Leadership
Exemplary cases of sustainability leadership and intrapreneurship, and the qualities, ethical principles and/or dilemmas inherent within them.
European Parliament Votes to Phase Out Palm Oil-Based Biofuels by 2020
The social and environmental impacts of palm oil production are widely recognized. And while the issues of deforestation, habitat degradation and human rights abuses are gaining momentum within the international community, measures designed to curtail them — including certification — are plagued by inefficiencies and a lack of transparency.
Leading Businesses, Climate Experts Identify 2020 as Deadline to Mitigate Dangerous Climate Change
With 2020 fast approaching, former United Nations Climate Change Chief Christiana Figueres has called on the global community to take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to mitigate the worst impacts of climate change.
Transforming Our Systems: Niall Dunne on Seizing the Power of Technology for Good
This is one of a series of interviews that started when Rosie Warin, CEO of culture and communications agency Kin&Co, began having conversations with high–profile, values–driven leaders of the ‘purpose revolution’ about the future of leadership. Each explores how these leaders got to where they are now, and what they think the future of values–driven leadership looks like. Did you know that Niall Dunne, Chief Sustainability Officer at BT, used to be a professional athlete? Or that his first job was on the floor of a cat food factory, and he used to break the rules? And that’s not even the best bit…
Fortune Favours the Fortune Teller: Foreseeing Change Will Help Us Adapt, Not Succumb
What if the next era will be better than expected? Human beings are fascinated by the idea of predicting the future. We have always tried to know what lay ahead, by looking at events that were about to determine our destiny, for good or for bad, in order to be ready to face them. The desire to have the power to foresee the future goes back to ancient times. In Eastern and Western cultures alike, fortune tellers, wizards, astrologists, ministers, oracles, shamans and prophets have interpreted comets and stars, atmospheric events, animal behaviors, bones, entrails, rings of smoke, crystal balls, the fire, their dreams, books and so forth.
16 Ways Your Company Can ‘Walk the Walk’ on Climate Change
The People’s Climate March is coming to Washington, DC on April 29th. Businesses and their employees can take part and show their support for climate action.
Lord Michael Hastings: From Cleaning Toilets to a CBE
This is one of a series of interviews that started when Rosie Warin, CEO of culture and communications agency Kin&Co, began having conversations with high–profile, values–driven leaders of the ‘purpose revolution’ about the future of leadership. Each explores how these leaders got to where they are now, and what they think the future of values–driven leadership looks like.
Innovative ‘Agrihood’ Project Helping to Feed, Revitalize Detroit
Community initiatives constitute a crucial component of the transformation taking place in Detroit, which has seen its fair share of difficulties following deindustrialization. And the Michigan Urban Farming Initiative (MUFI) is one of them.
ICN Calls on Major Brands to Address Exploitation in Indian Leather Industry
The textile and apparel industries are widely known to have considerable environmental and social impacts on both local and global levels. The leather industry is no exception — in India, approximately 2.5 million workers are exposed to poor working conditions that violate their human rights and negatively affect their health.
The Science of Transformational Leadership, Part 4: Keep Listening
Some leaders make change look easy. While most people strive to drive change through persuasion, they stoke our imaginations and inspire us to embrace daring new visions of what could be. How do they do it? A breakthrough from the behavioral sciences called the Voice Code has answered this question, offering us profound new insights into the invisible levers of influence. These insights have now been made actionable through the LUCK cycle, the following four-step engagement sequence:
The Science of Transformational Leadership, Part 3: Call to Imagine
Some leaders make change look easy. While most people strive to drive change through persuasion, they stoke our imaginations and inspire us to embrace daring new visions of what could be. How do they do it? Believe it or not, a breakthrough from the behavioral sciences called the Voice Code has finally answered this question, offering us profound new insights into the invisible levers of influence. These insights have now been made actionable through the LUCK cycle, the following four-step engagement sequence:
EPA Axes Obama-Era Requirement to Provide Methane Data
The changing of the guard at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has prompted the withdrawal of a request for owners and operators in the oil and gas industry to provide information on equipment and emissions at existing oil and gas operations. The withdrawal is effective immediately, meaning owners and operators — including those who have received an extension to their due dates for providing the information — are no longer required to respond.
