what makes them excited to come to work, and why they would leave can also help firms understand how they are perceived and allow them to refine their EVP if necessary to attract the right people with the relevant capabilities.
Start by creating channels and platforms for employees to share their ideas, concerns, and feedback. This can be done through employee engagement surveys, employee interest groups, and through reverse mentoring to introduce executives to diverse employee perspectives. Onboarding and exit views are also useful to understand employee values.
Communicate clearly and transparently
As well as helping to craft a clear vision and sustainability strategy, the HR department should communicate these goals clearly and transparently to all employees. It helps if the strategy is translated into a simple document with initiatives that can be tracked and measured. HR teams should provide regular updates on progress, supported by data, and linked to key milestones and dates.
One way to bring an organization’s purpose and values to life is to run workshops. This is something consumer goods giant Unilever has done to help staff better connect the group’s purpose, “to make sustainable living commonplace” to their own personal purpose.
Encourage employee-led initiative groups that promote sustainability
Lastly, sustainability efforts don’t have to just come from the top. Encourage employee-led groups to raise and promote sustainability practices across the organization. Provide them with resources and recognition for their efforts, as well as incentives. For example, some organizations are starting to link employee incentive programs with sustainability targets. This is one way to ensure there isn’t a disconnect between senior executives’ commitments to societal impact and the way they evaluate and reward middle managers.
Climate Week attendees strike a pose at the SDG Pavilion in front of the United Nations Headquarters in New York City on September 21, 2023. (Image credit: U.N. Partnerships/Pier Paolo Cito via Flickr)
By Mary Riddle from Triple Pundit • Reposted: October 9, 2023
As the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) reach their midpoint, the world is “woefully off-track” in meeting the targets by the 2030 deadline, the United Nations warned this summer. Only 15 percent of the SGDs are on track, according to the U.N. Global Compact. Progress on 37 percent of the targets has either stagnated or reversed, while efforts on the remaining half are considered weak or insufficient. With seven years left to meet the Global Goals, the U.N. is calling on the private sector to help accelerate implementation.
While business leaders remain confident about the vision for the future underscored in the SDGs, their confidence in meeting the targets by 2030 dwindled from 92 percent in 2022 to 51 percent this year, according to a new report.
Last month, Accenture partnered with the U.N. Global Compact to publish the Global Private-Sector Stocktake, a first-of-its-kind look at private-sector impact on the SDGs, with tangible action items and resources that companies can consider to drive progress on the road to 2030. The report outlined 10 key pathways for corporations — which include putting existing markets to work for social equity by way of a living wage and addressing gender pay gaps, as well as more transformative moves to integrate the SDGs into corporate finance and promote sustainability leadership in the private sector.
Sustainable corporate finance
“There is a lot of momentum around impact accounting, which ensures companies are taking into full account both tangible outcomes like revenues and returns for shareholders, but also the intangible outcomes like indirect carbon emissions,” said Vik Viniak, senior managing director and North America sustainability lead at Accenture.
“For example, Mastercard links incentives for executives and employees to their ESG [environmental, social and governance] objectives, which include gender equity and emissions reductions,” he said. “With Google and Amazon, if you look at their tech businesses like Google Cloud and [Amazon Web Services], they are using green principles to create more energy-efficient computing systems, and that ties into their executive remuneration. In most public companies, your compensation is tied to shareholder value, but it is important to remember that ESG is also directly tied to shareholder value.”
Sustainable corporate finance just makes good business sense. Impact accounting helps corporations establish better decision-making frameworks and can give companies leverage in discussions with their supply chain partners.
“If you are looking at two suppliers in your supply chain and everything else is equal, but one supplier has a better record on emissions, suddenly the decision becomes much easier,” Viniak said. Impact accounting should also be part of a company’s public reports, he said.
However, he emphasized that sustainable finance is an evolving space. The U.N. Global Compact launched the CFO Coalition last month to put clear definitions and guidelines in place to help companies integrate the SDGs into their corporate financing. Viniak is optimistic about the coalition’s work. “The current state of confusion is causing companies to not take action,” he said. “There is a paralysis. This clarity can help get blood flowing so it can function.”
Strengthening sustainability leadership for the SDGs
“True sustainability leadership is about holding senior leaders accountable,” Viniak said. “Empower everyone in the organization to take action, but make sure leaders are talking the talk and walking the walk. We need humility and self-realization in organizations. Management can lead by being humble and knowing that they can do more.”
There are clear benefits to corporate support for the SDGs, but it is important for companies to be able to substantiate their claims, show their metrics, and transparently report on their goals, reasoning and progress. “The market has gotten smarter,” Viniak said. “Investors and consumers can identify SDG-washing in companies that can’t support their claims.”
When leaders embrace the SDGs, it can serve to engage the entire workforce, Viniak said. “For leaders, one of the most important incentives for working toward the SDGs is that people are going to get excited,” he told us. “At Accenture, we have a huge, young workforce, and this workforce is asking Accenture what we are doing for the SDGs. Our CEO always says that we need to be our best credential. We have rallied our workforce around the mission of sustainability, and in our global workforce, in every community we are in, our people are making an impact. You can rally your whole organization around the SDGs and give them the tools to measure their impacts, and we can all hold each other accountable.”
The SDG Stocktake is a clarion call for all corporations
For companies that have yet to examine their impact on the SDGs, Viniak emphasized that it is not too late. “I encourage every company to start the process of understanding specific ESG impacts based on their industry and sector,” he said. “The biggest positive and negative impacts need to inform strategy.”
Once a corporation clearly understands their ESG impacts, they can evaluate how those impacts could help meet the targets of the SDGs and embed that into their decision-making frameworks.
“You can’t improve what you can’t measure,” Viniak said. “Companies must reflect on their impact on the SDGs. Then, they must set goals, identify how they can continue to accelerate the areas in which they lead, and how they can double down to improve those areas where they might be behind.”
Scaling up new incentive systems is also key to move progress forward. In the Global Private-Sector Stocktake report, business leaders clearly identified the support they need. “There is a huge lack of clarity in terms of goals and measurements,” Viniak explained. “Eighty percent of business leaders claim there are insufficient policy incentives to incorporate ESG considerations, and 84 percent are uncertain about measurements and calculations.”
Fortunately, the private sector is rapidly innovating to address leadership concerns, with new data management companies and softwares regularly coming to market that address these challenges. “There are now data providers that are helping companies define specific impacts on the SDGs,” Viniak said. “This kind of data could help companies understand their own impact in a measurable way for the first time.”
But for these services to make a difference, companies have to use them. “Companies need to see the value of this and pay for it,” Viniak said. “This data could revolutionize incentives if tied to accounting and taxation in the future. We may be able to crack the data measurement problem soon. While companies are currently not being held accountable in consistent ways, with emerging data tools, they can be and should be.”
Viniak recognizes that the private sector is off track, but he remains optimistic. “Games are won in the second half, not the first,” he said. “Yes, we are trailing. We are behind, but we can win. The private sector is a key player to achieve the SDGs. It is time to step up in the second half to win this game.”
From the Reuters Events Sustainable Business vs. CSRWire • Reposted: October 7, 2023
The urgent call to decarbonize has thrust sustainability into the spotlight on the corporate stage. Whilst the growth in reporting has created an expansive list of pressing priorities.
But how are businesses preparing for the comprehensive and complex reporting landscape? Where are they investing today, and perhaps more pertinently in the years to come, to meet the needs of regulators and climate-conscious stakeholders? And how are today’s businesses strategizing to meet their sustainability ambitions?
Discover the answers to these pivotal questions in the Reuters Impact Global Sustainability Report 2023, a valuable resource that will help shape your sustainability strategy, chart your investment course, and provide a meaningful benchmark against industry peers.
Our unique, proprietary dataset, assembled using survey responses from more than 570 sustainability practitioners and decision-makers globally, provides a detailed examination of how sustainability investments are shifting towards a new set of technologies, where businesses are setting their sustainability priorities and the strategies being pursued to meet them.
Our research has unveiled several key findings:
Data analysis and emissions accounting solutions are the leading destinations of business investment for sustainability purposes today, but by 2026 a new suite of technologies is expected to lead the way.
Our technology investment leaderboard highlights differences in investment approach between companies operating in North America and those in Europe. Are European organizations still sustainability’s trailblazers?
Energy and decarbonization is a top priority for a leading majority of organizations responding to our survey, however there is a distinct mix of strategies being pursued to reduce remissions.
Legos are designed to last for decades. That posed a challenge when the toymaker tried to switch to recycled plastics. AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi
By Tinglong Dai, Professor of Operations Management & Business Analytics, Carey Business School, Johns Hopkins University, Christopher S. Tang, Professor of Supply Chain Management, University of California, Los Angeles and Hau L. Lee, Professor of Operations, Information & Technology, Stanford University via The Conversation • Reposted: October 7, 2023
This commitment isn’t just for show. Lego sees its core customers as children and their parents, and sustainability is fundamentally about ensuring that future generations inherit a planet as hospitable as the one we enjoy today.
So it was surprising when the Financial Times reported on Sept. 25, 2023, that Lego had pulled out of its widely publicized “Bottles to Bricks” initiative.
This ambitious project aimed to replace traditional Lego plastic with a new material made from recycled plastic bottles. However, when Lego assessed the project’s environmental impact throughout its supply chain, it found that producing bricks with the recycled plastic would require extra materials and energy to make them durable enough. Because this conversion process would result in higher carbon emissions, the company decided to stick with its current fossil fuel-based materials while continuing to search for more sustainable alternatives.
Business leaders are increasingly integrating environmental, social and governance factors, commonly known as ESG, into their operational and strategic frameworks. But the pursuit of sustainability requires attention to the entire life cycle of a product, from its materials and manufacturing processes to its use and ultimate disposal.
The results can lead to counterintuitive outcomes, as Lego discovered.
Understanding a company’s entire carbon footprint requires looking at three types of emissions: Scope 1 emissions are generated directly by a company’s internal operations. Scope 2 emissions are caused by generating the electricity, steam, heat or cooling a company consumes. And scope 3 emissions are generated by a company’s supply chain, from upstream suppliers to downstream distributors and end customers.
Currently, fewer than 30% of companies report meaningful scope 3 emissions, in part because these emissions are difficult to track. Yet, companies’ scope 3 emissions are on average 11.4 times greater than their scope 1 emissions, data from corporate disclosures reported to the nonprofit CDP show.
Lego is a case study of this lopsided distribution and the importance of tracking scope 3 emissions. A staggering 98% of Lego’s carbon emissions are categorized as scope 3.
From 2020 to 2021, the company’s total emissions increased by 30%, amid surging demand for Lego sets during the COVID-19 lockdowns – even though the company’s scope 2 emissions related to purchased energy such as electricity decreased by 40%. The increase was almost entirely in its scope 3 emissions.
As more companies follow in Lego’s footsteps and begin reporting scope 3 emissions, they will likely find themselves in the same position, realizing that efforts to reduce carbon emissions often boil down to supply chain and consumer-use emissions. And the results may force them to make some tough choices.
Policy and disclosure: The next frontier
New regulations in the European Union and pending in California are designed to increase corporate emissions transparency by including supply chain emissions.
The EU in June 2023 adopted the first set of European Sustainability Reporting Standards, which will require publicly traded companies in the EU to disclose their scope 3 emissions, starting in their reports for fiscal year 2024.
California’s legislature passed similar legislation requiring companies with revenues of more than $1 billion to disclose their scope 3 emissions. California’s governor has until Oct. 14, 2023, to consider the bill and is expected to sign it.
At the federal level, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission released a proposal in March 2022 that, if finalized, would require all public companies to report climate-related risk and emissions data, including scope 3 emissions. After receiving significant pushback, the SEC began reconsidering the scope 3 reporting rule. But SEC Chairman Gary Gensler suggested during a congressional hearing in late September 2023 that California’s move could influence federal regulators’ decision.
This increased focus on disclosure of scope 3 emissions will undoubtedly increase pressure on companies.
Because scope 3 emissions are significant, yet often not measured or reported, consumers are rightly concerned that companies that claim to have low emissions may be greenwashing without taking action to reduce emissions in their supply chains to combat climate change.
At the same time, we suspect that as more investors support sustainable investing, they may prefer to invest in companies that are transparent in disclosing all areas of emissions. Ultimately, we believe consumers, investors and governments will demand more than lip service from companies. Instead, they’ll expect companies to take actionable steps to reduce the most significant part of a company’s carbon footprint – scope 3 emissions.
A journey, not a destination
The Lego example serves as a cautionary tale in the complex ESG landscape for which most companies are not well prepared. As more companies come under scrutiny for their entire carbon footprint, we may see more instances where well-intentioned sustainability efforts run into uncomfortable truths.
This calls for a nuanced understanding of sustainability, not as a checklist of good deeds, but as a complex, ongoing process that requires vigilance, transparency and, above all, a commitment to the benefit of future generations.
From Sustainable Brands • Reposted: October 7, 2023
A new study by Magna, Teads and Project Drawdown confirms consumers are relying on brands to create a clear, tangible and compelling vision — backed by substantive action — to guide them toward more sustainable lifestyles.
Today, MAGNA — the investment and intelligence arm of IPG Mediabrands — released a study conducted in partnership with Project Drawdown and cloud-based, omnichannel advertising platform Teads to better understand consumer perspectives on sustainability, especially as it relates to the continued barriers that prevent more sustainable lifestyles.
MAGNA surveyed 9,112 people in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia, and held five focus groups in the US. Along with echoing recent research from Sustainable Brands® and Deloitte on the most common, ongoing barriers to consumer adoption of more sustainable habits and lifestyles (expense and lack of access), the study found that despite these barriers, people remain motivated to ensure a better future — with 99 percent of people agreeing that they can be motivated to take sustainable action.
“The climate crisis is, in part, a communication crisis,” said Jonathan Foley, Ph.D., Executive Director of Project Drawdown. “We already have the solutions we need to turn things around; but we are still paralyzed by misinformation, fear and the lack of will to act. We need a clear and compelling vision to move forward — a vision of a better future, where we come together to stop climate change, and build a better world for all. That could change the world.”
Additional key findings confirm the imperative for brands to be part of the conversation: 77 percent of respondents said they wanted brands to take a stance on sustainability. Furthermore, 75 percent somewhat or strongly agreed that if brands took meaningful action on sustainability, it would have a tremendous impact on the environment; and 35 percent would be motivated to act, if they see brands have, too.
