Under the EU’s GDPR there is this idea of privacy by design and default. Maybe there is an ESG equivalent— ESG by design. It means building ESG considerations into a new product or service or process at the outset. So ESG is there at the foundations. I like that idea, but let’s run with the construction analogy.
When building a house you need to build the foundations first — so that is the analogy with ESG by Design. But before you build the foundations you need to find your builders, so returning to ESG — creating your experts, assigning ownership. But before you do that you need planning permission and before that a plan — you need an architect. But before even that you need to know what and why. What is the purpose of this house? It is for a family of five, or a single person, or maybe a hotel? It is all obvious of course, but I think maybe we need to start with an analogy like that when asking the question how do you get started with ESG?
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Petter Binde is the founder of Binde International Management Sàrl, based in Geneva, which does consulting and advisory work in strategy, digital and ESG as well as turnaround, interim and change management. He is the author of the recently published book
“ESG Sprint - 7 steps to get your business quickly on track for a sustainable future”. He has broad international management experience and has successfully led a number of strategic change processes incl turnarounds, restructuring, M&A, performance improvement, customer experience, digital and technology implementation. He has management and board experience from many countries incl Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, UK, USA, Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, Turkey, India, Australia and New Zealand
Robin has combined his love for nature with entrepreneurship and sustainability consultant, includes an adventure travel and retail business, launching a responsible fashion brand, coaching more than 100 businesses in sustainability reporting, and creating the world’s highest and hardest hiking route, the Great Himalaya Trail.
He has written 6 books, including the soon to be launched ESG Reporting Manual, makes maps of the Himalaya for fun.
Matthew Sekol is a Sustainability Global Black Belt at Microsoft, working on the commercial side of the topic. He’s very active on LinkedIn and has written a book called “ESG Mindset,” which is a primer for organizations to help them mainstream the topic.
Matthew answers — 2 minutes
Paul is the founder of The Blended Capital Group
He is also the Special Advisor, Mishcon Impact, Mishcon decReya LLP
In 2004 he coined ESG And in 2006 he delivered The UN Principles of Responsible Investment.
The EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive entered into force on January 6th this year, and some countries uphold it with rigour.
This article tells more, What CEOs need to know about CSRD in France?
The article states: “According to the law, corporate directors may be compelled to pay fines of up to €75,000 and face imprisonment for up to five years if they fail to provide essential information for external auditors to validate their CSRD-compliant reports or if they obstruct the auditors’ work.”
So that’s possible jail for failing to comply.
And yet, in some parts of the United States, if you start worrying about corporate sustainability, you get accused of being woke, and people like Florida Governor Ron de Santis actively discourage ESG.
A guru on small business businesses, Guy Rigby, once had this advice for a CEO wanting to avoid being disrupted; “If it isn’t broken, break it and “cannibalise or be eaten.”
Martin Booth, Tanya Popeau, Ellen Williams and Cal Burlock give their key messages for the CEO on ESG — The House of Candour matters greatly.
Here, Tanya Popeau talks about three types of leaders: visionary, action-orientated and blockbuster.
Ellen Williams talks about a disconnect between the CEO and ESG.
Ellen Williams discusses the disconnect between ESG and the CEO
As a CEO herself of a small business, Ellen Williams tries to practice what she preaches
According to a survey from KPMG, KPMG The Majority of US CEOs Expect Significant Returns from Sustainability Investments Within 3-5 Years
Ellen Williams discusses this.
This piece in PR Week says that 75% of CEOs don’t feel equipped to lead firms through major changes such as AI and ESG. Tanya Popeau discusses what CEOs can do when no one knows the long-term implications of disruptive technologies such as AI, ESG, and climate change.
This article from Fortune asks the question: “How CEOs and leaders can ‘stand their ground’ and resist the backlash on diversity, inclusion, and ESG?” Here, Cal Burlock gives his thoughts: “There is no neutral position on ESG,” he says, “you are either going forward or backwards.”
In this seven-minute interview, Martin Welsh, the CEO of an engineering services company, discusses his and the company’s ESG journey:
Topics —
• As an engineering company, has it been especially challenging to move towards sustainability? Key takeaway: “The sustainability and business challenges are totally aligned.”
• How is sustainability impacting your business?
• Sustainability can be viewed as a risk or opportunity — key takeaway: “Sustainability is going to be used as a measurement method, and you need to be on board now.”
• Have you had to change your leadership style to incorporate sustainability practices into your business?” Key takeaway “We changed the way we engage with staff, bringing in the five Ps of purpose — people, planet, profit, place and product…” and “the concept that the best ideas come from the board room is long gone.”
• Is there a leadership style that is more suited to present times?” Key takeaway: “You would lose a lot of staff if businesses were managed the same way they were 15 to 20 years ago.”
• What challenges have you faced in embedding sustainability into your business?
• Do you find that staff like being part of a purpose-driven organisation, especially younger ones? Key takeaway — “the conversations we are having with staff are entirely different even compared to five or so years ago.”
• What do you think the future holds for sustainability in business?
How, is sustainability impacting your business?
Have you had to change your leadership style to incorporate sustainability into your business?
Tanya Popeau
Tanya is the Director of Synthesis - her expertise lies in innovation and sustainability. She has worked with the world’s leading corporates, non-profits, government agencies and academic institutions, to design breakthrough innovations to global challenges. Her clients have included Unilever, the United Nations, the UK government, UCL and the University of Chicago. She has worked globally in Africa, Asia, the US and the UK.
Her projects have covered a range of sustainability issues, including urban poverty, energy efficiency, social cohesion, sustainable development and education.
Tanya was also a consultant and advisor to the United Nations. She worked for the UN’s largest agency and was at the forefront of their shift to a strategic focus on innovation. She implemented this new approach across 15 countries in the Asia-Pacific, overseeing the development of the first-ever innovation fund in the region. She was the lead consultant on the fund, which generated projects which tackled challenges from natural disasters to women’s economic empowerment.
She is often asked to guest lecture on innovation & sustainability and has delivered sessions at UCL, Warwick Business School and the University of Chicago. She has recently joined the academic faculty at the University of Exeter, where she teaches the module ‘Tackling Global Challenges’. (Which seems like an interesting course.)
Tanya studied at Cambridge University and Kings College London. Her studies have focused on innovating to solve complex global challenges and using new emerging technologies to bring about positive social impact.
Ellen Williams
Ellen Williams is a sustainability professional turned CEO, helping businesses successfully complete their strategic initiatives.
Cal Burlock
Cal is the Founder and CEO of DRIVEN Systems dba STEMreps. Cal Burlock is a technology executive, scientist, and eucator with years of expertise in medical diagnostics, cancer, genomics, proteomics, K-12/ /Adult education, logistics, IT/telecommunications, and more! Cal Burlock has been at the forefront of the tech, education, and commercial revolutions of the last 30 years. So many exciting advances spawned by the internet and information transfer, the mapping of the human genome, gene editing, distance learning techniques, LEAN systems and several other game-changing technologies have demanded a new approach to working and creating products for worldwide markets. We aim to impart this wealth of knowledge and experience to others and promote integrity, innovation, investigation, and ingenuity to a widespread market!
Martin Welsh
Martin Welsh, the CEO of Booth Welsh, an engineering services business which employs around 300 people:
