FROM PURPOSE TO ACTION: BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE TOGETHER -
Today, Dow considers its sustainability strategy and business strategy to be one and the same; employees understand that the two can no longer be separate. But, as Global Sustainability Director Haley Lowry explains, this didn’t happen overnight.
WALKING THE TALK -
To capture the top trends of 2021, Porter Novelli reviewed and analyzed a year’s worth of Purpose-driven and stakeholder news, activities, campaigns and announcements to deliver the latest in stakeholder intelligence. Here are our 10 need-to-know trends for today and tomorrow.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
What is 'material'? And how can a slight play on words help brands make more sustainable, healthier material choices in the built environment to reduce risk and benefit all stakeholders — from investors to employees and communities, to the planet?
SUPPLY CHAIN -
The pandemic-induced supply chain hurdles represent a reboot opportunity for companies. Here, we examine how companies can leverage modern integration technology to both improve supply chain performance and address sustainable supply-chain management practices.
THE NEXT ECONOMY -
Building a circular economy to deal with our e-waste challenges means embracing a new level of industry-wide transparency.
WASTE NOT -
The Design for Decomposition initiative is the next step in the Institute’s effort to transform fashion, stopping millions of tonnes of textile waste escaping into the environment each year.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
What happens when a company empowers its associates to think creatively and innovate with a social purpose? You find yourself with a potent strategic framework for solving for some of the world’s most pressing social and environmental challenges.
WALKING THE TALK -
With no end in sight to the pandemic and its many ripple effects, we can all use a little bit of brightness in our lives! So, here are some of the many companies, platforms and products aligned with a more intentional approach to consumption, that we’d be happy to support anytime.
LEADERSHIP -
As a fellow leader in this sustainability movement, how might you shift to a more regenerative approach? Here, Forum for the Future’s Samantha Veide explores what the concept means for business and shares five principles for regenerative leadership.
WASTE NOT -
The Wonderful Company has chosen two winners to create value-added solutions from 50,000 annual tons of pomegranate husks, to reduce food waste and create a more circular supply chain.
WALKING THE TALK -
On day two of the UN Forum on Business and Human Rights, delegates discussed how environmental damage is being viewed as a human rights violation in a growing number of court cases around the world — and that the UN Guiding Principles may increasingly be criteria in court judgements.
WALKING THE TALK -
Many companies say they’ve reached their net-zero goals, but is it really that easy? We can make the numbers look good, at least in the short-term; or we can strive for greater impacts — towards real zero and beyond. If we don’t take this challenge seriously today, we won’t be in business in ten years’ time.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
An awareness of these circular strategies will identify opportunities for any project team to consider the potential of a more 'constructive' future for the built environment.
CLEANTECH -
During COVID, JetBlue announced several sustainability targets — including a net-zero target by 2040, as well as a set of short-and medium-term targets to help them get there. We asked Carl Otto, JetBlue’s Senior Analyst for Sustainability and ESG, how they'll do it.
COLLABORATION -
Consumer goods brands and retailers aiming to diminish their climate impacts or even become forest positive can find cost-effective solutions to protect forests when they partner with indigenous communities on the ground.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
Consumers are more and more inclined to buy from brands that align with their beliefs and values; and anti-Black Friday is an important indicator of the
growing chasm between purpose-driven brands and those still banking on business-as-usual approaches.
THE NEXT ECONOMY -
Shimokawa Town in Hokkaido is a designated SDGs Future City and the winner of the first Prime Minister’s Japan SDGs Award in 2017. Four years on, Shimokawa is still working earnestly to achieve the goals and is keen to share its progress, new initiatives, and challenges along the way.
THE NEXT ECONOMY -
The roadmap and momentum are there; so, the big issue now is acceleration. We have the capacity to build a better future — and right now, some leaders are driving a fundamental redefinition of value by adopting new metrics and standards.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
The natural intersection of citizen science and tourism is obvious: If travelers are already participating in these activities, why not encourage deeper understanding and awareness about the natural world while also advancing scientific research?
MARKETING AND COMMS -
Two recent releases by a noted activist group put tough questions in front of one of the world’s largest financial institutions — which would be wise to pay
attention.