Leadership
Exemplary cases of sustainability leadership and intrapreneurship, and the qualities, ethical principles and/or dilemmas inherent within them.
The Same, But Different: Some Thoughts on Japanese Business
I recently visited Tokyo on a business trip and had the chance to meet with a number of Japanese companies. At the end of a three-hour meeting with sustainability professionals from a dozen or so multinationals, the host asked me for my impressions of Japanese organizations and their sustainability efforts. My honest answer: “I’m confused.”
The Time Is Now for a More Soulful Way of Business
Customer experience design is the forgotten dimension of sustainability. We need to transcend what have now become well-defined approaches and definitions of customer experience, to help companies understand why their offerings are no longer resonating with people, and how to develop a profound understanding of the lived experience of every single person whose lives our organisations touch. This understanding is just as applicable to those businesses and organisations developing sustainable products, services, technologies and initiatives.
Shiva Hotels Launches Industry-First Anti-Slavery Campaign to Eradicate Human Trafficking
UK hotel group Shiva Hotels is looking to take human trafficking and modern slavery head on, launching an industry-first anti-slavery program, which it began rolling out across its hotels last week.
5 Reasons Why Impact Is Competitive: Insights from the World’s Top CEOs
Corporate social and environmental responsibility has developed to a point where the world’s leading CEOs believe it is essential to their companies’ long-term business success. The movement is growing, and companies around the world are approaching social and environmental problems as opportunities to drive profit as well as progress for humanity.
'America's Pledge' to Track, Quantify Non-Party Contributions to US Climate Commitments
In response to the federal government’s failure to take action against climate change, Michael Bloomberg and California Governor Jerry Brown have launched a new initiative to track and quantify the contributions of local governments and businesses to tackle greenhouse gas emissions in line with the goals outlined in the Paris Agreement.
RE100 Reaches 100 Companies Committed to 100% Renewable Energy
Cross-Posted from Cleantech. As further evidence of the global corporate momentum behind renewable energy, the RE100 initiative has reached 100 members, following new commitments from AkzoNobel, AXA, Burberry and Carlsberg Group to transition to 100 percent renewable power.
Never So Relevant: Fritjof Capra on the Earth Charter Initiative
Last year saw one of the most historically symbolic events of recent years when 195 countries signed the Paris Agreement to cut back on pollution contributing to climate change. So, last month when President Donald Trump announced that he would pull the US out of the agreement, there was a huge reaction, with many leaders of countries around the world expressing their dismay.
The Evolution of Fiduciary Duty: Bringing Boards of Directors Into the Future
“Boards should understand the broader environmental and social consequences of business operations, and must set their own priorities and account for the associated outcomes.” This sentence was included in the guidance document entitled, “Human rights: expectation towards companies,” released in February 2016 by NBIM, which manages the assets of the Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global, the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund.
Bloomberg Pledges $15M to Fill Funding Gap After Trump Pulls Plug on Paris Agreement
Following President Trump’s pullout from the Paris Agreement — a move that has expectedly garnered criticism from governments, businesses and NGOs around the globe — former mayor of New York and current UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy for Cities and Climate Change Michael Bloomberg has pledged $15 million to keep US Paris Agreement efforts alive.
In Search of Sustainable Leadership: Infinite Growth on a Finite Planet
This is the eighth and final installment in a series of articles examining the many facets of ‘sustainable leadership.’ Find links to earlier posts at the end of this piece. We started our search for sustainable leadership as a way to understand more deeply what it takes to build a 'sustainable brand.' What we quickly found is that sustainable leadership brings the potential to make existing models of leadership “obsolete” by creating organizations that grow stronger with every challenge they face.
In Search of Sustainable Leadership: Keep Your Head When They Are Losing Theirs
This is the seventh in a series of articles examining the many facets of ‘sustainable leadership.’ Find links to the entire series below. Our search for sustainable leadership has shown us how to find the opportunities in a crisis and turn the best of them into an inspiring vision. To help ensure successful implementation of that vision, sustainable leaders add two final abilities to their skill set.
Evolving Our Inner Game: How to Lead by Example, Defy Cynics and Inspire Active Collaborators
This week’s theme of Redefining the Good Life resonated in the Monday afternoon workshop with John Marshall Roberts of Worldview Thinking. Roberts described how the shadow of a limited frame of reference based on past learnings and experiences can cause us to be frame locked – seeking external validation and learning to “live with lack.” “You need to give voice to the unspoken yearning - inspire to action,“ Roberts stated. He was quick to point out that your inner game doesn’t need external validation – that this was a look inward that requires willingness to set out and stand for something.
In Search of Sustainable Leadership: Choosing a Way Forward
This is the sixth in a series of articles examining the many facets of ‘sustainable leadership.’ Find links to the entire series below.
Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition Calls for International Carbon Pricing System
With more than 60 governments and 1,200 businesses now pricing carbon emissions, the Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition (CPLC) and a group of 200 organizations have issued a global call to action for the establishment of an international carbon pricing system, in an effort to achieve the 2°C target outlined in the Paris Climate Agreement.
In Search of Sustainable Leadership: An Opportunity Mindset
This is the fifth in a series of articles examining the many facets of ‘sustainable leadership.’ Find links to the entire series below. Our search for sustainable leadership has shown how defining vision, values and purpose helps organizations to adapt seamlessly to change. This brings competitive advantage that grows stronger with each challenge, built on courage, enthusiasm and the passion of the human spirit.
The International Sustainable Campus Network: Global Knowledge Exchange in Higher Education
The International Sustainable Campus Network (ISCN) is a non-profit association of more than 80 colleges and universities from over 30 countries, with a mission of providing a forum for the exchange of information, ideas and best practices for achieving sustainable campus operations and integrating sustainability in research and teaching.
26 EU Member States Pledge No New Coal Plants Post-2020
With a 2030 deadline looming, stakeholders across the European Union are ramping up efforts to tackle CO2 emissions. In addition to calling for a clampdown on imports of unsustainable palm oil production for biofuel, the EU is zeroing in on coal production, with national energy companies pledging to put an end to the construction of new coal-fired plants after 2020.
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…
