What’s the biggest trend you’ve seen so far this year?
One big thing we’re seeing across the board is clients working more closely with their legal and risk teams. This has brought about a new way of working for sustainability folks… including extended timelines and more cautious communications.
What are your thoughts about the backlash we’ve seen with the term ESG?
If the term ESG is a deterrent we can simply call it by another name. Understanding where risks and opportunities lie within your operations, workforce, supply chain, and customer base, are all very valid strategic business conversations to have. And that's at the heart of what sustainability and ESG are doing — and are meant to do — at your company. From my perspective, we can call it business risk planning. We don't have to call it ESG.
What should sustainability professionals be considering as they are planning for the upcoming year?
If you haven't started your carbon footprint yet, plan to start it. I know it can be a daunting task. If you've never done it before, take those first steps. Having this data and analysis is also a very important strategic tool for your leadership team and your board to understand where along your value chain your risks and opportunities lie.
Sustainability professionals also need to begin understanding where your value chain intersects with biodiversity loss. The two issues (biodiversity loss and GHG emissions) are really siblings. They're interconnected, they're inextricably linked. And as you're collecting data for one, it's often the same data that you need to analyze the other.
What is helping you maintain a sense of optimism while doing this work?
Ultimately, I am fueled by the exciting things I see — the people coming into this field. I hear from and speak with experienced professionals on a weekly basis who have said, ‘You know what, I'm going to set aside this 20 years of experience that I've got in marketing, or in purchasing, and I'm going to reinvest myself and my education and enter the sustainability and climate field.’
There are so many people who are doing that right now. I love speaking with them, and I love that we've got so much positive energy with so many people understanding that we need all hands on deck. People who are just excited and see the potential for what we can do as a society to truly create a sustainable economic model.
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