A brand that offers tangible, relevant data in advertising — such as a statistic on how much water was saved in manufacturing — scores better than ambiguous messaging. Defining sustainability itself, a broad term that can vary by product category, makes a difference in helping consumers align around a company’s actions.
The study also ranked which channels consumers favor more when receiving sustainability messaging. Advertising, at 66 percent, was the optimal channel; followed by social media (62 percent), newsletters (57 percent), and influencers and other brand representatives (52 percent).
But advertising itself is also in the hot seat, thanks to its until-recently-unchecked carbon footprint — initiatives such as Scope3 and Ad Net Zero have emerged to help ensure the climate impacts of the messengers no longer undermine their sustainability messaging.
“Sustainability practices are good for business, with innovation, transparency, and information key for brands to strengthen their customer relationships long term,” added Neala Brown, SVP of Strategy & Insights at Teads. “While brands should ease customer hesitations toward adopting a sustainable lifestyle and given advertising as an optimal channel for that messaging, we are simultaneously working with our brand partners to reduce their own digital carbon footprint with supply chain and media optimization via direct publisher relationships.”
Authenticity and credibility — with heightened awareness and scrutiny of sustainability claims and sensitivity to greenwashing, brands must ensure both their communications teams and the content creators they partner with are versed and confident in the validity of the claims they espouse.
Sustainability education needs to be a collective effort. Image: Photo by Kenny Eliason on Unsplash
By Julie Linn Teigland, Area Managing Partner, Europe, Middle East, India and Africa, from the World Economic Forum • Reposted: October 5, 2023
The world is grappling with the pressing issue of climate change and our younger generations will bear the brunt of its consequences.
The first step towards meaningful change in anything – including sustainability – is education and a collective effort is required from corporations, governments, NGOs and educators alike.
Today’s younger generations undoubtedly hold the key to a more sustainable future, but channelling their enthusiasm into lasting change poses a significant global challenge for us all.
The global EY organization, in collaboration with JA Worldwide, recently published a report to find out ‘How can we empower the next generations to build a more sustainable future?‘. One of the report’s main findings is that the responsibility for delivering effective sustainability education lies not solely with educational institutions but with a collaborative effort from a coalition of organizations working hand-in-hand with educators around the world.
How can business leaders and corporations play their part in delivering truly effective sustainability education, both inside and outside the classroom? Here are five strategies to consider.
1. Host expanded learning opportunities
Our report found that hands-on learning experiences were critical in delivering truly engaging and effective sustainability education. There are many opportunities for companies and NGOs to get involved and collaborate with educators here by sponsoring workshops and activities, for example, that better engage students.
The Sustainability and Environmental Education organization’s ‘Young Changemakers’ course is an excellent example of this approach in action. The course inspires young school-age people by offering creative events and workshops that involve local businesses, charities and community organizations to bring sustainability challenges to life.
2. Provide educators with the tools to share additional context
Our report found that while social media plays a significant role in educating younger generations about sustainability, they trust teachers and schools more for this education. More than a quarter of Gen Z and Gen Alpha list schools and teachers as the top sources from which they would like to receive more information about sustainability.
With this in mind, corporations and NGOs should collaborate with schools to equip them with the tools to provide vital context to the raft of social media information younger generations are exposed to.
To give a practical example, the EY Future Skills Workshops, collaborating with EY, Code.org and Microsoft, have been established to help educate young people on sustainability topics not commonly taught in schools, utilizing innovative approaches and new technology. Programmes like these help empower educators and bridge the gap between traditional learning and digital-age awareness, ensuring that students can critically evaluate and apply the information they encounter on social media.
3. Strengthen ties with groups in local communities
Governments are seen as those primarily responsible for building a more sustainable world, but the reality is that real change happens with all of us at an individual level.
Corporations can make an impact here by collaborating directly with local community groups. The global programme EY Ripples is an example of this, fostering corporate responsibility by empowering individuals to use their skills for positive change. Through the programme, nearly 500 projects have been completed to date, each dedicated to scaling small businesses that contribute to one or more of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, with the ultimate goal of positively impacting one billion lives in our communities by 2030.
Initiatives like these support individuals to create meaningful change within their communities, helping to make sure that sustainability is not just a global goal, but a local reality.
4. Provide information to help consumers make better decisions to reduce their carbon footprint
A recent IBM survey found that 41% of consumers would buy more sustainable products if they had a better understanding of how their purchase made an impact. And yet, according to Euromonitor, only 10% of global companies believe their sustainability communication to general consumers in 2023 is highly effective.
Truly proactive corporations are not only redesigning their products to make them more sustainable, but they are also engaging consumers through transparent communication. By demonstrating the environmental benefits of sustainable choices, companies can empower consumers worldwide to make informed decisions that reduce their carbon footprint.
The reality is that Gen Z expects the companies they join to have such programmes in place and companies should be prepared to get ahead of the curve if they want to attract the best talent.
5. Work with local and national governments to promote sustainability education and environmental action
Policymakers can improve sustainability education through better communication of existing sustainability programmes, the creation of new initiatives and by better aligning priorities and actions.
UNESCO’s Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) for 2030 programme does great work to this effect. It is also encouraging to see the EU include skills development as a key pillar of its Green Deal Industrial Plan, with proposals for Net-Zero Industry Academies that will help roll out up-skilling and re-skilling programmes in strategic industries. Programmes like these not only prepare the workforce for sustainable careers, they also reinforce the importance of sustainability in education and professional development.
To conclude, it is the shared responsibility of corporations, governments, NGOs, and educators to empower younger generations with the knowledge and tools necessary to build a sustainable future, ensuring that they inherit a planet capable of sustaining life as we know it.
By expanding learning opportunities, equipping educators, engaging with local communities, providing information for informed consumer choices and collaborating with governments, we can work together to pave the way for a brighter and more sustainable future for all.
By Carolyn Berkowitz, Forbes Councils Member via Forbes • Reposted: October 5, 2023
In recent months, efforts to stop the enactment of environmental, social and governance initiatives and reporting by promoting false narratives have reached a fevered pitch. As a rule, executive business decisions should be driven by data and facts. And the data shows that ESG policies and practices are not only good for society but also good for business.
1. ESG practices result in bottom-line advantages.
Key data points supporting this conclusion include:
• Three-fourths of Americans believe companies need to positively impact society, the 2021 Porter Novelli Purpose Premium Index reported.
• Large U.S. corporations that best meet stakeholder needs “had a 4.5% higher profit margin, 2.3% higher return on equity and paid five times more in dividends,” according to research by JUST Capital and CNBC.
A KPMG survey found that 70% of U.S. CEOs said their ESG programs improved their companies’ financial performance.
2. Purpose helps companies win the ‘talent war.’
Long-term business success depends on attracting and retaining top talent. Even as the talent market fluctuates, there is growing evidence that the best employees join companies that are purpose-driven and remain loyal when their values align with the organization and they are contributing to the corporate purpose. The data cited below shows the correlation between purpose-driven initiatives and employee engagement, satisfaction and motivation.
• About 70% of potential employees are more likely to apply for and accept an offer from a socially responsible organization, according to a 2021 IBM survey.
• More than 40% of employees are “reconsidering their current job because their company is not doing enough to address social justice issues externally,” research by Porter Novelli found.
• A report by Citi (download required) said millennials are willing to forgo around 14.4% of their compensation to work at companies that are socially responsible.
3. ESG can help organizations mitigate risk.
Risk mitigation is a key component of corporate compliance requirements, performance measures and, ultimately, valuation. The impact of climate change is of growing concern for business continuity, and adhering to ESG reporting mandates in the European Union is required to compete globally.
• In 2020, a special report by Edelman said 92% of U.S. investors agree “a company with strong ESG performance deserves a premium valuation to its share price.”
• Volatility is higher for those with a poor ESG score when compared to those with high ESG scores.
• The European Union adopted a corporate sustainability reporting directive in 2022, with full compliance from global companies required by 2024.
Building a positive reputation with key stakeholders is essential for a company’s growth. It enhances trust, customer loyalty and brand preference, which, in turn, leads to increased sales and profitability. A strong reputation also helps companies withstand crises and earn the trust of communities.
• A low ESG score can result in only a 10% willingness to buy, but a high ESG score can result in a 67% willingness to buy, according to a report by RepTrak (registration required), which analyzed data from its corporate reputation database.
• Research commissioned by Dotdash Meredith and Omnicom Media Group analyzed “the future majority,” a group defined in the study as “Black, Latina, AAPI women and LGBTQIA individuals 40 and under.” Nearly 90% of respondents said they will prioritize taking the time to “research brands, including their values and how they support the communities I care about.”
• Nearly 65% of consumers expect companies to talk about their behavior and impact on the world, research by FleishmanHillard found.
Getting Started With ESG
Despite the data-driven business case for ESG and CSR and its increasing importance to stakeholders, corporate executives are not sufficiently resourcing this function. Recent data from the 4th Annual CSR Insights Survey by the Association of Corporate Citizenship Professionals, where I’m CEO, offers insight. The data, from CSR and ESG professionals at nearly 149 leading companies, showed real-world consequences of constricting ESG resources in the current business environment: 86% of respondents said their responsibilities had increased over the past year, which led to longer hours for 61% of those surveyed, burnout for 50% and mental health concerns for 19%.
Amid a turbulent backdrop, businesses must keep sight of the inherent value of ESG and resource it appropriately. To get started:
1. Determine your CSR and ESG strategy.
One key step toward developing an effective strategy is to conduct a materiality assessment, or, for those who have already done so, revisit it with fresh eyes. These assessments identify and prioritize social and environmental issues critical to a company’s success and are aligned with stakeholder input. While traditionally associated with larger corporations, organizations of all sizes should routinely evaluate areas impacting their business significantly. Although not mandatory, a materiality assessment serves as a road map for prioritizing CSR and ESG initiatives.
2. Communicate in the language of your business.
In today’s landscape, it’s important to communicate about these efforts in ways that align with the company’s core language and values. Focus messages on the business’s unique expertise on the issue and the concrete positive impacts of the effort, e.g., how and why a communications company is providing broadband access in underserved communities and the impact of the results on education and economic opportunity.
3. Resource the strategy and programs for results.
Starving CSR and ESG efforts of the resources required to achieve intended outcomes is an invitation for risk. If initiatives aren’t adequately staffed or funded, the outcome leads to the potential for community criticism, employee ill will and political fodder to those who are intent on dismantling ESG. CSR and ESG are inexpensive functions. When resources are cut, impact diminishes because reporting and compliance take priority over strategy and effective execution.
To secure a more prosperous future for both business and society, businesses can use the data available to them and resource the functions within their organizations that are steering the strategies that center around sustainability and corporate responsibility.
The U.S. government is the single largest buyer of services and goods, like vehicles. That has an impact on the economy. Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
By Jesse Burkhardt, Associate Professor of Energy Economics, Colorado State University and Lauren Gifford, Associate Director of the Soil Carbon Solutions Center, Colorado State University via The Conversation • Reposted: October 4, 2023
Each year, the federal government purchases about 50,000 new vehicles. Until recently, almost all of them ran on diesel or gasoline, contributing to U.S. demand for fossil fuels and encouraging automakers to continue focusing on fossil-fueled vehicles.
That’s starting to change, and a new directive that the Biden Administration quietly issued in September 2023 will accelerate the shift.
The administration directed U.S. agencies to begin considering the social cost of greenhouse gases when making purchase decisions and implementing their budgets.
That one move has vast implications that go far beyond vehicles. It could affect decisions across the government on everything from agriculture grants to fossil fuel drilling on public lands to construction projects. Ultimately, it could shift demand enough to change what industries produce, not just for the government but for the entire country.
What’s the social cost of greenhouse gas?
The social cost of greenhouse gases represents the damage created by emitting 1 metric ton of carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
By directing agencies to consider those costs when making purchases and implementing budgets, the administration is making it more likely that agencies will purchase products and make investments that are more energy efficient and less likely to fuel climate change.
The Department of Defense has been taking steps to reduce emissions for several years. Many of its military bases have solar panels, which can produce renewable energy for a few buildings or larger installations. Photo: U.S. Navy
While only a fraction of the roughly $6 trillion that the U.S. government spends each year would likely be considered under the new directive, that fraction could have far-reaching impacts on the U.S. economy by reducing demand for fossil fuels and lowering emissions across sectors.
Estimating the cost
The Obama administration introduced the first federal social cost of carbon to incorporate climate risk in regulatory decisions. It’s calculated using models of the global economy and climate and weighs the value of spending money today for future benefits.
When the Trump administration arrived, it cut the estimated cost from around $50 per metric ton to less than $5, which justified rolling back several environmental regulations, including on power plant emissions and fuel efficiency. The Biden administration restored an interim price to about $51, with plans to raise it.
Recent research suggests that the actual social cost of carbon is closer to $185 per metric ton. But carbon dioxide is just one greenhouse gas. The new directive takes other greenhouse gases into consideration, too – in particular, methane, which has about 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide over 20 years.
Estimates of the social cost of methane, which comes from livestock and leaks from pipelines and other natural gas equipment, range from $933 per metric ton to $4,000 per metric ton.
Oil and gas wells and pipelines are a common source of methane emissions, including what the Environmental Protection Agency estimates to be more than 3 million abandoned wells across the U.S. AP Photo/Eric Gay
Without directives like these, decision-makers implicitly set the cost of greenhouse gas emissions to zero in their benefit-cost analyses. The new directives allow agencies to instead compare the expected climate damages, in dollars, when making decisions about vehicle purchases, building infrastructure and permitting, among other choices.
The vehicle fleet as an example
The federal vehicle fleet is a good example of how the social costs of greenhouse gases add up.
Let’s compare the costs of driving an electric Ford Focus and an equivalent conventional-fuel Ford Focus.
Assume each vehicle drives an average of 10,000 miles (about 16,000 kilometers) per year – that’s less than the U.S. average per driver, but it’s a simple number to work with. The damages from emissions in dollars from driving a conventional Ford Focus 10,000 miles are between $133 and $484, depending on whether you use a social cost of carbon of $51 per metric ton or $185 per metric ton.
The climate harm from driving an equivalent electric Ford Focus 10,000 miles, based on the average carbon dioxide emissions intensity from the U.S. electricity grid, would be between $59 and $212, using the same social costs.
Scale that to 50,000 new vehicle purchases, and that’s a cost difference of about $4 million to $13.5 million per year for emissions from operating the vehicles. While producing an EV’s battery adds to the vehicle’s emissions up front, that’s soon outweighed by operational savings. These are real savings to society.
The U.S. government is also a major consumer of energy. If agencies begin to consider the climate damages associated with fossil energy consumption, they will likely trend toward renewable energy, further lowering their own emissions while boosting the burgeoning industry.
How the government can shift demand
These types of comparisons under the new directive could help shift purchases toward a wide range of less carbon-intensive products.
Much of the U.S. government’s spending goes toward carbon-intensive goods and services, such as transportation and infrastructure development. Directing agencies to consider and compare the social cost of purchases in each of these sectors will send similar signals to different segments of the market: The demand for less carbon-intensive goods is rising.
Because this new directive expands to other greenhouse gases, it could have broad implications for new permitting for oil and gasdevelopment and agricultural production, as these are the two largest sources of methane in the U.S.
While this decision is not a tax on carbon or a subsidy for less carbon-intensive goods, it will likely send similar market signals. With respect to purchases, this policy is akin to tax rebates for energy efficient products, like electric vehicle incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act, which boost demand for EVs.
When we think of sustainability, of doing what we can in business and society to preserve and protect the environment, it’s easy to want to think of quick fixes; things we can do right now to solve the problem. We think in terms of products that we can buy to help, and products to avoid; processes to implement, and those to abandon. We want to solve the problem and move on to something else.
But sustainability is not a trend. It will not fade away or be replaced by a new trend. As such, our collective responsibility cannot fade. Operating sustainably is the new way of doing business. We must operate thoughtfully with an eye on how our decisions may impact those that come after us, down the road and into the future.
The concept is not new. I’ve always been fond of the adage, the world is not given by his fathers, but borrowed from his children.
As I wrote last November, despite the well-intentioned efforts of governments and international bodies, like the United Nations’ Climate Change Conference, industry need not wait for regulation to act on emissions, energy, and waste. We can, and many organizations have, act now to reduce and eliminate our carbon emissions, to increase our use of renewables, and to insist that our supply chains are aligned with our missions.
For our part at Hitachi, we are aggressively implementing initiatives to improve our environmental footprint, from our energy usage and emissions, all the way to the products and solutions we develop that are more eco-friendly than previous iterations. We are also expanding this work to involve our extensive partner ecosystem to ensure that everyone with whom we work is on the same sustainability page as we are. Our corporate goals are well documented, to be carbon neutral as a global company by 2030, and to be carbon neutral across our entire value chain by 2050. And while there is tremendous work being done, there’s much more to come.
Like many, I was heartened by the recent Global Electricity Report 2023 from the global energy think tank, Ember, that reported electricity generation was its “cleanest ever” in 2022, falling to a record low of 436 gCO2/kWh, due to dramatic growth in wind and solar generation around the globe. In fact, the report noted that more than 60 countries “now generate more than 10% of their electricity from wind and solar.”
The Future is Not Ours
As we spend Earth Day speaking of policies, programs, and targets to be more environmentally responsible, I encourage you to think of the potential value of all your programs on the future. When we ingrain sustainability into everything we do, with a view of the impact of our decisions on the next generation, it sets in motion actions for the next generation to replicate; momentum is generated and perpetuated, ad infinitum.
A little more than 100 years ago, Theodore Roosevelt said, “I recognize the right and duty of this generation to develop and use the natural resources of our land; but I do not recognize the right to waste them, or to rob, by wasteful use, the generations that come after us.”
The future is not ours, but it is our responsibility. And unless you haven’t been paying attention, our children, the next generation, are in many ways taking a more proactive leadership role in this area than we are. They are demanding action, and it is time for us to step up and meet the challenge.
Let us demonstrate to them, through decisive action, that we are listening and that we are committed to creating a better world for them. It is time to set aside short-term thinking and embrace a long-term approach that considers the implications of our actions on future generations.
Indeed, let us be inspired by the leadership of our children and work together to create a greener future. By doing so, we can ensure that we leave behind a legacy we can be proud of – a world that is healthy and sustainable.
For more on Hitachi Vantara’s eco-first approach to data centers, view here.
New free e-learning platform empowers the future of a responsible tourism industry
The ‘Sustainability Expert’ initiative was launched during the ANTOR Media Awards Gala Dinner in London.
The new free-to-use e-Learning platform provides a “convenient and easily accessible” resource for responsible tourism education and training worldwide.
It serves as a singular hub for the global travel industry, highlighting organisations, destinations and travel brands committed to environmental stewardship, cultural responsibility, and eco-conscious practices.
The hub, curated by Equator Global, enables individuals to attain the Sustainability Expert certification by successfully completing a minimum of four courses from the 28 free courses featured.
It is endorsed by leading travel and tourism players and underscores the collective responsibility of the worldwide travel industry in working together towards shared goals, in building a sustainable future.
Courses cover a wide spectrum of topics, including Costa Rica’s Pura Vida eco-tourism pledge, Switzerland’s Swisstainable programme and Finland’s Sustainable Travel objectives.
Participants will also be able to delve into Alaska’s conservation endeavours and explore the preservation investments made by AlUla, Thailand and Egypt to protect their timeless cultural treasures, among other topics.
Ian Dockreay, CEO of Equator Global and Travel Uni, said: “For the first time, travel and tourism professionals worldwide can gain recognition as advocates for this crucial initiative for free.
“By just investing their time in learning about the eco efforts of destinations and travel-related companies, they will be better equipped to advise and guide consumers in their holiday choices.
“With travellers increasingly prioritising sustainability in their travel decisions, it is imperative that those arranging their trips can provide informed and confident guidance.”
By Gino Sesto from Entrepreneur.com • Reposted: September 30, 2023
Key Takeaways
Socially conscious shopping is more than a trend; it’s a movement shaping the current consumer landscape.
Brands have unique opportunities to highlight their commitment to social responsibility.
In today’s dynamic retail environment, there’s a significant shift occurring in the way brands approach their customers. Historically, many industries prioritized competitive prices and discounts. However, the modern consumer is evolving, and the marketing world must follow suit. Brands are now transitioning away from emphasizing price to highlighting values, beliefs and overarching ethos. This shift from cost awareness to conscious consumerism redefines the marketing approach across sectors.
The emergence of the socially conscious consumer
Socially conscious shopping is more than a trend; it’s a movement shaping the consumer landscape. Customers increasingly make purchasing decisions based on the broader impact of their choices, whether environmental sustainability, ethical manufacturing or social justice.
Recent surveys like the Harris Poll show these changes in consumer spending habits happening in multiple industries. However, while price remains a dominant factor for many consumers, it’s not the sole consideration anymore. Although numerous shoppers still prioritize cost, a growing group is willing to pay a premium for products aligned with their values.
Take fashion as an example. Data reveals that while 22% of shoppers now consider where apparel is manufactured, 17% evaluate brands based on their sustainability initiatives. Fifteen percent examine a brand’s attitude to social issues, and 13% consider its employment practices. While these figures might appear modest, they indicate a growing inclination toward value-driven, socially conscious shopping. As modern shoppers progressively align spending habits with their values, brands that adapt to this approach will reap the benefits of a loyal and expanding customer base.
Crafting marketing strategies for diverse audiences
Successful brands are those that understand their audience’s nuances. It’s crucial to segment the audience not just by age or gender but by values, beliefs and priorities. For older generations, emphasizing cost-effectiveness and quality remains key. While baby boomers focus on price and quality, younger generations like GenZ-ers and Millennials are more inclined to consider a brand’s values and beliefs. For this generation, the key lies in the tangibles. Brands must emphasize cost-effectiveness without compromising on quality. Promotions, discounts, and loyalty programs are effective marketing tools, while Gladly’s 2022 Customer Expectations Report indicates the importance of the entire shopping experience. Convenience also makes a difference through easy returns, a seamless online shopping experience, or efficient customer service. Boomers are looking for value, but they also want ease and simplicity.
This doesn’t mean cost isn’t essential for younger consumers, but they’re more likely to pay more for products and services that align with their values. Younger audiences and people of color are even more likely to align shopping habits with their values. For these audiences, shopping isn’t just a transaction; it’s a statement. Quality, style and, most importantly, a brand’s position on social and environmental issues have all become equally significant. Brands must integrate values into the shopping experience by showcasing their efforts transparently. Clear stances on social issues and ethical employment practices are effective strategies. Collaborations with influencers who support their values, limited edition “cause” collections, or even a percentage of sales going to a social cause can also be successful
Harnessing digital channels for socially conscious marketing
In the current digital age, brands have unique opportunities to highlight their commitment to social responsibility. Digital marketing platforms allow companies to convey their values, initiatives, and beliefs transparently. Research from The Roundup shows consumers are becoming increasingly environmentally conscious, with many actively seeking out sustainable products.
This shift is supported by a 2021 study that showed 45% of consumers are willing to pay a premium for sustainable products. Additionally, 52% of the respondents emphasized the importance of purchasing from companies whose values align with theirs, marking a significant increase from 43% in 2019. Recent findings from the ninth annual Conscious Consumer Spending Index also showed a 25% surge in socially responsible spending in 2021 compared to the prior year. This data underscores the shift in consumer behavior, where decisions are influenced not just by product quality or cost but also by a brand’s ethical and societal values.
Digital platforms, especially social media, have become the epicenter for brands to showcase their alignment with social causes, sustainable manufacturing processes, and ethical sourcing. By integrating these values into their marketing strategies, brands can foster deeper connections with their audience, building a trustworthy and value-driven image. As consumer preferences continue to evolve, the significance of socially conscious marketing in nurturing brand loyalty and fostering trust becomes even more evident.
Staying nimble in a dynamic landscape
Change is the only constant in the retail world. Brands must remain adaptable as consumer preferences evolve, influenced by global events, cultural shifts, and generational differences. Success lies in understanding and catering to the modern, socially conscious consumer. Companies must balance offering cost-effective solutions and championing values, ethical practices, and social responsibility. As brands navigate this new terrain, those who genuinely connect with their audience’s values will be the ones to thrive.
Students work together on an assignment about ecosystems and environmental impacts during a seventh-grade science class in December 2020. While more schools are introducing sustainability curriculum, some are struggling to get started. (Image credit: Allison Shelley for EDUimages via Flickr)
By Gary E. Frank from Triple Pundit • Reposted: September 29, 2023
Elementary and secondary school teachers want to teach about sustainability, yet many lack the time, resources, and in particular, the tools to do so effectively. For those in the United States, help is on the way.
By 2030, the Sustainability Education Coalition aims to give more than 10 million K-12 students access to educational resources that will help them make informed decisions and take responsible actions when it comes to sustainability.
It’s a first-of-its-kind initiative aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and launched by Discovery Education, a leader in developing digital content for K-12 teaching.
“The need for comprehensive sustainability education has never been more pressing,” Amy Nakamoto, Discovery Education’s general manager of social impact, said in a statement. “Recent statistics reveal a concerning trend: While the majority of teachers recognize the importance of teaching students about climate and sustainability, only half of them are currently addressing these vital topics within their classrooms.”
Three factors hinder teaching sustainability to K-12 students in the U.S., Natamoto said. First, some teachers have difficulty figuring out where classes on sustainability belong in their curricula.
“It could be in science classrooms, it could be in social studies classrooms, it could be in blended STEM [science, technology, engineering and math] classrooms. I think currently, teachers are having a hard time figuring out where it fits in the school day,” Nakamoto told TriplePundit.
Others feel they do not know how to teach sustainability topics, she said. Teachers need and want more support in this area, according to a report from the Smithsonian Science Education Center. Of the teachers surveyed, 69 percent said professional development on sustainability would be helpful.
“They want to be able to talk about this with their students, but they don’t know how,” Nakamoto told us. Lastly, while school administrators believe sustainability is a critically important topic to teach, they don’t know how to get the resources to do so, she said.
The Sustainability Education Coalition aims to solve all three problems. It uses insight and expertise from partner companies to create digital content for students to learn from alongside the lessons on the Discovery Education Experience learning platform, Nakamoto said. Support is specifically focused on providing STEM and sustainability education resources to school districts that would struggle to access them otherwise.
“Another way the collaboration happens, in addition to the curriculum and the content, is through strategic thought leadership that takes educators and administrators and puts them in the same rooms as these leading companies,” Nakamoto said. “So [the companies] can understand the challenges of schools to talk about these topics, and the schools and administrators can understand how companies are wrestling with these topics in more real-time.”
On the other side, company partners benefit from joining the coalition through employee engagement, Nakamoto said. Employees want to see their companies investing in initiatives that align their corporate mission with a local community mission.
“Employee engagement is leveraging the employees of our partners to be part of the story. So, we are telling their stories, we are filming them and the solutions they’re doing,” Nakamoto said. “We deeply believe in showing the people who are the leaders in this movement to the students in classrooms across the U.S.”
So far, Subaru of America, LyondellBasell, Nucor, Honeywell, and the National Environmental Education Foundation have partnered with the coalition. Each company that joins helps to unlock access to a complete library of STEM and sustainability education resources for some critical communities, Nakamoto said.
“[Sustainability] is a topic that everybody is both wrestling with and evolving with at the same time,” she concluded. “We have a big vision to grow this to represent multiple sectors, multiple interests because the sustainability story is an everyday story that we all experience just walking through the world. In order to tell that story to students, we need to be influenced by all of the sectors that are engaged in sustainability at their corporate and community level.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom joins New York Times correspondent David Gelles on stage at Climate Week, where he announced he would sign a pair of recently passed bills that mandate climate disclosure from large companies operating in the state. (Image: The Climate Group/Flickr)
By Mary Mazzoni from Triple Pundit • Reposted: September 27, 2023
World leaders, business executives and activists are back in New York City for Climate Week and the United Nations General Assembly — and everybody’s talking about California.
In case you missed it: Last week California legislators approved a pair of bills that require all large public and private companies operating in the state to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions to investors and the public. Business leaders organized by the sustainability nonprofit Ceres came out in support of the bill before it passed. They say their progress in tracking and disclosing the full scope of their emissions proves it’s possible for other companies to do the same.
As lawmakers and business coalitions enjoy a victory lap at Climate Week, we’re taking a closer look at the landmark legislation and the ripple effects it could send well outside the Golden State.
Why corporate climate disclosure matters
“There was a billion-dollar weather and climate disaster event every four months in our country in the 1980s. By 2010, there was one every three weeks,” Mindy Lubber, CEO and president of Ceres, said at a press conference on Tuesday. “This year, we’ve experienced more than a billion-dollar event every two weeks.”
