Sustaining Values

When I was writing my MBA dissertation on Business Strategy and Sustainable Development at Bath University I struggled to find good examples of corporate sustainability reports.  My four years of a modular programme had not touched on sustainability as an issue.  Indeed as an environmental professional in classes made up of executives whose primary interest was the bottome-line (after their pay cheque that is) I felt like I was talking a different language and thinking in a very different way to the carnivores around me.

It is good to read that in the ten years since I graduated (for the third time) that practise has moved on significantly - but it still has a long way to travel:-

||Twenty years ago, there was no Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and no company published sustainability reports. Fast forward 10 years and there were a mere smattering of pioneers. Even five years ago, when I met leaders of some of the world's largest corporations, the level of understanding could be described as mixed at best. Ernst Ligteringen||

The value of nature, natural capital and sustainability has still to make a full impact on economic thinking and resource managment.  The Environment is looked on as a growth asset at best and a constraint to development at worst.  

It is very encouraging to read:- The garden is Southern Utah’s first interactive education site offering information on water conservation, irrigation, native and endangered wildlife species and prehistoric fossils in one location. From behind glass display windows, visitors can observe a variety of live plant and fish species, some of which are endangered and rarely seen in the area.

Sustainable development required fully integrated understanding, apprioceiation and integration of ecosystems,  Landscape scale working is emenging as a tool for both restoration and reinvigoration of ecolgy; human and wild.  

The benchmark has been establsihed by the Time / Goolge interpretation of NASA sateliite imagery.  We must undo and avoid the global destruction of ecological resources that have been the trademark of the last 100 years of growth.

How would UK business schools rank if there was a global table?  The S word was not mentioned in the four years that I studied for an MBA (except by me - the odd environmentalist in the class).

“For more and more manufacturing companies, ecological efficiency is the obvious complement to economic efficiency,” observed Prof. Dr.-Ing. Christoph Herrmann, an executive board member of the Institute for Machine Tools and Production Technology (IWF) at Brunswick University of Applied Science.

“But,” Herrmann continued, “changes towards sustainable production are possible only if the product’s entire lifecycle — from raw material procurement, part manufacture and assembly, actual use, all the way through to final disposal, is taken into due account.”

Lemmie as a sustainability ambassador? - perhaps not.

Even Donald Trump does not always get his way.

Fracking to extract oil reserves from sedementary rokcs is established as a technology in North America.  It is not without vocal opponents who fear for groiund water contamination and seismic damage.

This a very impressive analysis of local election promises and political intentions.  Fracking is a subject that will become a debating point in UK politics and in many other political systems around the world.

Valuing Nature and the true importance of sustainable development to economic stability still lacks a bedrock of evidence henceMalta Environment  Minister Brincat's view that:-

' without factual commitment for a strategy for green economy and a clear action plan on green jobs, no country will be able to concretely strengthen sustainable development.'

'Weighing a pig does not fatten it but it does tell you if you are getting the process right' - Sustainability Reporting is key to rolling out better practice

Global environmental problems require radical economic chage; will the charge come from the business and industries that have the most to loose 

Companies don't walk their talk on sustainability because the words aren't turned into actions at the most important level - people:-

||Speaking at the Sustainability Communications Forum yesterday, Unilever's vice president of HR marketing, communications and sustainability said: "When culture and strategy collide, there is only one winner, every single time, and that is culture." 

McDonald insisted that the reason there had not been sufficient environmental or social progress around the world was because companies often had superficial strategies which were meaningless, if the cultures within organisations were not embedded in sustainability. 

"If we put the same amount of energy and effort [put into drawing up sustainability strategies] into developing and ensuring the cultural aspects are there, we might see a bit more progress," he said.||

When I completed my Bath MBA dissertation on Business Strategy and Sustainable Development in 2003 the world was a simpler place.  Now there is a whole industry and sprawling lexicon of wordage relating to CSR and Sustainability.  Has there really been that much progress?  

|| In addition to the endless discussion around environment, social and governance (ESG) data, green "strategies", responsible investments and the latest reporting standards, we are experiencing a shameless propagation of buzzwords, mindless imitation tactics and the proliferation of self-proclaimed sustainability gurus who, based on no rigorous research or data, claim to know how to transform organisations. ||

Carbon trading allows countries to meet emissions reduction mandates under the Kyoto Protocol, which came into force in 2005

Critics warn that so-called cap-and-trade systems are inefficient and create incentives for polluting industries to continue with business as usual. They also warn that the new systems in the United States are dependent on mechanisms that adversely impact on poor and indigenous communities in developing countries.

In part, the idea is controversial because it allows certain countries to maintain high pollution levels while shifting the burden for greater cuts to other countries. Yet proponents point out that revenues from these markets are being ploughed back into research on renewable energy, increased electricity transmission inefficiency and, in some cases, low-income housing.

'....A successful employee sustainability engagement program is based on a clear strategy, goals and metrics. Its implementation involves three main phases:

• raising awareness, 
• building engagement and 
• maintaining commitment '

Sustainability must move centre stage and be seen to be key to business performance.  It is good to see that there are some thought leaders operating on this premis:-

'A simple example: WLE is developing a paradigm shift which moves from enhancing agricultural productivity while minimizing environmental impacts, to a paradigm where sustainability is the entry point to agricultural development.'

I am delighted that :- 'Whether because of increased student demand or new hiring strategies among employers, business schools are paying greater attention to environmental issues.'

My MBA course in bath 1999-2003 did not cover sustainability at all.  Charities were discussed twice in four years.  Commercially orientated MBA courses have a great deal to learn from new thinking and values based strategies.

Are the three pillars of the classic sustainable development model still relevant?

This is a good analysis of the six new set of goals — thriving lives and livelihoods, food security, water security, clean energy, healthy and productive ecosystems, and governance for sustainable societies

I could not do better than repeat these words from this excellent blog:

Sustainable diets are characterised by low environmental impacts, contributions to food and nutrition security, as well as healthy lives for present and future generations. They respect ecosystems......