Engaging Boards of Directors on Sustainability is a Key Success Factor

Boards of directors can play an invaluable role helping a company to inculcate sustainability into their DNA. Because of their unique position, boards of directors are well placed to integrate sustainability into business strategies and practices. This supports both the long-term profitability and the viability of an enterprise.

However, there is a disconnect between what is good for a firm and what they are actually doing. Most boards of directors are not engaged in sustainability even though almost all managers and directors think they should be.

Event - The Sustainability Summit 2017

This Summit will take place on March 23-24, 2017 in London. What does COP21 and the push for greater environmental sustainability mean for business? The Sustainability Summit will bring together key thinkers, policymakers and business leaders, who will deliver strategies, ideas and solutions to decision makers, helping them to turn challenges into new opportunities and prepare for the future.

How Sustainability has Become a Mainstream Phenomenon

Sustainability programs are not just for forward-thinking international conglomerates they are now part of mainstream practices for business both large and small. The data has convincingly made the case that sustainability is good for business and managers are integrating it into their strategies in ever increasing numbers.

There are a number of good reasons why businesses are embracing sustainability. In 2015 sustainability reached a tipping point and in 2016 it has become obvious that sustainability is a 21st-century megatrend. We are even beginning to conceive of a post sustainability world.

Organizations and Individuals Coalesce for Action on Climate Change

There is a powerful synergy building between grassroots activism and those who are working with governments and the private sector. The United Nations, companies, investors, activists, environmental groups and coalitions are coming together to call for action on climate change.

We saw the largest climate protest in human history on September 21, 2014. A total of 2,600 events took place in 166 countries around the world as part of a global call for action on Climate Change. In New York City, the People's Climate Events saw an estimated 400,000 people come together. This involved 1,576 organizations and hundreds of thousands of social media posts. From students to senior citizens, people of every age, ethnicity and ideology were represented at this march. This unprecedented event sent a clear message to leaders at the UN Climate Summit on September 23.

Corporations Go 100% Renewable for Climate Week NYC

During Climate Week NYC, corporations stepped forward with ambitious renewable energy plans. The business leaders that gathered in New York for Climate Week are working to encourage the corporate world to take meaningful action on climate change. As part of a campaign, called RE100, more than a dozen corporations made pledges to derive all of their power from renewable sources of energy in honor of Climate Week NYC.

The RE110 campaign encourages 100 of the world's largest businesses to commit to get all of their power from renewables by 2020. RE100 is convened by The Climate Group in partnership with CDP. RE100 is an action of the WE MEAN BUSINESS coalition.

Event - Responsible Business Forum on Sustainable Development

This event will take place on November 24 - 25, 2014 at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. The Responsible Business Forum on Sustainable Development is subtitled "Building Prosperity through Economic, Social and Natural Capital." It will gather business leaders, NGOs and policy-makers from around the world to share practical solutions for sustainable growth and creating shared value with economic, social and natural capital. Topics discussed will include disruptive innovation, equitable growth, the sustainable supply chain, clean energy access, next-level integrated reporting and harnessing the natural assets of cities.

Video - The Worldwide Charter for Fair International Commerce

The Worldwide Charter for Fair International Commerce is free of charge project that has been developed by the International Businesses Standards Organization (IBSO) to be a code of conduct and a minimal set of universal principles for the international business community. This IBSO's initiative allows for participating organizations to formally proclaim their commitment to promote sustainable and positive business practices with respect to social and environmental values. Every Worldwide Charter for Fair International Commerce signatory have a right to use the Charter Signatory logo on site and in other advertising purposes and being listed in Catalogue on IBSO's official site.

The We Mean Business Coalition: Low Carbon Economics

There are some powerful coalitions that are helping to make the case for a low carbon economy. One of those groups is the newly formed "We Mean Business" group. As they explain, climate change is not only a very serious threat it is a tremendous opportunity. They make the point that the business community is already feeling the impact of climate change and this is destined to get far worse if we continue with business as usual.

They enumerate the impacts of climate change which include damage to facilities, disruption of supply and distribution chains, threats to power supplies and global food and water resources. Climate change contributes to overall uncertainty to the marketplace thus increasing the cost of doing business.

Eleven Business Pledges at the UN Climate Summit

At the UN Climate Summit companies played a leading role through initiatives designed to reduce pollution, conserve forests and combat climate change. While industry is often maligned for contributing to eco-degeneration, these claims are being blunted by new initiatives.

The business community is increasingly engaging in efforts to promote the transition to a low carbon economy, cut emissions, diminish deforestation, reduce pollution, adopt renewable sources of energy, increase the number of electric vehicles, and lower the carbon footprint of rail and aviation.

Here is a summary of 11 pledges made at the UN Climate Summit:

Sign the Sustainability Charter for Businesses and Others

Sustainability is a buzzword that is gaining momentum, but a growing number of organizations are coming forward with practical initiatives to help turn the concept into reality. One such initiative is called the Worldwide Charter for Fair International Commerce (WCFIC). Developed by the IBSO, this global initiative supports international businesses showcasing a particular social and environmental sensibility through following a code of conduct and a set of universal principles; reflecting the core values of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, labor conventions of the International Labor Organization (ILO) and other internationally recognized principles.

Sign the Ceres Climate Declaration

Video - Supporting Green Growth in the Business Community by the Carbon Trust

The Carbon Trust is helping businesses capitalise on the global green economy - worth over £3 trillion worldwide. To find out more click here.

Event - The Responsible Business Summit

The Responsible Business Summit will take place on May 19 - 20, 2014 in London, UK. This is the sustainability event of 2014. It will showcase how businesses are sewing corporate responsibility into the heart of their business strategies. It will also demonstrate how leading companies are evolving their CR strategies.

The event will feature 24 cutting edge industry debates. These independently researched and structured sessions are built around the key issues and opportunities.  The Responsible Business Summit is the meeting place for business professionals looking to learn the latest about corporate responsibility and sustainable business.

Course - Introduction to Financial Models and Metrics for Renewable Energy

This course takes place on 25—26 November 2013, London, UK (Day 1: 09:00 - 17:00 // Day 2: 09:00 – 16.00). It enables participants to learn the basic principles required to read and understand financial statements and performance, and create models to analyse cash flows, business performance and investment returns. 

Course description Aimed specifically at those with limited or no prior exposure to financial statements, this excellent and time effective course demystifies all the key financial terminologies and enables attendees to build simple financial models from the ground up. Learn to speak the language of finance!

The focus is on the aspects of financial modelling of most relevance in renewable and other energy organisations, both in terms of the topics covered and the case studies used to illustrate the taught principles. The course provides an excellent foundation or revision before more advanced financial planning courses, or simply an invaluable introduction to the essentials of finance for those in non-financial job roles.

Webinar: Preparing for 2014: Trends & Best Practices in EH&S Information Management

This complimentary webinar from Environmental Leader and Enablon will take place on Wednesday October 30th, 2013 (8am PT / 10am CT / 11am ET). If you can't make the live event, all those who register will receive a link to the recorded broadcast.

Do you have a corporate environmental, health and safety (EH&S) program that is able to cope with the upcoming 2014 EH&S challenges? Do you have the right tools and processes in place? How should you take advantage of the tools and technologies available to make better, smarter decisions?

Increasingly, organizations are looking to empower their EH&S program to make better decisions by creating a line of sight within the corporate environment to break down information, data and human capital silos to drive performance. To accomplish keener goals and to support your EH&S initiatives, more and more practitioners are relying on information systems to drive these decisions.

Event - Trends and Opportunities in Risk Management

Tradinfo and Fair Impact will organise the 3rd Responsible Investment Corporate Access Conference, on the 5th of July 2013 in Zurich at Convention Point.

Platform for the financial community

The conference represents a unique occasion for listed companies, investors and Responsible Investment (RI) experts to discuss the latest hot-button issues in Risk Management and profitable business cases.

Best Practices in Sustainability: Employee Engagement and Reporting

It is widely understood that adopting best practices in sustainability can offer a significant competitive advantage. There is ample incentive to get on board. In 2012, sales of sustainable goods and services reached $1 trillion globally and in 2013, it may double to reach $2 trillion. As early as 2017, the sustainable economy could be worth $10 trillion in annual global revenue.

Almost three out of four Americans now believe that climate change is real and they want companies to do something about it. The implementation of best practice campaigns can help companies to respond to consumer demand and capitalize on the rapidly growing sustainability market.

Report - Corporate Sustainability Reporting Budgets And Priorities

Sustainability reporting is an important pillar of corporate sustainability programmes and firms seek to communicate progress and meet stakeholders’ demands for sustainability disclosure. This report helps executives in sustainability, marketing and communications roles and firms selling into these functions, to understand where responsibility and budgets lie for corporate sustainability reporting activities.

Verdantix spoke to 250 sustainability leaders in 13 countries across 21 industries. This report delves into responsibility, budgets and priorities with regard to corporate sustainability reporting and segments data by industry and region.

Click here to register for access to this report.

Webinar - Why GRI G4 Will Trigger New Directions In Sustainability Reporting

The complimentary one hour webinar "Why GRI G4 Will Trigger New Directions In Sustainability Reporting" will take place on Thursday, May 30, 2013 at 4:00 pm GMT (11:00 am Eastern Daylight Time).  In May 2013, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) launches the G4 guidance for voluntary sustainability reporting – the first full update in the framework used for seven years by more than 5,000 firms. At the same time stock exchanges around the world are implementing guidelines agreed at Rio+20, a handful of governments have imposed new mandatory GHG and LCA reporting rules, and the accounting profession continues to push the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) as well as the more recently launched Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB).

Faced with this flurry of activity, what are the new best practices for sustainability reporting? How should heads of sustainability link mandatory reporting, voluntary frameworks and financial reporting?

Event - The Corporate Water-Risk Management Program

The Water Professional Path event will take place on Feb. 5-6, 2013 in Toronto, ON. This program from HRCarbon is designed to provide an expert-level foundation to corporate and institutional practitioners to measure, mitigate and adapt to water risk.