Indeed, extreme weather cost the United States nearly $40 billion in the first eight months of 2023 alone. But the impacts these disasters and other climate disruptions have on corporate bottom lines is less understood, because many companies don’t calculate it. “People are operating in the dark,” Lubber said. “I can tell you of the 700 investors we work with, they want to understand: What are the risks from climate [change], and what are the opportunities? They cannot make a decision about building a portfolio without adequate information.”
What the California climate disclosure rules require
The two recently passed bills — Senate Bill 253 (SB 253) and Senate Bill 261 (SB 261) — are on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk, and he confirmed this week that he will sign them. The bills require the California Air Resources Board to develop rules that mandate public and private companies with annual revenues exceeding $1 billion to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions.
The rules will apply to around 5,500 companies doing business in California, lawmakers said. Companies will be required to disclose emissions from their direct operations (known as Scope 1) and those from the electricity they purchase (known as Scope 2) by 2026. Mandatory Scope 3 disclosure will come into force a year later, with financial penalties waived for three years as a transition period.
“SB 253 does not dictate how they should reduce their carbon emissions. But by making clear that within a couple of years these emissions are going to become public, the corporations have a huge incentive to innovate to reduce those emissions,” said California state Sen. Scott Wiener, who represents San Francisco and parts of San Mateo County. “We’re going to see in a few years who’s walking the walk and who’s just talking the talk. And I hope that after a few years before the implementation, the companies that are walking the walk are going to be a much higher number than they are today.”
Attendees are all smiles during California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s remarks at Climate Week. (Image: The Climate Group/Flickr)
Insiders predict a race to the top that goes way beyond California
Lawmakers say Californians will benefit directly from the new climate disclosure rules. “As a member who currently represents environmental justice communities who live near the harbor — who are seeing the emissions and feeling them every single day, the impacts of bad air quality, as well as the severe, tangible impacts of climate change — this will deeply, deeply benefit my constituents and constituents across the state of California,” said state Sen. Lena Gonzalez, who represents Long Beach and Southeast Los Angeles.
But given California is the fourth largest economy in the world, the implications could stretch far beyond its own borders. “As disclosure becomes real, some companies are going to step up, clean up and really lead, and other companies are going to be forced to do the same,” said Mary Creasman, CEO of California Environmental Voters, which lobbies in support of climate and environmental legislation in the state. “There’s going to be pressure out there like we’ve never seen to change business-as-usual.”
The fact that thousands of multinational companies will be compelled to disclose their emissions may also make it easier for other markets to pass similar legislation. “SB 253 marks a major advancement in detailed emissions disclosure, potentially revolutionizing corporate responsibility in combating climate change for the world, not merely California,” said Kentaro Kawamori, CEO of the carbon accounting firm Persefoni. “As the global community confronts the pressing need for climate action, California’s leadership might inspire comparable efforts in other states and countries.”
Markets including the U.K., Japan and the European Union already moved to mandate climate disclosure within the past two years. While it’s too early to say whether those rules amounted to this type of sea change, early evidence indicates it is a likely outcome. “We don’t have a lot of data yet as to how it has changed things,” Lubber told us. “But we do know when a company … makes a declaration and commitment to doing it — and that’s public and you’re showing how you’re going to do it and you’re accountable — it drives behavior change. And it probably does that as well as anything else I can think of.”
What about the SEC?
Last year the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued draft language for mandatory climate disclosure rules that would apply to all large publicly-traded companies operating in the country. The release date for the final rule has been pushed back several times and is now expected toward the end of this year. It’s also still up in the air as to whether the final SEC rule will include mandatory reporting of Scope 3 emissions.
But if and when the SEC does mandate climate disclosure, companies will be well positioned to translate the work they’re doing in California to comply with the federal rules.
“For us as an industry association, it’s very important to have harmonization among reporting requirements,” said Chelsea Murtha, director of sustainability for the American Apparel and Footwear Association, which represents more than 1,000 brands and came out in support of the legislation. “We worked with Sen. Wiener and Ceres to get language in the bill that made sure that if you were reporting to the SEC and that was a substantially similar disclosure, it would work in California. We were really glad to see pieces like that come together and make this a process that was really designed to help businesses succeed.”
The bottom line: Climate disclosure won’t fix it, but it’s a major step forward
Disclosure won’t solve our climate problems, but in the spirit of sunlight as a proverbial disinfectant, transparency is a crucial piece of the puzzle. “There’s no doubt that it’s only a first step,” Lubber told us. “Once companies analyze their risk and measure it, they can then manage it. It’s very hard to come up with a climate plan to act without knowing what the problem is.”
Ceres provides toolkits and direct consultation to help companies translate the data from their disclosures into time-bound climate transition plans, and it will continue to do so as California’s rules come into force, Lubber said.
“The public, investors and regulators want to know what is the risk to a company, and that’s why they have been calling for climate risk disclosure,” she told us. “Good information is just that — not the panacea, but it provides the base to make smart decisions about managing carbon emissions.”
By Supriya Jha, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, SAP via World Economic Forum • Reposted: September 20, 2023
A debate in the United States around affirmative action has placed doubt on the future of broader diversity and inclusion (D&I) policies in the workplace.
The adversity around proactive D&I can provide an opportunity to revisit internal policies and practices to strengthen them.
Here are four things organizations can do to ensure D&I goals stay on track.
Diversity and inclusion (D&I) is under fire. In the United States (US), the courts recently ruled that race could no longer be a factor in university admissions, defeating affirmative action policies. There is now a passionate and polarizing debate on whether D&I strategies in the corporate environment lead to equity or bring down meritocracies.
To make matters worse, the narrative of defunding D&I initiatives in the corporate arena can unnerve companies’ small D&I teams. As we stand in the throws of this debate, it should be clear that D&I has not been a fleeting trend and remains an imperative that shapes the fabric of organizations and society.
The US trajectory on D&I might seem uncertain but the need for it is clear, including at a global level. Today’s challenges are opportunities to refine and strengthen our strategies so workplaces and communities are genuinely inclusive.
Maintaining the path to an inclusive future
As organizations stand at a crossroads, here are four things that can keep one grounded in the D&I journey:
1. Cultivating a sense of belonging
D&I is not a checkbox exercise; a common misconception is that it targets only people of colour. The purpose of D&I is to nurture a sense of belonging regardless of individual differences. When individuals feel welcomed, valued and respected, they contribute their best.
Gone are the days when people can simply be viewed as organizational assets: employees want to be valued as individuals and creators of change. Nothing cultivates belonging more than love and care – that’s evident as we feel genuinely connected to familial units, societies and organizations that care for us.
Nurturing that belonging in the workplace requires genuine and consistent leadership, commitment and vision. When I reflect on the many actions companies took during the pandemic, the most compelling ones contributing to higher retention involved leaders being accessible and present to listen to employees.
Creating opportunities for leaders to listen to and act on the needs of their diverse employee base is a strategy that works well in many directions. From the CEO to the front-line manager, empathetic listening skills assure employees they are heard and seen.
2. Doing the groundwork for our future
Efforts in the D&I arena are not momentary but also exist for future generations.
As a mother of two girls, I have a vested interest in driving forward D&I in organizations. I want my daughters to experience a workplace where they can be themselves and their differences and uniqueness are celebrated. They should be provided with opportunities based on their skills and talent.
More importantly, the workplace should help staff optimize their potential instead of wasting time fitting into cultures made by a homogenous majority. My hope is the pandemic-induced flexible and remote work policies don’t become exceptional but are normalized across industries where feasible. Additionally, providing employees with tools to recognize and address unconscious biases via continuous education and training can help raise collective awareness and foster a more inclusive environment.
Having served in the [diversity and inclusion] space for over 16 years, I’ve learned that [it] is not a one-time action; it requires resilience and constant adaption.”— Supriya Jha, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, SAP SE
3. Unleashing the power of employee resource groups
Employee resource groups are beacons of progress in a company’s journey. hese networks are voluntary, employee-led groups that unite individuals with shared backgrounds, experiences, identities or interests. More importantly, they need to be open to all – so that the “upstanders” – not bystanders – and allies can find a space to learn and grow.
Spaces for shared experiences spark conversations that lead to meaningful change for the community and business. Making employee resource groups part of the business strategy with executive involvement has been tried and tested in most organizations. Enabling these groups to contribute to partner, supplier and community interactions can further help unleash the collective’s power. What makes for great strategy within the workplace can translate to a growing movement in society and the marketplace.
4. Consistency is key
Having served in the D&I space for over 16 years, I’ve learned that it is not a one-time action; it requires resilience and constant adaption. To bring about lasting change, we must show evidence of incremental progress. But any win is worthwhile, even minor achievements.
It is essential to remember that accumulating these steady, incremental steps leads to success overall. As we navigate the complexities of implementing D&I strategies, let us recognize that it is not about a destination but the journey.
Inculcating inclusive hiring practices at all levels, fostering environments that champion the engagement of neurodivergent talent and opening doors for underrepresented businesses will all set us on a path to a more equitable future. Setting clear and measurable goals, recalibrating at every step, celebrating the diversity and uniqueness of the workforce and amplifying the achievements loudly are the factors contributing to success.
Ultimately, our quest for belonging is a tapestry woven with threads of diverse experiences, united by a shared purpose. Let us continue weaving this tapestry, creating a world where our differences are not divisions but vibrant threads that enrich the canvas of human existence.
A new Veolia North America survey of 245 large U.S. companies shows that more than half will have ambitious goals addressing net zero carbon, zero waste to landfill, zero liquid discharge, and targeted increases in water efficiency, reuse, and waste recycling by 2025, with many firms already setting specific targets.
The survey shows reductions in greenhouse gas emissions are the top sustainability priority for most firms, but it is clear that priorities to address water and waste reductions are catching up.
While the commitments being made by firms are encouraging, the data in the new Veolia survey shows that the majority of companies have yet to identify specifically what the exact steps are to achieve their most ambitious medium- and long-term commitments.
Here are some highlights of the survey, which was conducted over the past year:
60% of firms identified specific projects and initiatives to achieve their short term sustainability goals (less than five years), while 37% had not.
40% of firms reported that reducing operational costs is a very important driver for pursuing sustainability goals.
While investments included in the landmark U.S. Inflation Reduction Act have gone far in providing firms with the financial support they need to convert to sustainable practices, it will not be enough to meet all their needs. Based on an analysis by the International Energy Agency and Boston Consulting Group, the overall transition to sustainable energy across U.S. industries will require at least $18 trillion in additional capital by 2030.
“This survey provides many important insights on how firms across America are responding to the growing concern around climate change, and why they are looking to reduce their impact on carbon emissions, waste streams and water use,” said Veolia North America President and CEO Fred Van Heems. “A large number of companies are genuinely committed to achieving sustainability objectives, yet they are not sure how to begin, which is keeping many of them from moving forward. The good news is there are solutions available to get them on track and help them sustain momentum.”
The survey findings point to the need for more urgency in clearing the way for industries to adopt more sustainable practices as soon as possible, according to Charles Iceland, Director of Freshwater Initiatives for the World Resources Institute, an environmental think tank based in the U.S.
“It’s clear from this survey that for large companies that are genuinely committed to operating on a more sustainable basis, more resources and data are needed to help them determine where their greatest needs are so they can take effective action,” Iceland said.
The survey found that a majority of companies are committing to sustainability goals primarily because of reporting requirements, regulatory compliance, cost savings and brand reputation. Of the firms surveyed, roughly one-third said the environmental risks to their operations were not a very important driver.
The survey findings are being announced one year after passage of the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, which was meant to kickstart the economy with investments in critical infrastructure, with a special focus on initiatives that will help meet sustainability goals for addressing climate change.
The survey found that many respondents are prioritizing sustainability initiatives because of the incentives and opportunities available in the IRA legislation and other factors such as regulatory requirements and investor focus on climate disclosures.
What remains a challenge, the survey showed, is that companies still lack the funding to support the transition and take the concrete steps necessary to achieve their goals. They also are struggling to achieve alignment of internal goals and responsibilities and easy access to data to understand where they are and track progress.
“Before firms can invest in reducing their impact on the environment and become more sustainable, they need information on their current baseline, such as data on their energy emissions, waste and water use,” said Patrick Schultz, President and CEO of VNA’s Sustainable Industries and Buildings division. “This will enable them to choose measures that can be immediately and easily implemented, and ones that may require a strategy to mitigate over time.”
Schultz added, “This kind of analysis is only effective if it is conducted holistically, taking into account each firm’s contributions not only to high-profile factors like greenhouse gas emissions, but also equally important considerations like reducing landfill waste and preserving water resources. This is what Veolia North America means by triple zero – achieving net zero goals for energy, waste and water.”
Unilever study uncovers barriers influencers face around creating sustainability content. The company is partnering with climate-focused nonprofits and launching a Creator Council to help address these barriers. From Unilever via Sustainable Brands • Reposted: September 18, 2023
A first-of-its-kind study by Unilever has revealed that although 60 percent of social media content creators want to make a positive impact on the environment, the majority (84 percent) are holding back from mentioning sustainability more in their content. While their content has the potential to drive more sustainable behaviors — with 78 percent of consumers claiming in an earlier study that influencers have the biggest impact on their sustainable purchasing and lifestyle habits — content creators fear greenwashing amongst other barriers.
According to the study — which polled the views of 232 content creators across YouTube, TikTok and Instagram in the UK, US, Brazil and the Philippines — almost two-thirds (63 percent) are creating more sustainability content this year compared to last year; and three-quarters (76 percent) want to create even more in the future.
But content creators say they are holding back, with the fear of greenwashing coming out as the top barrier for over a third (38 percent). Other barriers include finding it difficult to transition from the main focus of their content to sustainability; thoughts on what is or isn’t sustainable can change; and not feeling educated enough on the key sustainability issues — all receiving 21 percent. Concerns about being cancelled was cited as a problem by 18 percent of respondents.
While more than half (58 percent) of influencers say they feel confused about sustainability or environmental labels, the study also found that over 9 in 10 (91 percent) would find each of the following types of advice helpful:
direct support to ask questions on sustainability briefs;
support dealing with audience comments;
and access to training about making trustworthy statements about company and product sustainability claims.
To help address this, Unilever — alongside a coalition of partners including sustainability nonprofits and a new Creator Council — today calls on other brands, agencies and technology companies to join forces with them to help content creators authentically and accurately drive more sustainable consumer choices through social media content.