Bea Perez: From 'Sustainability' to 'Social Purpose,' and Why Mistakes Lead to Success
You could say she’s unconventional. You could say she’s ambitious – her first job was an administrative assistant to the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. But you can’t say she’s in it for herself – her proudest professional achievement is that of the individuals on her team. But who inspires Bea Perez – Coca–Cola’s Chief Sustainability Officer and SVP of Global Assets, Partnerships, Innovation, Licensing, Retail & Attractions – and what are her values?
The Science of Transformational Leadership, Part 2: Understand the Resistance
Some leaders make change look easy. While most people strive to drive change through persuasion, they stoke our imaginations and inspire us to embrace daring new visions of what could be. How do they do it? Believe it or not, a breakthrough from the behavioral sciences called the Voice Code has finally answered this question, offering us profound new insights into the invisible levers of influence. These insights have now been made actionable through the LUCK cycle, the following four-step engagement sequence:
Paris 2024 Taps Into Technology for the Most Sustainable Olympic Games Ever
The Olympic Games offer an opportunity for the world to come together on peaceful terms and helps generate a sense of comradery among the global community. But it’s not only the athletes and spectators who feel the Games’ impact — the environment does too. An event of such scale can have significant implications for the natural landscape and careful environmental management and sustainability strategies are essential in order to lessen negative impacts.
H&M, Zara Boycott Dhaka Apparel Summit Over Worker Treatment Issues
If there existed any question about the effectiveness of boycotts, recent actions taken across the retail industry by both consumers and brands should remove any doubt. The performance of Ivanka Trump’s fashion line plummeted as her father’s presidential campaign gained momentum, leading major retailers such as Nordstrom to pull the plug on her products not long after his inauguration.
Feed the Truth to Put Public Health — Not Special Interests — First in Food Industry
Daniel Lubetzky, founder and CEO of KIND Healthy Snacks, has launched an independent organization that seeks to improve public health by making truth, transparency and integrity the foremost values in today’s food system.
Systems Thinking: Life-Enhancing Business Through Leadership
Change is one of the most challenging elements of life within an organization. To sustain a change agenda moving away from behaviors and decisions that are life-destroying to becoming life-enhancing, the nuances of both corporate culture and the patterns of human behavior need to be understood. This requires systems thinking - also called visual seeing and thinking skills. I sat down with Fritjof Capra, one of the world’s most distinguished scientists and systems theorists, to discuss the implications of systems thinking for business, leadership and society.
Outdoor Brands Divided on Attending Retailer Show in Utah
In response to Utah Governor Gary Herbert’s resolution urging the Trump administration to rescind the Bears Ears National Monument, Patagonia announced that it would be opting out of this year’s Outdoor Retailer trade show. Outdoor Retailer (OR) is held every year in Salt Lake City, Utah, and brings in an estimated $50 million to the state according to the Outdoor Industry Association.
SDSN Highlights Youth-Led SDG Innovation Projects in New Solutions Report
The UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) has released its first edition of the Youth Solutions Report, which identifies 50 youth-led projects that aim to solve the world’s toughest issues, during the UN ECOSOC Youth Forum at the United Nations Headquarters.
Fellowship Program Equips Business Leaders to Drive Impact Through Innovation
With growing demand for business leaders to embrace progressive business practices that respect both people and planet showing no sign of slowing down, it is now more important than ever to empower high-potential professionals to innovate and lead change. Companies already have social intrapreneurs in their midst — accomplished innovators inside companies — whose efforts are helping them meet these new sets of pressures and expectations.