How organizations are addressing the 'G' in ESG – striking the balance of maximizing long-term growth and value while safeguarding the interests of all stakeholders
The vinyl industry recently marked its first “sustainability community anniversary” — that moment where industry leaders came together to pledge to embark on our sustainability journey. In the year since, we’ve adopted common sustainability positioning focused on doing more with less, agreed on a purpose-driven continuous improvement path forward, formed the Vinyl Business and Sustainability Council (VBSC), and initiated an industry-wide materiality assessment. There’s still much work to do.
Zero emission-cities are the way of the future and the mayors of London, Paris, Los Angeles, Copenhagen, Barcelona, Quito, Vancouver, Mexico City, Milan, Seattle, Auckland, and Cape Town are taking strides to bring the far-reaching goal to fruition. The aforementioned mayors have signed the C40 Fossil-Fuel-Free Streets Declaration, a pledge to procure only zero-emission buses from 2025 and ensure that a major area of their cities are zero emission by 2030. The policies outlined in the agreement aim to drive down air pollution, improve the quality of life for all citizens and tackle climate change.
Liverpool Football Club’s latest sponsorship deal, with Tibet Water Resources Limited — a company committing ongoing human rights and environmental atrocities in the region — is a case example of the kind of partnership brands just cannot make in today's world if they are striving for sustainability. This matters because England-based Liverpool FC is a widely recognized sports brand. According to Forbes, the team is worth $1.49 billion, making it the eighth most valuable soccer club in the world.
In celebration of its 20th anniversary, the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) has released a special edition of its Annual Report, describing two decades of driving change on the water. More than 400 fisheries, landing 14 percent of global marine catch by volume, are now engaged in the MSC program. MSC Chain of Custody certification has been granted to 42,320 sites and in the last financial year, consumers bought 730,860 tons of MSC labeled seafood, in a market worth $5.6 billion.
Energy efficiency is a simple, quick and cost-effective method to reduce both costs and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. That’s why companies are scaling up their energy-efficiency projects in an effort to achieve greater results. And it’s important that they do: Buildings play a considerable role in GHG emissions: Commercial buildings, in particular, make up roughly 20 percent of total U.S. energy. So, it’s no surprise that optimizing building systems is on the rise.
‘Purpose’ is not a buzzword, a strapline, a communications campaign, or repackaged CSR – nor is it a recruitment tool for millennials or only suited for worthy businesses, asserts independent marketing and communications agency Radley Yeldar (RY), which has released qualitative research on how purpose has transformed some of the world’s largest brands, from the people who work there and make it happen.
Starbucks is harnessing the power of new media to highlight the efforts being made by real people across the United States to effect positive changes in their communities. The coffee giant has brought back its Upstanders original series for a second season, which features stories of ordinary people showing extraordinary courage.
Big news has been rolling out of the Textile Exchange 2017 Textile Sustainability Conference near Washington, D.C. this week, providing evidence of the major paradigm shift taking place in the apparel and textile industry.
With the signing of the Paris Agreement, governments resolved to pursue efforts to go beyond the agreed 2°C goal and limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. However, nearly two years later, national and organizational commitments that align with a 1.5°C pathway are practically non-existent. A new report from Carbon Trust, however, aims to help position businesses to lead the low-carbon transition.
For many retailers, circular thinking involves redefining products – and the raw materials contained within them – as assets that need to be kept in circulation for as long as possible. During each use phase, these assets may need to be reintroduced into different markets, requiring new customer relationships to be built.
Over the past decade, Danish energy company DONG Energy has ambitiously transitioned away from oil and coal to transform itself into one of Europe’s cleanest, most sustainable energy companies.
Today’s companies are being tasked with the impossible: How can we make money for our shareholders, pay our employees well, and positively impact the environment and society as a whole? The purpose of a business used to be specifically to increase value for the shareholders. While this still clearly holds importance today, there is a growing pressure to expand this value to all stakeholders, and the perception of value is changing.
While faced by a myriad of social and environmental challenges, the fashion and textile industries continue to edge ever-closer to a more sustainable, equitable and circular future thanks to the innovative thinking of industry leaders.
I recently moderated an enlightening panel discussion — between Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, Bay Area Council President and CEO Jim Wunderman, San Francisco Travel President & CEO Joe D’Alessandro, and Oakland Zoo President & CEO Dr. Joel Parrott — on why the new California Trail development, an $80 million expansion project at the Oakland Zoo, matters to the people who live, play, work and visit the Bay Area.
The Sustainable Development Goals seem to be on everyone’s mind as of late, with new initiatives and reports related to the 2030 Agenda turning up almost daily. Just last week, GRI announced that it was developing a common framework for measuring and reporting business progress and impacts on the SDGs and the University of Cambridge Institute of Sustainable Leadership released a report highlighting the benefits businesses can reap by delivering on the SDG agenda.
Creating a sustainable, inclusive future requires helping a diverse range of individuals realize their fullest potential — particularly women. On Saturday, September 30, HEINEKEN USA will lead a workshop in Washington, D.C. at Vital Voices’ Global Freedom Exchange (GFE) Program, a two-week dynamic educational and mentoring opportunity for emerging women leaders.
Last week, at the third and final SB Buenos Aires event of 2017, perspectives from the worlds of arts, finance, education, big business, healthcare, urban planning, consumers, activist brands and more provided a 360-degree look at how organizations around the world are working to manifest our changing vision of “The Good Life” – and highlighted the amount of work yet to be done.
Following through on the commitments outlined in the UN Sustainable Development Goals is one of the best shots companies have to maintain a competitive advantage and future-proof their businesses, but progress has thus far been lacking.
“Sell by,” “Use by,” “Display until” and “Best before” food labels intended to inform consumers about food quality and safety frequently come under fire for their lack of clarity and confusing terminology that contributes significantly to the colossal food waste problem — one that costs families up to $29 billion annually in the United States alone. However, little concrete action has been taken to address the problem.
This is an excerpt from Rise Up: How to Build a Socially Conscious Business, released this week from Elevate Publishing. Purpose-driven companies regard employees as their most critical resource, one to be nurtured and sustained rather than exhausted and played out like a mine with a short-term life expectancy.