The new coalition of partners includes sustainability experts from Count Us In, United Nations Development Programme, Rare and Futerra Solutions Union; as well as an independent Creator Council — a community of social media content creators across travel, beauty and lifestyle sectors specifically brought together to advise on and shape this initiative.
“We have long known that climate action isn’t only for governments. In fact, the IPCC reports tell us that public action could quickly save 5 percent of ‘demand side’ carbon emissions,” says Count Us In co-founder Eric Levine. “There has never been a more critical moment in history to be part of a coalition that puts creators at the heart of advancing new solutions. Using credible, science-based guidelines and behavior change theory, we have the potential to influence billions of people through the collective reach of the creator economy.”
The coalition will work to co-create an industry-wide digital solution that will bring together social media content creators, nonprofits and brands to accelerate accurate and effective sustainability content built upon science and behavior change theory to encourage more sustainable behaviors. Partners are currently developing a framework and guidelines to ensure the solutions are in line with the latest climate science.
Dr Adanna Steinacker — entrepreneur, public speaker, digital influencer and member of the Creator Council — says: “As a digital content creator, I feel a responsibility to inspire my audience with solutions that are better for our environmental and planetary health. It is crucial that brands and creators unite in this mission, dissecting science-backed information into creative storytelling that resonates with the public and influences change on a global scale. With adequate brand support, we can enhance sustainability content on social media, inform our communities accurately, and collectively contribute to a better environment.”
“We know that sustainability content on social media has the potential to drive more sustainable behaviors; but it needs to be informative and meaningful content,” asserts Rebecca Marmot, Unilever’s Chief Sustainability Officer. “Climate Week NYC 2023 is the perfect opportunity to collaborate with others and empower influencers to communicate on the key issues with credibility.”
Unilever invites brands, nonprofits and social media content creators to join the coalition by contacting Count Us In at contact@countusin.com.
By Josh Bersin from Harvard Business Review • Reposted: September 18, 2023
The EU has long been committed to improving worker well-being, claiming it wants to create more transparent and predictable working conditions for all its 182 million workers. Now, it’s moving ahead with this objective on a number of fronts:
Its Work-Life Balance Directive, which came into effect in 2019, aims to set minimum standards for paternity, parental, and career leave as well as flexible work arrangements.
Its Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) mandates that, starting in May 2024, any company with €40 million in net turnover, €20 million in assets, or 250 or more employees that trades in Europe publish detailed information about their efforts to address a range of sustainability challenges.
In recent years, many companies hired a chief sustainability officer and established a set of high-priority programs to reduce carbon emissions and the risk of global climate change. The enactment of these new regulations signals a new era in which it’s time to extend the concept of sustainability to include similarly critical issues with the workforce — an idea I call people sustainability.
People sustainability takes a holistic approach to corporate human capital practices, including diversity and inclusion, well-being, employee safety, and fair pay. It raises these human capital issues to the C-suite and obliges chief human resource officers to work with chief sustainability officers on these programs. It means that your employee well-being efforts are no longer delivered piecemeal, which was ineffective no matter how well-intentioned or resourced they might be.
The EU is essentially saying that all these “HR programs” are much bigger than HR: They now fall into the category of global citizenship mandates, and companies must treat and report them as such.
How to Integrate People Sustainability into Your Company
I’m talking to European and U.S. firms about how they are gearing up for the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and developing people sustainability metrics. Here are examples of how a few companies are approaching this:
Heineken has developed standard measurements of human rights, fair pay, and even living conditions for all its contract workers helping it deliver beverage sales around the world.
Enterprise software leader SAP has coupled its industry-leading diversity program to new pay equity and sustainability initiatives. For example, the company now openly publishes all pay bands so employees can see where they are and the pay scales for all new jobs posted. In parallel, it provides hiring and workplace support for neurodivergent employees. After undertaking a progressive gender pay equity analysis, it inaugurated a very aggressive program of promotions of women into senior leadership — all long-term “people sustainability” strategies.
Financial services firm Liberty Mutual sees people sustainability as a factor in limiting the global risks of its customers, partners, and employees in the face of accelerating climate change. Chief sustainability officer Francis Hyatt, who previously served as executive vice president of enterprise talent practices, oversees the integration of global climate issues in the firm’s risk management approach and promotes sustainability solutions for employees, resellers, and customers. The company promotes thought-through generational and gender equality programs, and Hyatt ensures that every employee understands how their long-term safety and success is part of the company’s overall sustainability strategy. In other words, this new job function unifies all the brand’s existing HR work into the context of sustainability and helping the planet.
What links all three of these major corporations is the way each separately discovered that when you frame human capital investment in the context of sustainability, it assumes even more importance than it did before.
If you see value in this approach, where should you start at your organization? Building on the European Union’s new detailed CSRD reporting requirements, leaders will need to address issues ranging from greenhouse gas emissions to gender pay across their own operations, as well as that of their suppliers and business partners. You should try to ensure sustainability becomes a pillar of operations as early as possible, as the compliance clock is ticking.
The real action is to get your HR team to start working as soon as possible with their ESG colleagues to get people sustainability metrics and strategies into your business goals. To drive this, bring together a team including your heads of HR, DEI, and ESG, as well as representatives from your corporate finance and legal teams, to design your people sustainability program. You’ll ultimately want to see these goals reflected in your annual report and other stakeholder communications, so that these programs are seen as a core part of company strategy.
A recent survey by PwC reveals that many CEOs anticipate climate risk will affect their cost profiles and supply chains in the next year. However, despite these challenges, 60% of the surveyed CEOs do not plan to reduce headcount, and 80% do not plan to decrease compensation, as they recognize the importance of retaining talented employees.
Data like this underlines how people sustainability has become an integral strategy for corporate growth. Investors will soon begin to measure the effectiveness of a company’s well-being initiatives as a key metric of overall performance as much as its P&L.
You don’t have to be directly affected by Europe’s new sustainability laws to see that bringing together previously disconnected efforts such as DEI, purpose, or L&D under the umbrella of “long-term organizational sustainability” makes a lot of sense. You might even see it as meeting the needs of the present without compromising your future: a measure of sustainability that certainly gets my support.
Josh Bersin is founder and CEO of human capital advisory firm The Josh Bersin Company. He is a global research analyst, public speaker, and writer on the topics of corporate human resources, talent management, recruiting, leadership, technology, and the intersection between work and life. To see the original post, follow this link: https://hbr.org/2023/09/sustainability-is-about-your-workforce-too
By Alana James, Assistant Professor in Fashion, Northumbria University, Newcastle via The Conversation • Reposted: September 14, 2023
How do the clothes you buy wear out the natural world? To take stock of the damage you have to account for the materials, water and energy that went into making a garment, and the greenhouse gas emissions, chemical pollutants and other byproducts associated with its disposal.
For example polyester, a kind of plastic widely used in T-shirts, is made from oil – a fossil fuel. If you throw it out it degrades slowly, and chemicals from its dyes and surface treatments leach into the soil.
The UK consistently buys more garments than any other European country, spending more than £45 billion (US$56 billion) annually. Fast fashion, an industry trend which involves getting cheap reproductions of catwalk designs out to a mass market as quickly as possible, encourages this buying frenzy.
Much of fast fashion is known to depend on sweatshop labour and polluting factories. But alongside the demand for ever faster fashion at low prices, there is a growing awareness among consumers that something has to change.
Some firms have caught on: many brands now report their environmental footprint and have disclosed their intention to shrink it.
But how trustworthy are these assessments? My research uncovers how the fashion industry collates, analyses and assesses environmental impact data. Unfortunately, as a result of inaccurate and unreliable methods, among other issues, the true cost of fast fashion remains largely unknown.
A multitude of metrics, certification schemes and labels mark the environmental consequences of making and selling clothing. Brands have been accused of greenwashing due to the poor quality of information used in some of them.
One common product-labelling tool within the industry was the Higg Materials Sustainability Index. Introduced in 2011, the Higg Index was a rating system used by several large brands and retailers to determine and report the global warming impact and water consumption of different products, among other environmental measures.
The approach adopted by the index was challenged by the Norwegian Consumer Authority for limiting its assessment to only certain phases of a product’s lifecycle, such as the sourcing of materials. It was criticised for overlooking pollutants such as microfibres, which are released from textiles during manufacture, wear and washing. As a result, the index was suspended in June 2022.
Since then, further issues have come to light. These include:
unreliable data – measures often rely on brands self-reporting without their information being verified by an impartial third party
vested interests – many tools and indices are funded, or part funded, by organisations that could benefit from more positive reporting
tunnel vision – existing methods tend to focus on only one environmental impact, such as water use or carbon emissions, while the relationship between these factors is overlooked
paywalls – many tools require brands to pay into them. This can effectively exclude smaller businesses and limit the tool’s coverage
lack of standards – there is no official baseline to determine acceptable thresholds of environmental footprint of any one product.
Without reliable and accurate assessments of a product’s environmental impact, consumers are left in the dark. For example, a common misconception is that cotton, being a natural fibre, is better for the environment than synthetic materials such as acrylic and elastane.
But cotton requires vast quantities of water to grow, harvest and process. A standard cotton t-shirt, for example, requires 2,500 litres while a pair of jeans consumes 7,600 litres.
One fibre is not necessarily better than the other. Rather, every material and manufacturing process affects the natural world in one form or another. With such misconceptions rife, it’s difficult for consumers to make sound comparisons. That’s why accurate measures are desperately needed.
The complexity of fashion’s global supply chain, which spans thousands of miles from fields to shop floors, makes accurate measurements exceptionally difficult. Capturing an accurate picture of the industry’s environmental footprint will rely on a certain level of transparency across the industry. It will also require multiple sectors – including production, manufacturing and retail – working collectively towards a common goal.
An acceptable definition for “sustainable”, informed by standards and baselines, could empower consumers to make more informed decisions about their purchases. With Gen-Z labelled the sustainable generation, it is time for fashion to reform.
From Consultancy.UK • Reposted: September 14, 2023
Business strategy has predominantly focused on the ‘E’ in Environmental, Social and Governance policy; but fostering good growth requires a renewed emphasis on the importance of the ‘S’ pillar, according to Xynteo Managing Partner Jonah Grunsell. He explains how this can help to create socially consciousness, inclusive and profitable supply chains.
In today’s dynamic business landscape, the integration of social consciousness and inclusivity within supply chains is crucial. Enterprises that prioritise these principles not only contribute to a fairer and more equitable world but also gain a competitive edge through the fostering of stronger relationships with diverse stakeholders. So, what can businesses do to embed social consciousness and inclusivity within their supply chains at every step?
The 2022 Global Sustainability Study shows that 66% of consumers rank sustainability as one of the top five drivers behind a purchase decision; meaning that transparent communication in supply chain practices plays a pivotal role in establishing trust with consumers, investors, and stakeholders. Businesses must strive for openness regarding their sourcing, labour practices, and social and environmental initiatives. Research by Label Insight showed a staggering 94% of consumers are likely to remain loyal to a brand that offers complete transparency about its supply chain, underscoring the growing importance of supply chain visibility in understanding a business’s impact.
Yet, transparency in supply chains goes beyond consumers, with investors, suppliers and other stakeholders also seeking clarity and openness.PwC revealed that 83% of investors believe that non-financial disclosures, such as supply chain information, are essential when making investment decisions. Enhancing communication with consumers, NGOs, and industry partners is also a vital element in creating a positive impact through supply chain practices. According to a study by the Harvard Business Review, 65% of consumers want to buy purpose-driven brands that advocate sustainability.
In the quest for responsible supply chain practices, reporting and certification play a crucial role in demonstrating a company’s commitment to transparency and accountability. Sustainability reports provide comprehensive insights into an ESG performance, showcasing their efforts to minimise environmental impacts, promote social welfare, and ensure ethical business practices.
While, environmental management certifications, such as ISO 14001, demonstrate a company’s dedication to reducing its environmental footprint and fairtrade certification guarantees that products meet strict standards, ensuring fair wages and better working conditions for farmers and workers. According to a study by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), 96% of the world’s 250 largest companies now disclose their sustainability performance through these reports.
A good example from the technology world is Apple, which has taken great strides both on reporting on its sustainability efforts as well as acting on the insights generated by increased transparency and tracking. This level of transparency instils trust among consumers, investors, and partners, encouraging them to support and collaborate with socially and environmentally responsible companies.
Embracing diverse and ethical strategies
True inclusivity requires forging partnerships with a diverse supplier base, particularly those within underrepresented groups such as women, minorities, and social enterprises. Businesses can support local communities, create economic opportunities and promote social mobility by actively seeking out and collaborating with these suppliers. A study by the Harvard Business Review indicates that actively embracing a supplier diversity programme can foster innovation and increase the bottom line. A procurement strategy that prioritises inclusivity expands the range of potential suppliers and fosters healthy competition within the supply base, leading to enhanced product quality and cost reduction.
One fundamental aspect of improving supply chains is ensuring fair labour practices and ethical sourcing. Businesses can take proactive steps to verify that their suppliers adhere to responsible labour standards, treat workers fairly, and provide safe working conditions. This includes regular audits, transparent supplier relationships, and collaboration with industry initiatives promoting ethical practices. By sourcing ethically, businesses can contribute to the well-being of workers, reduce social inequalities, and enhance the reputation of their brands.
Prioritising ethical sourcing practices involves scrutinising suppliers’ labour conditions, environmental impact, and compliance with human rights standards. Partnering with suppliers who align with these values ensures that products and services are not tainted by exploitation or harm to communities.
Providing suppliers with training, resources, and support can significantly enhance their operational efficiency, product quality, and compliance with ethical and environmental standards. This not only improves the overall supply chain’s performance but also promotes sustainable practices and responsible behaviour. Businesses also can make a positive impact on communities by investing in social programmes and projects that tackle pressing challenges such as education, healthcare, and infrastructure.
Prioritising local suppliers and supporting small businesses within the community can stimulate economic growth, create job opportunities, and promote entrepreneurship. Embracing local sourcing strengthens community ties, boosts regional development, bolsters community resilience, enhances quality of life, and contributes to societal progress, generating a broader positive influence beyond the business itself. The good news is that ethical business practices make commercial sense when you consider that, for example, 70% of American consumers think either “somewhat” or “very important” for companies to make the world a better place; while a huge 93% of employees believe companies must be led by purpose.
