Shifts In The Action Plan
Going Digital, Uncomfortable Truths, and Putting Sustainability Back Into The Periodic Table
This is the sixth edition of Honey Drops, a curated view of what’s been happening around the Corporate Sustainability world each week.
As The Ocelli Group takes its name from the bee's ocelli, those remarkable eyes that guide its flight via the sun, I felt it a natural extension for this Corporate Sustainability newsletter to incorporate their nectar’s alchemy: Honey.
Feel free to forward on to anyone you think would benefit from a drop on their toast or a stir in their tea.
3 Thoughts From Me:
Uniting Nations Through Sustainability And Tech
Following the positive feedback on last week’s piece regarding the importance of removing the current silos between Sustainability and Tech, here’s a follow up Action Plan I‘ve since discovered.
Specifically, the Action Plan for a Sustainable Planet in the Digital Age was created by the Coalition for Digital Environmental Sustainability (CODES) as an initiative of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Roadmap for Digital Cooperation.
Published in 2022, it “recognizes that digital innovations have the potential to help mitigate the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, toxic pollution and waste, along with health risks and inequality”, and lays out the three non-negotiable fundamentals required to do so.
As you will see, there are a number of transferable initiatives on this roadmap for Corporate Sustainability in general, and illustrates that many in Tech are also thinking along similar Sustainability lines.
Sounds like a good basis for an ongoing and stronger partnership to me, so use this as you see fit.
The Three Shifts called for in the Action Plan are:
Enable Alignment (Six Enablers);
Mitigate Negative Impacts (Six Problems), and;
Accelerate Innovation (Six Innovations)
They are much easier on the eye via these infographics from the report:
Credit: Action Plan for a Sustainable Planet in the Digital Age
Credit: Action Plan for a Sustainable Planet in the Digital Age
As I’m sure Einstein probably said at some point, “Technical Knowledge and Collaboration FTW!”
Leaders, Here Are 11 Uncomfortable Truths For You To Hear
I enjoy reading Dan Sherrard-Smith’s musings, so I have handed it over to him for this section. Below are the main points, and you can read the longer version by clicking on the sub-header. If you’re going to share it with your Execs, Dan includes his sources of data in his original post:
Customers care about sustainability—and so should you. 80% of consumers prefer brands committed to environmental and social causes.
Sustainability is no longer optional; it’s the baseline for any business.
"Greenwashing" destroys trust faster than it builds profits.
Profit and sustainability are not enemies. Some of the most profitable companies in the world integrate sustainability at their core.
Waste is not just an environmental issue, it's a financial one. Inefficient resource use drains profits and harms the planet.
Your business can't thrive in a collapsing ecosystem. Taking care of the planet means taking care of the future of your business.
Sustainable business isn't just about energy-saving lightbulbs. It’s about rethinking your entire business model.
Sustainable business isn’t just about going green. It’s about growth. When implemented correctly, businesses with sustainability at their core grow faster than their competitors.
The most valuable resource you have is a workforce aligned with your sustainability vision. Employees are more engaged and productive when they believe in the company’s values.
Sustainability is not a marketing trend—it’s your legacy. Businesses that lead the way today will define the future.
Failure to adapt to sustainability pressures will cost you: Inc. fines and loss of investment.
Looking Outside The Usual UK-EU-US Reference Points
It’s funny the things that pop into your feed on LinkedIn from unexpected sources, giving you another data point that this slow-turning Sustainability and ESG oil tanker is accelerating its rotation.
Have a look at this (maybe on your phone so you can perform your own rotation to read it). Which country’s Stock Exchange do you think published this?
Credit: Saudi Exchange
Don’t worry, I didn’t pick Saudi Arabia, either (and you can’t claim being correct if your answer was based on the image credit).
Now, I’m as sensitive to newsletterwashing as the next person, but either the anti-ESG brigade are correct with their claims of a global conspiracy to say one thing publicly yet do nothing about climate change, or the Saudi Kingdom is actually reading the tea leaves and establishing themselves as a financial destination for a global economy where all-things-ESG are table stakes for attracting foreign investment.
Time will tell, and there’s clearly a lot more involved in ESG than on the above chart (human rights can certainly be added under ‘Social’), however Convene’s The State of ESG Reporting in the Middle East from February would indicate it’s on the right track.
Here’s what the CEO of the Saudi Exchange, Mohammed Al-Rumaih, wrote in his Foreword to their ESG Disclosure Guidance in 2021:
“Saudi Exchange is one of the most liquid stock exchanges in the world and ranks among the top 10 largest exchanges globally by market capitalization. The decisions and practices investors and businesses undertake on Saudi Exchange have a direct bearing on the Kingdom’s ability to meet the targets set out in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).”
As well as, “Working with issuers to support their ESG journey’s is fundamental for the advancement of the Saudi capital market. Together, we can harness Saudi Arabia’s financial might and channel it to accelerate inclusive, sustainable growth and support the global effort to realize the SDGs.”
As I said, encouraging news from outside the usual frames of reference.
2 Quotes from Others
Firstly, not so much a quote, however 2degrees’ Periodic Table was shared this week. As it’s from 2015 and therefore pre-AI, you know it must have been someone’s dream task to build this.
I would add “Insurers” to the Stakeholder Group of ‘metals’ on the left-hand side (as they seem to be overlooked often for some reason, despite determining the premiums companies are required to pay based on their climate risk profile, although that’s for another Honey Drops edition), but I think it holds up pretty well:
Secondly, you can grow your revenue, you can grow your profits, but if you do both while integrating ESG initiatives, you’ll come out on top, as per McKinsey’s ‘The Triple Play’ report:
“The analysis shows that companies that achieve better growth and profitability than their peers while improving sustainability and ESG outgrow their peers and exceed them in shareholder returns. These “triple outperformers” delivered 2 percentage points of annual TSR above companies that only outperformed on financial metrics (and 7 percentage points above the rest of the dataset), suggesting that a strong ESG commitment adds additional shareholder value for companies that also exceed their peers in growth and profitability”
1 Thing For You To Ponder
I read this yesterday, from Plato, 2,400 years ago:
“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”
We know the key to effective stakeholder engagement and change management is meeting people where they are, but this was a nice reminder that in order to meet people where they are, empathy is a good place to start. Particularly if they are starting from a place of fear and uncertainty for the future.
Fun fact (and a second thing for you to ponder, really): Plato was born five years after the Acropolis was built.
Credit: Dan Leverington, looking across Athens to the Acropolis
Until next week,
Dan