The sustainability field is often criticised for overcomplicated jargon and too many acronyms. ESG, CSR, CSRD - the list goes on.
In this talk Melanie Vella, from Tides Rising, together with other esteemed colleagues in the field, Roberta Lepre, Weave Consulting, Miles Webber, Baytree Advisors and Steve Cassar, Found Unfound unpack the definitions of ESG, CSR and Philantropy, their evolution and differences.
A few key take aways:
1. Philantropy, CSR, ESG, Sustainability are an evolution of eachother. The focus is on environmental and social impact, the difference is the mechanism and level of involvement.
2. To reach the scale and speed of change we want, we need to focus on systems change. This means addressing change at every level of society, from individual action, corporate responsibility and government and legal implementation.
3. Stakeholder Engagement campaigns: Companies need to create goals and projects that have an impact internally, with employees and through integrated business strategy, and externally with customers, by building public awareness and highlighting more sustainable choices and options.
4. Importance of Communicating your goals, and progress - why?
5. ESG is no longer an option or a strategy reserved for the top 1% of big corporates. It is up to every one of us - as CEOs, C-suite execs to implement these ESG strategies in our businesses, not just because it is good for our planet, but because our business' resilience, relevance and survival relies on it. It's time to recognise the risks and opportunities related to becoming a climate resilient company. And talk openly and transparently about where you are on that journey.
6. We don't need a handful of people doing ESG, Sustainability, impact perfectly. We need millions of people (everyone) doing it imperfectly. Start where you are, test it out. Figure out where you can focus that is aligned with your purpose and what your stakeholders care about - employees, investors and customers - and grow from there. This isn't about finger pointing, this is about all of us trying to figure out how we can contribute and building on that.