Unilever, for example, has set ambitious social targets under its ‘Sustainable Living Plan’, including empowering 5 million women through its value chain by 2020 and enhancing economic growth in local communities. Their ‘Partner with Purpose’ strategy aims to drive mutual growth that’s consistent, competitive, profitable and responsible, and influence the people they buy from to, in turn, buy from diverse suppliers, leading to the transformation of their value chain.
Nurture responsibility
Businesses must play a pivotal role in encouraging responsible consumption by engaging consumers and raising awareness about the social and environmental impacts of their products. A study by Nielsen reveals that sustainability is more important to 69% of global consumers than it was two years ago. Providing transparent information about sourcing and ethical considerations empowers consumers to make informed choices aligned with their values. By actively involving consumers in the journey towards a more socially conscious supply chain, businesses can build trust, loyalty, and a positive brand image.
Integrating social consciousness and inclusivity into supply chains enables businesses to create positive societal impact while ensuring long-term sustainability. Ethical sourcing practices, diverse partnerships, sustainable logistics, and responsible consumption are essential steps in achieving these goals.
Xynteo encourages businesses to take a proactive stance, transforming their supply chains into vehicles for change that promote fairness, equality, and environmental stewardship. Through collective efforts, we can build a more just and inclusive world, one supply chain at a time.
By Carol Cone from Triple Pundit • Reposted: September 13, 2023
The term ESG is fine, according to a recent poll of 1,000 Americans. Despite continued polarization related to the acronym, which stands for environmental, social and governance, the majority of Americans believe it’s the best way to describe a company’s approach to improve business, society and the environment. Before we get to the data, though, it’s important to understand why we asked this question in the first place.
How did we get here?
Over the past year, a rising chorus of conservative U.S. voices have claimed that ESG is “woke capitalism,” or corporate virtue signaling about social and environmental concerns which they see as beyond the bounds of business.
The issue drew President Joe Biden’s first presidential veto in March of this year, defending legislation related to ESG investing and bringing the issue into the national spotlight. ESG is facing such a significant backlash that BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, long one of the financial industry’s staunchest proponents for purpose and ESG, doesn’t even want to use the term — though BlackRock’s policies around society, the environment, and business governance remain unchanged.
It’s also important to establish that whatever you call them, sound ESG practices are not new, and are indeed vital to operating a responsible, ethical, and profitable business. As Fortune sustainability reporter Eamon Barrett observed, “major corporations documenting their environmental, social, and governance policies for investor scrutiny is actually a decades-old process.” At its core, ESG is a means to broaden the lens on what constitutes key drivers of business value, accompanied by efforts to measure and report on what matters for individual company operations via standardized reporting frameworks.
Americans say ESG is a-okay
We partnered with Purpose Collaborative member Reputation Leaders, a global research and thought leadership consultancy, to ask Americans what term they feel best describes “the approach companies take to improve business, society and the environment.” ESG and sustainability are tied for the top, at 23 percent each. Corporate social responsibility is second, at 21 percent, followed by purpose (11 percent), corporate citizenship (8 percent), stakeholder capitalism (7 percent) and stewardship (5 percent).
Across demographic groups, ESG and sustainability are the favored terms among men, while women prefer “corporate social responsibility,” a phrase that connotes a sense of obligation. ESG is also the top choice for younger audiences, particularly those aged 25 to 34, while consumers aged 55 to 64, prefer the term “sustainability.” There are regional differences, as well. People living in the Northeast prefer sustainability, while their Southern and Midwestern counterparts prefer ESG.
Reputation Leaders also analyzed the tone of media coverage related to Americans’ top three terms: ESG, CSR and sustainability. CSR garnered the largest share of positive sentiment at 37 percent, with sustainability in second place at 32 percent and ESG trailing at 20 percent. ESG was the only term to have a significant amount (10 percent) of negative sentiment.
What now?
This study can help support companies in exploring the terms they will use to discuss the impact their business has on society. It is important to develop a clear, shared perspective and take a long-term view.
From the United Nations to the World Economic Forum, global leaders are advocating for businesses to embed a net-positive approach into their operating models to accelerate innovation and impact. Increasingly, employees, customers, supply chain partners, and others are asking about the ESG commitments of the companies they work for or with. Business leaders need to have answers and a strong point of view on which issues are most important to their business, and why. Our best advice? Don’t worry about what you call it — stick to your organization’s long-term, strategic commitments to stakeholders, society and the environment.
When it comes to communications, here are three ways to help depolarize the conversation:
Be clear about the goals of ESG. ESG is not about imposing a set of values on business. It provides a framework for companies to assess and optimize their value and impact.
Increase transparency around ESG data and metrics. This will help to ensure that investors and other stakeholders are making informed decisions.
Embrace standardized reporting frameworks. This will make it easier to comparecompanies’ ESG performance — think: the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) or the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB).
Yes, the polarization will continue, especially as the 2024 presidential election nears. As the world continues to endure climate impacts from extreme heat and flooding to record-breaking wildfires, there also will be greater demand for businesses to address environmental challenges.
Scores of studies suggest that ESG — done right — drives sustainable competitive advantage and can accelerate organizational growth over the long-term. An impressive 80 percent of investors believe that companies with strong ESG practices can generate higher returns and make for better long-term investments, according to research from Morgan Stanley.
By continuing to show a link between ESG issues and the business, we can help to make the debate around ESG more constructive and less polarizing. This will ultimately benefit businesses, investors and society as a whole.
Student-Managed Investment Funds provide students with experience managing real investment portfolios. But new research shows only. a small minority of funds include environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in their mandates. Photo: Shutterstock
By Lorin Busaan, PhD Student, Gustavson School of Business, University of Victoria and Basma Majerbi, Associate Professor of Finance, Gustavson School of Business, University of Victoria via The Conversation • Reposted: September 11, 2023
Sustainable investing takes into account environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors alongside traditional financial components. While this form of investing has existed for a long time, ESG has become a hot-button issue due to recent politicization and widespread public misconceptions around what it really entails.
ESG investing examines quantitative and qualitative non-financial data on companies. This includes environmental issues like carbon emissions, pollution and resource use; social issues like employee treatment and relationships with communities; and governance issues like diversity of corporate boards, business ethics and transparency.
A basic qualification for finance graduates is the ability to analyze the environmental, social or governance factors that create risks and opportunities for a given company and, in turn, affect investors’ returns.
Unfortunately, graduates often lack even this basic qualification, in addition to more advanced expertise required to assess the investment impacts on people and the planet.
Given the climate crisis and persistent inequality, business schools must urgently and immediately tackle the sustainability deficit in finance education. Formal instruction must be enhanced with experiential learning techniques that expose students to the complexity and nuances of sustainable investing.
Our research shows that Student Managed Investment Funds (SMIFs) — currently present at many Canadian universities — are an underused, hands-on learning opportunity for training the next generation of sustainable investment professionals.
The head of the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System testifies before a Kansas legislative committee in March 2023 about a bill that would bar the pension system from ESG investing. (AP Photo/John Hanna)
Criticisms and politicization, combined with other factors, have curtailed flows to ESG funds. This is unfortunate given the urgent need to mobilize more financial capital to address climate change, biodiversity loss and inequality.
Reforming business schools
Developing competence in sustainable investing requires a serious revision in business school finance programs.
Core courses must include sustainable investing concepts and tools as part of mainstream financial education. This is especially important given fast-evolving ESG and climate-related regulations and rising global risks that pose new threats to companies and investors.
It’s also important that students learn the limits of different forms of sustainable investing to avoid falling into the trap of greenwashing.
Many ESG strategies primarily focus on risk mitigation with, at best, a marginal impact on people or the planet. Others, such as impact investing, focus on measurable social and environmental outcomes, often using the UN’s SDGs for their impact goals, alongside financial returns.
Impact investing could unlock much needed capital for critical sectors in the net-zero transition that would otherwise be underfunded when using traditional financial metrics.
In short, sustainable investing, in all its forms, requires additional skills that are currently lacking in finance education. Social and environmental impacts can be difficult to quantify and may require longer-term perspectives and qualitative judgements about potential impacts on many stakeholders.
It’s important that students learn the limits of different forms of sustainable investing to avoid falling into the trap of greenwashing. Image: Unsplash
Student-managed investment funds
These skills are best developed through hands-on practice that supplements formal instruction. Student-Managed Investment Funds (SMIFs) provide students with experience working together to manage real investment portfolios under the guidance of faculty supervisors and industry professionals.
Canadian universities have established more than 30 funds that students oversee as portfolio managers, buying and selling stocks, bonds or other assets. The capital in these funds comes from a variety of sources, including donations from companies, philanthropic gifts from individuals or foundations, and in some cases from university endowments.
Of the 31 Canadian SMIFs we analyzed (totalling $79.5 million managed by students), only five (16 per cent) have some level of ESG consideration. Since business schools have long used student-managed funds to train the next generation of investment bankers, financial analysts and other financial industry professionals, this is surprising — and disappointing.
Authors’ analysis of SMIFs in Canada with ESG components based on publicly available data from major Canadian business schools’ websites as of fall 2022. Impact Investing Hub, University of Victoria
The gap is even more pronounced for impact investing, which is barely mentioned in any of the funds in our sample, despite universities’ commitments to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
Authors’ analysis of the size of SMIFs with and without ESG components, based on publicly available data from major Canadian business schools’ websites as of fall 2022. Impact Investing Hub, University of Victoria
Sustainable finance education could benefit greatly when students work together to integrate financial, environmental and social factors in student-managed investment funds.
Learning by doing helps students develop important analytical skills, familiarizes them with key tools and data sources and helps them navigate the maze of ESG standards, frameworks and guidelines.
The role of universities
Including sustainability mandates in finance programs and student-managed investment funds will ensure Canadian universities train the next generation of sustainable investment professionals needed to accelerate the net-zero transition.
We encourage university administrators and finance educators across the country to immediately implement ESG policies for existing student-managed investment funds. In collaboration with industry and donors, new funds could also be established that focus on particular themes, like climate solutions or nature-positive investing.
One encouraging initiative in this regard is by Propel Impact, a non-profit that is collaborating with seven universities to run their own local student impact funds.
Through creative partnerships with investors, Propel has been supporting student training while benefiting local communities, with $750,000 directed by students toward 14 Canadian social enterprises over the past three years. We offer this program to University of Victoria students and hope it expands to more Canadian universities.
As we confront pressing social and environmental challenges, we can’t be discouraged by partisan sniping. Instead, we must build momentum for sustainable investing by training future financial professionals more effectively.
By Tina Casey from Triple Pundit • Reposted: September 11, 2023
With the 2023 proxy season in the rear-view mirror, financial analysts noted a sharp decline in shareholder support for environmental, social and governance proposals. However, anti-ESG proposals also failed to stick, and signs of an ESG resurgence are already beginning to emerge.
Mixed support in the 2023 proxy season
Most U.S. companies hold proxy sessions between April and June, enabling shareholders to vote on issues without being present.
Based on the outcome of the 2023 season, shareholders seem to be losing interest in ESG issues. In a June analysis, the firm FTI Consulting noted that “2023 has seen investors support significantly less environmental and social proposals than in past years.”
The question is whether or not the drop-off marks a permanent trend or a temporary reaction to current events. FTI attributed much of the decline to the “anti-ESG” agenda, explaining: “The scrutiny on institutional investor vote behavior…by the anti-ESG activists has caused institutional investors to support less environmental and social proposals in 2023.”
At the same time, anti-ESG proposals also failed to garner much support from shareholders over the past five years, the analysis found. FTI advised that other factors can also have a significant influence on ESG support. Analysts cited the 2022 proxy season, which also saw a drop in ESG support after a rules change by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The change fostered a spike in the number of prescriptive proposals to come up for a vote, and prescriptive proposals generally receive low support from shareholders regardless of their subject matter.
We don’t talk about ESG, but we do it
One area where the anti-ESG movement has clearly had an impact is in the way in which bankers, money managers and other financial stakeholders communicate. Many continue to put the principles into action while avoiding specific references to ESG, as shown by a recent Bloomberg survey.
“About two-thirds of respondents in a survey of roughly 300 Bloomberg terminal users said the anti-ESG movement that started in the U.S. last year will force firms to stop using those three letters in conversations with clients,” Alastair Marsh and Lisa Pham of Bloomberg observed last month. “However, they’ll continue to incorporate environmental, social and governance metrics in their business.”
Financiers under fire
The Bloomberg analysis is among those attributing ESG avoidance to an aggressive, partisan political environment of legislative and legal attacks on ESG investing.
Though the issue seems to have failed to gain traction among voters, fossil energy stakeholdershave been credited with motivating Republican office holders to act. Their efforts reportedly include model bills created by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), which has established a right-wing reputation with an emphasis on protecting fossil fuels.
“The finance industry is now grappling with a second year of attacks on ESG by key members of the Republican Party, including threats of litigation from state attorneys general, as well as outright bans on the strategy in some U.S. states,” Marsh and Pham of Bloomberg noted.
The attacks prompted one of the highest-profile proponents of the ESG investing movement, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, to stop using the acronym altogether.
“I don’t use the word ESG any more, because it’s been entirely weaponized … by the far left and weaponized by the far right,” Fink told a gathering at the Aspen Ideas Festival last summer, as reported by Reuters. In the same speech, he reaffirmed BlackRock’s commitment to discussing decarbonization, corporate governance and social issues with the companies in its portfolio.
Financiers fight back
Despite the political headwinds, financial stakeholders continue to act in support of social and environmental principles. Part of the effort is happening behind the scenes, as financial stakeholders seek to convince legislators that anti-ESG bills will result in financial harm to their states.
In a recent analysis, S&P Global identified 12 states in which Republican legislators “successfully pushed anti-environmental, social and governance legislation across the finish line.” In all, 19 states now have one or more anti-ESG laws on the books.
That may seem like a substantial gain, but the legislative failures outweighed the successes. “Many anti-ESG bills introduced in 2023 … failed after chambers of commerce, banking associations and public pension officials raised concern over costs or free market principles,” S&P observed.
In addition, only four of the 25 new anti-ESG laws to pass this year remained intact by the time of the August analysis. The other 21 were substantially revised to protect state pension funds. S&P cited Indiana and Texas as examples, both of which would have faced billions in losses over 10 years without the revisions.
Taking it to the courts
Financial stakeholders are also taking their case to court. For example, last month the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) — an industry group that counts BlackRock among its members — moved to challenge new Missouri rules on ESG documentation.
The rules went into effect on July 30. As described by SIFMA, they stipulate burdensome documentation that no other state requires. SIFMA argues that the new rules put Missouri in direct conflict with the 1996 National Securities Markets Improvements Act, under which states cannot preempt standard federal record-keeping rules.
“Under existing federal securities laws, broker-dealers and investment advisers are already required to provide investment advice that is in the best interest of their customers,” the group argued as it announced the suit. “The Missouri rules are thus unnecessary and create confusion.”
The climate factor
New reporting rules established by the European Union may also motivate U.S. companies to continue making progress on ESG principles, regardless of what’s happening at home.
The new EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive became effective last January. “This new directive modernizes and strengthens the rules concerning the social and environmental information that companies have to report,” the European Commission’s website reads. The new rules cover large companies as well as small and midsized companies.
In June, the Republican-led ESG Working Group in the U.S. House of Representatives released an interim report that recommended protecting U.S. companies from “burdensome EU regulations.” However, Republican leadership will have a hard time reconciling protectionism with their party’s longtime support for free market principles.
The anti-ESG movement is also floundering on the national stage. Surveys routinely reflect public support for ESG principles. Moreover, high-profile Republicans aren’t helping the case.
The hapless presidential campaign of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is one example. Among other issues, the Republican governor has cultivated a reputation for opposing ESG investing, highlighted by a high-stakes legal feud with Florida’s top employer, Disney, over LGBTQ rights.
Another example is the looming impeachment of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a prominent anti-ESG Republican, on charges of corruption and bribery. His wife’s reported involvement with a shell company has raised additional questions about allegiance to the principles of fiduciary duty.
Looming over all this is climate change, a factor from which Florida, Texas and other anti-ESG states are hardly immune. With the exception of fossil energy stakeholders, the rising threat of climate risks will continue to influence and motivate corporate behavior regardless of the outcome of the upcoming 2024 proxy season.
Tina writes frequently for TriplePundit and other websites, with a focus on military, government and corporate sustainability, clean tech research and emerging energy technologies. She is a former Deputy Director of Public Affairs of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, and author of books and articles on recycling and other conservation themes. To see the original post, follow this link: https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2023/esg-down-not-out/782776
By Maggie Ellison from myhfa.org • Reposted: September 9, 2023
Are you aware of your surroundings? In tune with movements, trends, and fads? Understanding of the dynamic shift of generational mindsets? Giving back in big ways? Sharing your commitment to good? Consumers practically demand brands to share a deep compassion for the community they serve.
In a world of increasing social awareness, today’s consumers seek more than just a product or service. They’re seeking brands that align with their values and are dedicated to positively impacting society. According to one study, 70% of consumers said it’s important for brands to take a stand on social and political issues. It’s no longer a question of whether consumers care about brands being socially conscious but how you can integrate community and caring into your business. When you demonstrate your brand’s social responsibility, it isn’t just a marketing strategy – it reflects your values and commitment to making a positive impact.
Here are five ways to demonstrate your brand’s efforts toward corporate social responsibility:
Foster Employee Engagement
A great place to start showcasing your brand’s dedication to the community and the world is by starting with your team. One study found that 60% of employees choose a workplace based on their beliefs and values. Establishing core values will help guide you and your employees and serve as a starting point for determining appropriate causes to support. Encourage your team to get involved with volunteerism and partake in discussions about company values to help them develop a connection to the cause your company is championing. A team that believes in its cause is most likely to amplify your brand’s positive impacts!
What can you keep doing or start doing to ask your employees what matters to them?
Advocate for Causes That Align with Your Company Values
Pick a social or environmental cause that resonates with your brand’s values and aligns with your audience’s interests. From climate change to social inequity, you can use your platform to raise awareness and showcase your brand’s dedication to current events. 58% of consumers will buy or advocate for a brand based on their beliefs and values. Word-of-mouth marketing like that builds trust and community around a brand that is difficult to replicate any other way. Include messaging on furniture tags highlighting the cause – did a tree get planted for every couch produced? Did a child in need receive a backpack of school supplies for every hand-crafted table made in an impoverished area? Let people know that. Signage, tags, literature, social media tagging, and marketing messaging are easy ways to translate what matters to your customers. Commit to the commitment.
How can you highlight in all marketing channels your commitment to a cause?
Partner with Charitable Organizations
Collaborating with established organizations will ensure your efforts have a lasting impact and provide tangible support to the cause you’ve chosen to promote. This is a powerful way to leverage your brand’s reach for a good cause. Allow the partner organization to host a table within your brick-and-mortar, include their messaging in banner ads on your website, provide a give-back option for your customers to round up, and provide those funds to a non-profit that aligns. Another terrific opportunity is co-branding products or services or offering a simple add-on for customers where a percentage or all proceeds benefit the cause. This plus-up can be powerful, and the impact is far-reaching. Building trust with your audience is vital to a brand’s success, and partnering with trusted organizations to make change happen will show customers that your dedication to social change is more than a marketing tactic. 40% of consumers believe the best way for brands to display social responsibility is to collaborate with a non-profit organization dedicated to that cause.
What can you do to amplify your chosen cause and provide impact?
Engage with Your Community
Engage with your community by sponsoring local events or supporting local charities to connect with your audience face-to-face. An experiential marketing campaign that directly engages with your audience about the causes your brand cares about can foster a sense of community and shared responsibility by educating attendees and encouraging them to participate in problem-solving actively. Experiential marketing campaigns can boost your brand awareness and create loyal customers. 74% of consumers said engaging with experiential activations made them more likely to buy the promoted product. Also, 98% of consumers create social content from their experiences, and 100% share the content they create. Highlighting a social issue that resonates with your brand during community events can foster a stronger connection with your audience.
What can you step up to sponsor, or what events can you showcase your brand that impacts the community?
Be Transparent and Authentic
Throughout it all, communicate with transparency and authenticity to naturally build customer trust. By clearly articulating your brand’s core values and mission, your audience will understand what you stand for and develop a deeper relationship with your brand. In 2022, 60% of consumers said that trustworthiness and transparency were the most important traits of a brand. Consumers want to know that their money is going to a trustworthy company that will use its power to improve the world. This is why it’s important to regularly showcase your company’s steps to contribute positively to society, like charitable partnerships, co-branded products, advocating for products that are making a difference, and community engagement. By continuing to promote a social cause relevant to your brand, your audience will come to trust you for what you provide and what you stand for as a company.
How is your brand speaking to the public? Is it authentic?
Integrating social responsibility into your brand identity goes beyond superficial gestures – it’s about creating a meaningful and lasting impact. Whether through sustainable practices, ethical partnerships, educational campaigns, or community engagement, every step your business takes can contribute to a better world and deeply resonate with your customers. By aligning your brand’s core values with meaningful action, you’re building a loyal fan base and driving positive change. Remember, when you demonstrate a socially responsible brand it is more than a label; It’s a catalyst for change, and consumers today demand commitment.
A recent poll by the Smithsonian Science Education Center and Gallup finds that while a majority of U.S. teachers say they want to teach lessons in sustainable development, they do not have the supports in place to do so. Stock Photo via Getty Images
Topics like climate action and clean energy are some of the least likely topics to be found within sustainability school lessons, according to a Smithsonian-Gallup poll. By Anna Merod from K-12dive.com • Reposted: September 8, 2023
U.S. teachers feel they have far fewer supports to teach topics on sustainable development compared to those instructing in countries like Brazil, Canada, France and India, according to a poll released Tuesday by the Smithsonian Science Education Center and Gallup.
Educators in those four countries were three times more likely on average than U.S. teachers to say they have enough support to instruct on sustainability — a stark difference of 60% versus 17%.
Despite the lack of resources, the poll found a majority of U.S. teachers see value in teaching sustainability: 83% say such curriculum can have a positive global impact, while 79% say it can benefit local communities.
Insight:
Socio-scientific topics within sustainability curriculum are especially nonexistent in U.S. classrooms, as teachers shared that this type of content was the least likely to be found in their lessons, according to the Smithsonian-Gallup poll.
For instance, 32% of U.S. educators said climate action, as well as clean water and sanitation, are dedicated parts of their curriculum. While 31% cited clean energy and responsible consumption, and 26% said information about sustainable communities was included in lessons.
“We were shocked to see that the topics we would define as socio-scientific like climate action, sustainable communities, clean water, clean energy were at the bottom of that list” in regard to U.S. curriculum standards, said Carol O’Donnell, director of the Smithsonian Science Education Center.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization defines sustainable development as “a resolution to meet the needs of the present without compromising the future.” Specifically, the United Nations created 17 goals tied to sustainability that fall under a “shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future.”
The Smithsonian-Gallup poll, which surveyed over 2,500 teachers and administrators in spring 2023, explored 11 of those 17 goals, including climate action, clean energy, clean water and sanitation, innovation, justice, reducing inequality, and good health and wellbeing.
U.S. teachers also said they have a lack of expertise (74%) and instructional materials (76%) to teach sustainability.
“It’s just a reality that STEAM standards or STEM standards don’t exist in large scale across the board in schools and districts,” said Monique Chism, undersecretary for education at the Smithsonian. “So when you think about curriculum resources, professional development, time for teaching this content — it’s not surprising, because it’s not something that’s been a priority that’s been placed on standards and curriculum in the system.”
While climate education pushback has surfaced in recent years, Chism said she prefers to believe the gap in resources to teach sustainable development is likely unintentional. Based on the survey, Chism said it’s hard to exactly pinpoint why K-12 schools often lack these supports.
But as schools continue to face teacher shortages, brace for budget shortfalls, and address much-needed maintenance repairs, administrators and teachers are really trying to do the “best they can” while trying to solve these broader challenges, Chism said.
Chism added it’s clear from the poll that teachers have a desire to teach sustainability intertwined with other subjects beyond science. More than 70% of U.S. teachers each said instructing on this topic can make science more accessible to students and increase their interest in current events.
State curriculum standards are beginning to shift toward sustainable development topics, O’Donnell added. For instance, she said, environmental science standards are integrated into science lessons throughout California schools. New Jersey and Connecticut now require lessons on climate change and climate education, respectively.
“We are starting to see states start to come up with this idea that sustainability matters,” O’Donnell said.
By Ken Moore from Fast Company • Reposted: September 8, 2023
Most consumers today want to buy from brands that align with their values—it’s more important to them than cost and convenience, brand loyalty, or product functionality. They will pay more for products and services that tangibly support their social, ethical, and environmental objectives—and abandon those that don’t. This sentiment has strong roots in the youngest consumers: An extraordinary 84% of teens told researchers they strive to buy based on their beliefs.
There is mounting evidence that companies benefit when they heed this message: A study from South Korea, published in January, found that food and beverage companies with strong reputations for their environmental and social initiatives generate more consumer trust and positive word-of-mouth. Unilever’s purpose-led Sustainable Living brands have grown more than the rest of its business. And new research from McKinsey found that products that made claims about their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance outsold products that did not.
This seems like a simple equation: Consumers will reward companies with convincing ESG stories, and those brands thrive. There is a problem, however. Only 4 in 10 consumers say they have adequate data to make sound sustainable purchasing decisions. This may explain the complaint that customers say they support green, ethical, socially responsible companies with their wallets—but often don’t. They lack the information they need to follow through.
In fact, most businesses struggle to present a thorough, compelling story detailing their environmental impact: Only 13% can map their end-to-end supply chain and four out of five have no visibility beyond their immediate suppliers. Executives surveyed by IBM acknowledged that inadequate data is the biggest obstacle to their ESG efforts.
DATA-DRIVEN INSIGHTS
This will change over the next 5 to 10 years as companies deploy emerging technologies that unlock data to enable smarter supply chains and measure their end-to-end carbon footprint, organic production, recycling track record, and other outcomes. These include:
Visibility technologies that provide a complete picture of supply chain operations, from procurement of raw materials to shipment and use of end products
Blockchains to create an immutable audit trail that tracks the provenance and the movement of goods and include verified information regarding suppliers
AI, machine learning, and predictive analytics to extract insights from supply chain data. Generative AI has the potential to do the same with unstructured ESG data.
Companies with stellar sustainability results will presumably be the first to leverage these technologies to establish their credibility with consumers and other stakeholders including regulators, shareholders, and current and potential employees. If the population of value-driven consumers is as large and committed as it appears to be—particularly millennials and Gen Z—other companies will follow suit and new ESG reporting expectations will be set. Conscious consumers will be empowered to vote with their wallets.
Enterprises will also turn to emerging technologies to share this information with consumers precisely when, where, and how they want it—online, in the store, via QR codes printed on product packaging, through smart glasses and virtual reality (VR) goggles, or at the point of sale (digital or physical.) “With AR (augmented reality), brands can turn products, packaging, and places into digital discovery channels, surfacing their sustainability efforts through a humble QR code,” notes Zappar, an AR studio in Scotland.
Three-fourths of executives surveyed by IBM said their stakeholders understand their companies’ ESG objectives and performance, but there is a disconnect. Only about 40% of consumers said they have enough information about corporate sustainability to make purposeful decisions about what to buy and where to work.
That’s a problem. It’s no time for business leaders to assume their value-driven customers are on board, because consumers have made it clear they will jump ship for a competitor that can demonstrate strong ESG credentials. As we approach an era in which all companies will have the means to do that, leaders can seize a competitive advantage by providing conscious consumers with information that empowers them to do what they find difficult today—make purchase decisions that reward companies that align with their values.
By Janet Schijns from accelerationeconomy.com • Reposted: September 6, 2023
The U.S. recently pledged to cut agriculture sector emissions by 50% by 2030. The sector accounts for over 10% of the overall emissions, making it a great first target. Once thought of as a “nice-to-have,” sustainability has now become a must-have not only for agriculture but also for businesses across every sector due to consumer expectations, climate change pressures, and numerous policy changes. This shift to the main stage underscores the importance of technological collaboration in formulating and executing responsible strategies that emphasize energy efficiency, carbon reduction, and waste management. This is where great partnerships can ease the burden for firms by helping them make sustainability matter.
Model Sustainability Partnerships
The Accenture Technology Ecosystem is an example of an ecosystem play in this arena. With more than 350 partners and suppliers, each selected for its exceptional, market-relevant offerings, Accenture leverages comprehensive industry insights and data-driven analytics to determine potential strategies to future technological needs. The Accenture Technology Ecosystem strives to lead in sustainability through its integrated approach.
