Regenerative Sustainability was both the title and main focus of
Sustainable Brands’ 2021 Kuala Lumpur
conference, held virtually on
March 23-24 in Malaysia. This is no accident — the global
pandemic has shed a
light on just how much we are impacting the planet, due to the clear
link
between novel infectious diseases, zoonosis, and the destruction of natural
habitats.
“What we are all living through is a set of interrelated symptoms of a deeper
problem that will not go away with discovery of the vaccine,” said KoAnn
Skrzyniarz, Sustainable Brands’ founder and Chief Executive, speaking via
video. “Our common assumption that continued growth in consumption is what is
needed to fuel our shared prosperity ... this belief comes at the cost of the
health and wellness of our planet.”
Participants included leading executives from some of Malaysia’s top companies
including Nestlé Malaysia, VINDA Southeast Asia, IKEA SEA,
Sawit Kinabalu and Media Prima; representatives from civil society
groups working on social and environmental challenges, and allies from across
Asia and the United States.
As we begin to chart a path towards recovery, there is growing consensus that,
going forward, sustainability alone is not enough.
“We’re facing a huge number of risks, and the problem is they are the result of
degenerative systems,” said Dimitar
Vlahov, an Expert Advisor with
Sustainable Brands. “Now we need to not just sustain, as that’s not enough; we
need to
regenerate.”
For brands, regeneration means restoring and renewing systems — whether they be
planetary ecosystems, or the ability of communities to thrive through improved
livelihoods and health. Key to that will be a shift in corporate leadership.
John Izzo, president of Izzo
Associates, began the conference by speaking on the need for regenerative
leadership in organizations — in which leaders are assessed on a broader scope,
beyond quarterly profits.
“For many years to now, leadership has primarily been a linear way of thinking,”
Izzo said. “We must shift from top-down to bottom-up leading. The most important
part of regenerative leadership is the development of common purpose.”
One way for brands to begin to understand the role they can play in enabling
regeneration is by defining their purpose. Siân Wynn-Jones of Hong
Kong-based consulting firm The Purpose
Business shared how purpose is a hot trend in
Asia, and something that customers increasingly see as a prerequisite.
“A successful purpose
statement
demonstrates what is important to your organization, and moves the emphasis from
your products and services to the impact your business has,” Wynn-Jones said.
“It’s no longer a question if something is good for business. The question is —
what is business good for?”
The case for regenerative sustainability as a core business focus is growing
around the world — including in Malaysia. Sharmini Nagulan, Managing
Director of Acacia Blue — a purpose-led strategic
communications and brand consultancy — shared the findings of a survey that
showed clear trends domestically.
“65 percent of consumers believe that brands are able to help them live a
sustainable lifestyle, by supporting and enabling them to be sustainable,”
Nagulan said. They found even higher engagement among Malaysian youth. “The
younger generation is further driving this expectation.”
As an emerging, middle-income country located in the biodiverse tropical
regions, Malaysia will play a key role in determining what regenerative
sustainability means across Southeast Asia. Several presenters at the conference
spoke on the environmental, social and human rights
concerns
facing the country — calling on Asian and global brands to take action on
responsible sourcing, labor rights, and protecting landscapes.
Henry Chan, WWF-Malaysia’s Conservation Director,
spoke about how Malaysia’s growth until now has relied on excessive exploitation
of natural resources, and the conversion of natural habitats into plantations.
At the same time, he sees growing consciousness about sustainable sourcing as a
potential opportunity for Malaysian brands.
“If one person of the emerging Asian middle class wants to buy sustainable
products, it will create a big demand for the products we are producing in
Malaysia,” Chan said.
Another growing concern is human rights. This week saw global brands get called
out
for failing to address forced labor of ethnic
Uyghurs
in China, one of the many issues that Bonnie Nixon — a professor at
UCLA, focusing on sustainable supply chains and modern slavery — spoke
about. She also called for proactive responses, as governments are increasingly
mandating transparency and ethical sourcing.
“We’re seeing that the Netherlands, Australia, Denmark, Germany
and other countries are coming out fairly soon with modern slavery
legislation,”
Nixon said. “Companies need to really map out their supply chain, looking all
the way to raw materials and doing the due diligence.”
One Malaysian company setting out as a trailblazer when it comes to
sustainability is CIMB, one of the country’s largest financial institutions
— which recently made headlines for being the first bank in the region to exit
financing of
coal.
Luanne Sieh, CIMB’s lead for Group Sustainability and Corporate
Responsibility, shared how the company has transformed from within in just a few
years, to one where sustainability and regenerative thinking is central.
“You will only be regenerative when your positive impact is bigger than your
footprint on that particular metric,” Sieh said.
For a country such as Malaysia — long dependent on timber, palm
oil
and gas exports — shifting from extractive to regenerative won’t be easy. But,
as the pandemic shows, the choice is one in which we embrace regeneration and
rebuild our planetary health; or allow pandemics, climate change, and extreme
weather to destroy livelihoods and leave all but the most wealthy worse off.
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Media, Campaign and Research Consultant
Nithin is a freelance writer who focuses on global economic, and environmental issues with an aim at building channels of communication and collaboration around common challenges.
Published Mar 26, 2021 2pm EDT / 11am PDT / 6pm GMT / 7pm CET