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November 14, 2016 |
SUPPLY CHAIN
Target Launches ‘Big and Tough’ Sustainable Sourcing, Worker Wellbeing Goals |
Today, Target announced the launch of its 2020 sustainability goals, focused on reaching new levels of transparency and sustainable sourcing. The goals center around three key commitments: Elevating workers’ wellbeing, through initiatives to promote greater access to nutrition and health screening; achieving net-positive manufacturing; and deriving raw materials, such as cotton, from ethical sources.
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BEHAVIOR CHANGE
COPtimism: 5 Reasons to Be Optimistic About Our Future Climate |
We’re already feeling the effects of climate change, and they aren’t going to go away. But amidst the flood of grim news, we’re seeing more reasons to feel optimistic. Worldwide, companies, governments, NGOs, people and communities are taking significant actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. While a future of catastrophic impacts cannot be downplayed, there are encouraging signs of cooperation, collaboration, and growing understanding of the urgency to address climate change.
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NEW METRICS
With King IV, Multicapitalism Goes Mainstream |
Last week, the Institute of Directors South Africa (IoDSA) released the King IV Report on Corporate Governance, the long-awaited update to King III, published in 2009. As most readers here will know, South Africa has been a leader in corporate sustainability reporting, having mandated such reporting for listed companies since early 2010. Now comes the IoDSA once again, this time with King IV, in which it more or less ratifies, or seals the deal, on the establishment of what I and many others are referring to as multicapitalism.
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CLEANTECH
Trump Can’t Stop the Clean Economy |
Yes, if Trump follows through on what he said he would do on energy and climate? —? lots of support for fossil fuels on the former, nothing or worse on the latter? —? it could have a devastating impact on global political progress on climate change. The U.S. may pull out of the Paris accords, leaving the rest of the world holding the bag. But even if that happens, it won’t stop the clean economy for two big reasons.
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NEW METRICS
HBR’s Top Performing CEOs: Financial Results and Sustainability — A Complex Relationship |
The Harvard Business Review (HBR) recently published its 2016 list of the world’s top 100 CEOs. HBR has been publishing this list since 2010 and CEOs apparently intently study their “rank” and any year-to-year changes. The list originally included only measures of financial return. In 2015, HBR started including ESG performance, such as those CSRHub gathers and reports. Is there a connection between a CEO’s financial performance measure and the corporate social responsibility (CSR) or ESG performance of the CEO’s company?
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| CPG Giants, NGOs, Traders Agree on Unifying Definition of ‘No Deforestation’ Palm Oil |
After a year of intensive work, the High Carbon Stock (HCS) Convergence Working Group announced in Bangkok today that they have reached agreement on a single, coherent set of rules for implementation of companies’ commitments to “no deforestation” in their palm oil operations and supply chains. The members of the Group — which includes palm oil traders, consumer packaged goods companies and NGOs — worked together to develop recommendations that provide a roadmap forward for addressing the issues that remain in an integrated and collaborative way.
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NEW METRICS
Planetary Boundaries and Social Thresholds — The Importance of Geography |
As COP22 kicks off in Marrakech, Morocco, it marks the latest attempt to ensure we live within our planetary boundaries for climate change. The next year will see a series of international conferences seeking to address other planetary boundaries and social thresholds. The location of these convenings is important: Global sustainability challenges require global solutions, but geography is also important in understanding the context to different sustainability challenges facing our planet.
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BUSINESS MODELS
Not Buying It: Fast Fashion, Lies & Sustainability |
Fast fashion has followed a trend similar to the fast food chains that inspired its name — explosive growth, massive popularity, and then consumer skepticism. Turns out that having access to clothes en masse mere days after the latest runway shows requires production practices that aren’t healthy for societies or our planet. Just like factory farming and consuming Whoppers and fries consistently isn’t healthy or sustainable, inexpensive clothing meant to be worn once or twice and constantly replaced isn’t much better for us. Even McKinsey says so. In 2004, we had Supersize Me; in 2015, we got The True Cost. Are we seeing the beginning of a shift away from fast fashion? Will apparel brands more akin to Chipotle start gaining real traction?
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