Another example is how Microsoft, in partnership with Accenture and Avanade, is making significant strides towards a more sustainable future. This partnership is proving its worth as it embraces green software development principles, sustainable cloud migrations, and digital twin technology adoption. These efforts drive stronger performance, competitiveness, and progress toward their decarbonization goals and the journey to net zero emissions. Its joint sustainability efforts, particularly its pivotal role in the Green Software Foundation, showcase a collective commitment to constructing a trusted ecosystem that supports environmentally responsible software development.
Finally, Chrome OS demonstrates an exemplary commitment to sustainable computing. Through its cloud-first platform, which prioritizes energy efficiency, Chrome OS has created a progressive method for more sustainable computing. Collaborations with partners, including Insight Enterprises and CDW, further the goal of systemic change, enhancing efficiency across various operational areas.
Sustainability Across Industries
Sustainability extends across diverse industries, each with distinct applications and benefits that can be brought to the market by a variety of partners:
Automotive Industry: Manufacturers can utilize advanced tracking mechanisms to monitor their sustainability efforts. By setting and continually evaluating targets, they can enhance their performance in reducing environmental impact, focusing on energy consumption, waste production, and water usage. IoT partners are helping those in this industry adapt their processes and systems to utilize their technologies for sustainability gains.
Banking Industry: Green bonds and loans symbolize the integration of sustainability into financial practices. Data analytics enable banks to identify and invest in environmentally friendly projects and reduce their carbon footprints. Fintech-friendly tools from independent software vendors (ISVs) are helping to make this banking industry future a reality today.
Energy Sector: Embracing renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power, energy companies are utilizing data analytics to optimize operations and decrease environmental impact. But these efforts require a multitude of partnerships to develop software and equipment as well as do installations and service.
These are just a few examples — the widespread adoption of sustainability across various sectors reveals a transformation in corporate values and operations. Companies are not merely adopting sustainability as a trend but are integrating it into core business practices. They are guided and supported by technology partners who drive innovation and efficiency.
Finding the Right Partner
So, just how do you understand what will make a great partner for your business? Let’s explore that a little more here:
Identify the Right Partner
In the quest for sustainability, choosing the right partner is akin to finding the perfect piece in a complex puzzle. An ideal partner should have a shared vision and commitment to sustainability, backed by tangible actions and track record. Assessing a potential partner’s corporate values, technological capabilities, industry expertise, and alignment with the specific sustainability goals is essential. Conducting a thorough due diligence that includes their previous sustainability initiatives, compliance with environmental regulations, and cultural fit with your organization ensures that the collaboration rests on a foundation of common purpose and integrity.
Structure a Clear, Comprehensive Agreement
A partnership for sustainability requires a clear and comprehensive agreement, a legal tapestry weaving together shared goals, responsibilities, and performance metrics. Defining specific roles and responsibilities for each party, along with setting measurable objectives, timelines, and key performance indicators (KPIs), is essential. The agreement should also encompass financial arrangements, resource allocation, governance structures, and conflict resolution mechanisms. Furthermore, incorporating flexibility to adapt to changing regulations, market conditions, or technological advancements ensures that the partnership remains resilient and responsive to evolving sustainability landscapes.
Ensure Collaboration and Continuous Improvement
An effective sustainability partnership transcends contractual obligations and enters the realm of true collaboration and innovation. Regular communication, transparency, and joint decision-making fortify the partnership, making it more than a mere transaction. Implementing a robust monitoring and evaluation system to track progress, coupled with a commitment to continuous improvement and innovation, cultivates a dynamic collaboration. Encouraging creativity and fostering an environment where both partners can contribute ideas, insights, and strategies ensures that the partnership thrives, continually advancing towards sustainability goals with mutual respect and shared success.
Final Thoughts
By carefully selecting a partner with shared values, meticulously crafting a well-structured agreement, and fostering a culture of collaboration and continuous improvement, organizations can set the stage for a successful and enduring partnership for sustainability. It’s more than a business transaction; it’s a collective journey towards a greener and more responsible future.
Sustainability represents a complex, multifaceted challenge for modern enterprises. The collaboration between technology ecosystem partners and various industries is forging a path toward a more responsible and sustainable future. This movement is no longer confined to isolated initiatives but is manifesting as a comprehensive approach to business, reflecting a profound shift in corporate responsibility and ethical governance.
By Antony Yousefian via Sustainable Brands • Reposted: September 4, 2023
Applied to food supply chains, ambient IoT allows farmers, distributors, grocers, regulators and consumers to know where food came from, how far it traveled, how it was transported and stored, and what condition it’s in — in real time.
The world can’t count on carbon offsets to deliver us from the climate crisis. As helpful as it may be for corporations to offset some of their emissions, the greatest force for good is the everyday citizen. Specifically, it’s the well-informed, carbon-savvy grocery shoppers who buy sustainably grown produce — not just because they know the carbon footprint of bananas, zucchini, or beef; but because it’s also clear which farmers are regenerating the land to support a healthy planet.
How on earth can shoppers know? By tracking everything, everywhere, all the time.
My time in the financial markets drew me to climate tech startups and the importance of impact investing. Indicators from our planet were signaling code red. At the same time, the increased frequency of supply chain disruptions from biodiversity decline and climate change was hitting corporate profitability.
Investment funds focused on environmental, social and governance (ESG) commitments were ballooning; but I struggled to quantify or have visibility into exactly which corporations, or their products, were actually “doing good.” Quantification of the E in ESG was a real problem; and it was a multitrillion-dollar opportunity that made sense on all levels.
Since then, I’ve been involved with various innovative companies committed to tackling the issue head on — from carbon removal in supply chains to restoring biodiversity in soils. The latter led me to agriculture technology (AgTech) and the cutting-edge field of the Ambient Internet of Things(IoT) — a system of ubiquitous Bluetooth tags and cloud-based software that makes anything traceable and intelligent.
One of my first ventures into AgTech was to leverage IoT to measure leaf temperatures, soil conditions and root health — all key to driving sustainable farming decisions. It gave food producers the tools to see or digitize their risks in real-time, make improvements, and share the results with the supply chain. But the cost to acquire the data was high, which hindered scalability.
Ambient IoT changes the whole calculus because it’s based on ultra-low-cost, battery-free, stamp-sized computer sensors that can go anywhere and communicate wirelessly with existing systems or off-the-shelf, standardized network devices. Applied to food supply chains, ambient IoT allows farmers, distributors, grocers and even regulators to know where food came from, how far it traveled, how it was transported and stored, and what condition it’s in — and not only back when the food was harvested, packed or put on a truck; but in real time.
Taken together, ambient IoT data — location, time-in-transit, temperature, humidity and more — provides crucial primary data to calculate the carbon footprint not just of the food companies involved but of every individual product on a supermarket’s shelves. It’s a chief sustainability officer’s dream. Armed with this information, we as citizens can be given a choice to select food products that make the planet healthier — to do our part by eating sustainably.
Carbon visibility and trust
In a recent study by the Boston Consulting Group, 77 percent of consumers said they were concerned about the sustainability of the food they buy; 63 percent said they were trying to shop more sustainably. Their challenge? Acting on their concern.
There are a couple of reasons it’s hard for consumers to shop for sustainable food (or for that matter, sustainable clothes, cosmetics or household supplies). First is that they don’t always know which groceries are, in fact, sustainable. Second is that they’re not sure who they can trust.
In stores, consumers are bombarded by signs and food labels touting “local,” “organic” or “sustainable.” But when it comes to climate impact, such messaging can be confusing, if not misleading. Locally grown vegetables may have been stored in carbon-hungry refrigeration or cultivated in greenhouses that emit more carbon than a slow boat from another continent. And those organic fruits may have been grown with regenerative practices on a different continent and flown (then, driven miles) to the store. Yet each product does, indeed, have an individual carbon footprint that can be traced.
But in the absence of product-level carbon data, consumers look to brands for guidance, seeking those committed to “net zero” or other pledges to protect the climate. These are laudable efforts but susceptible to what the public and regulators have come to identify asgreenwashing — an act of climate fraud best combatted with credible, real-time data.
Not to mention, even responsible companies can only report on their sustainability commitments annually or quarterly — whenever a report is finished. Even monthly reporting falls short of what should be the standard for carbon tracing in the food chain: real-time, product-level carbon visibility. And only the ambient IoT can achieve that.
In response, regulators have taken it upon themselves to require producers of all kinds to prove sustainability claims through data. The best way to do it reliably and consistently is through meaningful, real-time metrics delivered through a credible medium.
Consumers live in a real-time world of social media feeds, fitness trackers and generative AI. Carbon visibility should be the next killer app — not only as it relates to what people eat but what they wear, where they vacation, and more.
Whether on people’s smartphones or via smart, digital shelf signage, supermarkets can use ambient IoT data to deliver carbon visibility the same way they engage shoppers in points clubs, digital coupons, and other social media-style promotions. Yes, gamification can help save the planet when it leads to more sustainable food consumption.
Unlocking the benefits of ambient IoT
Real-time carbon visibility is just part of the ambient IoT equation. Companies that deploy an ambient IoT infrastructure can solve other challenges, some that further support their climate goals and others that align the planet with profitability.
In addition to tracking the carbon footprint of products in their supply chain, companies can use ambient IoT data to capture missed revenues and reduce food waste. Ambient IoT can collect environmental data on elements such as temperature and humidity, even in stores and trucks, which determine freshness and shelf life. And it produces data to comply with new supply chain regulations and ensure food safety. Until now, most compliance checks have been manual, expensive and ad hoc. Ambient IoT automates compliance and cuts costs because now every product effectively shouts its status (i.e., sends data packets) on the way to supermarket shelves.
But ambient IoT is capable of even more. In the long run, to combat climate change, we must use it to restore biodiversity and put carbon back into the ground. The food system can achieve these goals through regenerative agriculture, which improves the health of soil and creates healthy plants and nutrient-rich food. There is already an ecosystem of innovative solutions to help measure the process of regenerative agriculture and accelerate its adoption. Ambient IoT has a role in that measurement.
Ultimately, ambient IoT will help mobilize data about the land and nature’s status. It can determine whether that next meal is traceable to a healthy, sustainable, regenerative source. Already, major initiatives like the EU’s regulation on deforestation-free products and the USgovernment’s Food Safety Modernization Act will require companies to prove they know where food comes from. This is a game-changer because it requires visibility into the flow of goods and materials and the ability to identify who is contributing to regenerating the land.
I’m confident that when citizens are turned onto this level of visibility, we’ll see them over-consume delicious, healthy meals. That’s how we eat our way out of climate change.
In today’s business landscape, sustainability has emerged as a core component of successful strategies. With growing concerns about climate change, social responsibility and environmental impact, organizations are increasingly integrating sustainable practices into their operations.
However, despite the abundance of sustainability strategies and environmental, social and governance (ESG) reports, there remains a lack of comprehensive assessment criteria. This gap makes it challenging for businesses to develop and formulate functional sustainability strategies that can adapt to new problems or prompt innovative solutions to existing problems.
In order to address this issue, the following is a proposed assessment model for driving business sustainability and measuring impact and effectiveness.
1. Identify the key performance indicators.
The first step in developing an effective assessment model is to identify the KPIs specific to sustainability. These KPIs will serve as measurable metrics to provide insights into the success of sustainability initiatives. By defining and monitoring these indicators, organizations can assess their performance and progress towards sustainability goals.
KPIs may include energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, waste reduction, water usage, employee engagement and social impact. Sustainability Magazineactually listed five widely utilized KPIs: carbon footprint, consumption of energy, supply chain miles, waste reduction and recycling rates and social impact.
The bottom line when it comes to KPIs for sustainability strategies continues to be the ESG impact that an organization has. So, in addition to the suggested KPIs, it is essential that as a business owner, you draw up your own parameters that help you assess the environmental and social impact your business has.
2. Establish baseline data.
Before implementing sustainability strategies, it’s crucial to establish baseline data. This represents the starting point against which progress can be measured. It provides a reference for organizations to assess the impact of their initiatives and determine the extent of improvement achieved.
Baseline data can include historical records of energy consumption, waste generation, carbon footprint and other relevant parameters. This data serves as a benchmark and enables organizations to track their progress over time.
A broader set of baseline data could contribute to more effective goal-setting in terms of sustainable planning and a more actionable strategy since you have the silhouette of a goal in sight. Baseline data can also be different for different sectors.
3. Set targets.
Setting clear and ambitious targets is a key component of any effective sustainability strategy. Targets provide a sense of direction and purpose, helping organizations focus their efforts towards achieving specific environmental and social objectives.
Align your targets with global sustainability goals, such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). You should aso ensure your goals are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART). By setting targets, your organization can strive for continuous improvement and drive meaningful change.
4. Implement sustainability initiatives.
Once the KPIs, baseline data, and targets are established, it’s time to implement sustainability initiatives. These initiatives can range from energy-efficient practices and waste reduction programs to social impact projects and supply chain optimization.
The implementation phase requires collaboration and coordination across various departments within your organization. Effective communication, training and engaging employees are essential to ensure the successful execution of sustainability initiatives.
Your implementation should not mirror that of a competitor—or any other company—but should be unique to the way your organization will reap the maximum benefits.
5. Monitor and evaluate progress.
Continuous monitoring and evaluation are vital to assess the progress of sustainability strategies. Organizations need to track identified KPIs regularly and compare them against the established baseline and targets. This monitoring process provides valuable insights into the effectiveness of implemented initiatives, identifies areas for improvement and enables data-driven decision-making.
Regular evaluations help your organization identify potential challenges, address gaps and make adjustments to strategies to ensure long-term sustainability success.
Evaluating sustainability performance is a challenging task, but researching organizations in your industry and geography can help as you study the trajectory of their strategies and achievements, or lack thereof.
6. Strive to continuously improve.
Sustainability is an ongoing journey, and organizations must strive for continuous improvement. The assessment model should promote a culture of learning and innovation, encouraging organizations to constantly seek new opportunities and approaches to enhance their sustainability strategies.
Feedback loops, stakeholder engagement and external benchmarking can help organizations identify emerging trends, best practices and areas where they can push the boundaries of sustainability. By embracing a mindset of continuous improvement, organizations can remain adaptable and resilient in the face of evolving sustainability challenges.
It’s essential to recognize that this assessment model is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Organizations should customize it based on their unique circumstances, objectives and stakeholders. The model serves as a starting point, providing a structured approach to evaluate sustainability strategies.
By leveraging the core components of this model, organizations can identify gaps, measure successes and continually refine their strategies and policies. Creating a sustainable culture in this way allows them to drive meaningful change and contribute to a more sustainable future.
Eric Block On Responsible Branding 
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