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Walking the Talk

These companies have moved beyond pledges and are making good on their commitments to pursuing a purpose beyond profit.

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Cotton Laundering Shows Risk of Business as Usual with China

Cross-Posted from Supply Chain. China’s importance to global supply chains as a key source of raw materials and labor puts brands at high risk of inadvertently supporting forced labor. Right now, the focus is on the garment industry; but other industries should pay close attention and ensure they are closely monitoring their entire supply chains.

Shaking Up Boardrooms and Society: The World’s First Purpose Governance Playbook

Cross-Posted from Organizational Change. ‘The New Purpose Governance Framework’ is the first comprehensive set of purpose-governance guidelines in the world, which charts the path for boards to up their game in approving and governing their organization’s purpose.

Synergizing ESG Data Collection Improves Reporting, Performance

Cross-Posted from Marketing and Comms. Nasdaq OneReport helps companies position themselves for current and future ESG-related work — whether regulatory or voluntary — to help align overall goals and outcomes across organizational departments and roles.

Conscientious Consumption: The SB 2021 Holiday Gift Guide

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.

Attention, Business Leaders: Environmental Rights, Human Rights Inextricably Linked

Perhaps the takeaway of the week is that the ‘next 10 years’ of business and human rights coincide with the 2030 deadline for us to halve carbon emissions — and that environmental rights are now very clearly seen as human rights. Companies pursuing a net-zero strategy must make human rights central, too.

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2021 a ‘Landmark’ for Corporate Human Rights Litigation

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.

Racing to Zero, Part 1: On Track, or Playing with Numbers?

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.

Where Is the New Roadmap for Business and Human Rights Taking Us?

Cross-Posted from Supply Chain. As delegates from the UN launched the roadmap at day one of this year's Business and Human Rights Forum, full respect for human rights by business was described as a strategic — not just an operational — issue, requiring a change of corporate culture and of business models.

While Travel Was Quiet, JetBlue Was Busy with Sustainability

Cross-Posted from 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.

Calling On All ‘Bad Actors’ to Join the Climate Change Fight

Cross-Posted from Collaboration. Those of us committed to combatting climate change have no patience for companies that are ‘part of the problem’; but we should embrace anyone that is truly committed to being part of the solution. We’re all on the same team — and we will stand or fall together.

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Beyond Data: How Financial Firms Can Build a Sustainable Future

Cross-Posted from Finance & Investment. Disclosure and data certainly are important, but they are not sufficient to create a more equitable and sustainable world. Companies that take a narrow or compliance-focused approach to ESG are missing the forest for the trees.

Net Zero: 4 Signs We’re on the Verge of a Systems Change

Cross-Posted from 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.

Carbon Footprint Measurement and Challenges: A Case Study

Cross-Posted from The Next Economy. Cuningham was commissioned to estimate GHG emissions for a company with $6.6B in annual sales and operations in 14 states, with 305 locations comprising more than 4M square feet. Companies’ real work begins when their GHGs are known and they can decide how to respond to newfound knowledge about their impacts.

Trending: Baby Steps on Eliminating Transport Emissions Still Leave Big Carbon Footprint

Wednesday was Transport Day at COP26; and promising corporate and government pledges came together from airlines, automakers and the shipping industry. But the question remains: Are we doing enough, fast enough?

Roots of Change: How Fairtrade Is Unlocking Climate Resilience, Fairer Incomes for Cocoa Farmers

Cross-Posted from Supply Chain. In a recent webinar, representatives from throughout the Fairtrade ecosystem, along with partners Lidl and Tony’s Chocolonely, discussed how the NGO and its partner brands are working to finally make cocoa farming sustainable for producers.

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3 Key Drivers for the Regenerative Leadership We Need

Cross-Posted from Leadership. At SB’21 San Diego, leaders from a variety of industries and disciplines seemed to agree on three key drivers necessary for the regenerative leadership our world needs.

Consent and the Climate Crisis: How Learnings From #MeToo Can Reframe the Conversation

If #MeToo has taught us anything, it’s that the privileged cannot ultimately succeed if others suffer as a result. So, too, humanity cannot thrive if nature, future generations and the less privileged have no voice in the decisions we make.

COP 2030 Deforestation Commitment: More Hot Air or Game-Changer for our Planet?

One of the most noteworthy pledges to come out of COP26 so far sees over 100 governments, responsible for 86 percent of the world’s forests, committing to end deforestation by 2030. Now, we must immediately take this lofty vision and make it a reality.

A Smoke-Free, Carbon-Neutral Future: PMI’s Plan to Accelerate Climate Goals While Transforming Its Business

By disclosing our Low-Carbon Transition Plan, we encourage investors and other stakeholders to evaluate whether our company is on the right path, give us feedback, and have an open dialogue with us. I am confident our actions will speak louder than our words.

VF Corp Shows How Science-Based Targets Can Help Measure True Progress on Sustainability

Setting climate targets is one thing, but achieving them has often proven a challenge. According to VF Corp’s VP of Global Sustainability, Jeannie Renne-Malone, part of the reason for the company’s success was due to making sustainability a company-wide effort rather than a niche project.

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