The opening plenary session at SB ’15 London introduced attendees to this year’s theme, HOW NOW?
Sustainable Brands founder Koann Skrzyniarz commented that when Sustainable Brands started 10 years ago, its mission was to help those working in sustainability be more than ‘just a cost-centre.’ Today, Sustainable Brands chairs the largest global community of change-makers who are reshaping the future of commerce worldwide, and the conversation has come a long way — in fact it’s not about talking anymore, rather how to activate the momentum of sustainable business, now.
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highlights!“Today, all evidence is to the contrary,” she asserted. “The conversation is now about how brands can and already are part of the solution. Brands are driving innovation and development to address some of our most dire issues. Brands are uniquely positioned to influence the future and have the potential to shift societal norms.”
She raised the example of mega-brands such as Unilever, which is proving that sustainable business thinking is a key driver of growth, cost efficiency and resilience. The momentum is there to build on; now it’s about activating that momentum, whether through large corporates or social entrepreneurs, by bringing faith communities together under the common mission of sustainability and the new tools and ideas coming online every day.
Next, world-class adventurer and entrepreneur Albert Bosch Riera closed the opening-night session by reminding us that while the journey is full of failures and non-starters, without those we would not see the successes. In fact, Bosch Riera shared how his life as an extreme athlete and explorer led him from being a self-proclaimed “Ego-Adventurer” to an “Eco-Adventurer,” recognising the need to align his passion with a purpose — namely, to do his part to protect the environment — and urged business to find similar alignment and authenticity in their efforts in order to find success.
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Published Nov 17, 2015 5am EST / 2am PST / 10am GMT / 11am CET