Blog

Our linear economy is not sustainable. Many companies realise that they need a strategy to handle waste, but lack clarity on the work needed to develop and achieve their goals. In this blog, we share insights from our upcoming series of guidebooks on waste and circularity to bridge this gap and build momentum for action in your company.

As the volume of sustainability data keeps growing, effective data visualization is crucial to supporting credible decision-making. We spoke with data visualization expert George Gorczynski, founder and Principal Consultant at Vizable Insights, to learn more about how to develop effective sustainability data displays and dashboards.

The effects of the climate crisis on communities and businesses are intensifying, and yet climate adaptation efforts are lagging. This blog post highlights six key resources that help you build a better understanding of climate risk and adaptation and support your company’s efforts to advance climate resilience within your operations, value chains, and in partnership with communities.

Climate mitigation efforts are intensifying, but not quickly enough. This blog highlights key resources that can help you to set and assess net zero goals and positions, accelerate emissions reduction efforts, and approach carbon offsetting with awareness and caution.

Corporate executives and directors play an important role in ensuring the companies they lead take credible climate action. Here are some helpful resources you can share with them.

While companies may understand the long-term goals and high-level ambitions they need to set, they can be reluctant to commit because they don’t have enough clarity on the work and resources that are needed to get there. In this blog, we share insights from our research into process-based interim targets, and how they can help you to bridge the gap, build momentum, and maintain accountability.

Nature is disappearing, putting people and business at risk. In this blog, we explain what you need to know about nature loss, the latest in nature-related expectations and guidance, and how companies are starting to take action to protect and restore nature.

In this blog post we explore the right to a living wage to help you to understand why it is relevant for companies and how you can get started on your living wage journey.

With workforce diversity on the rise, more companies are beginning to realise the importance of a robust EDI program to support an inclusive workplace culture. We share insights from our new EDI Leading Practices Guide and discuss the importance of a fit-for-purpose strategy that suits your unique organisational needs.

With the urgent need to reduce global emissions, rapid decarbonisation of our economy is essential, and the key is collaboration across the value chain. This blog provides practical advice to help companies support their supply chain partners to decarbonise.

In this blog, we explain how to get started on taking credible action on Scope 3 emissions.

Stories are powerful. They can shape your organisation’s culture and its decision-making. Yet, many companies are not sure how to best leverage storytelling for sustainability. We share what we have learned and point you to some of our favourite resources.

Wondering if taking a corporate position on key sustainability issues is worth your organisation's time and effort? This blog post discusses how position statements can be an important avenue for productive debate, work to clarify expectations, and provide accountability for your sustainability commitments.

Thinking about how to undertake a double materiality assessment? In this blog post, we share what we consider to be fundamental criteria for a better approach.

Your company, big or small, is expected to ensure it respects human rights across its operations and business relationships. This blog post explores the six key resources for non-experts to build your understanding and support your company’s human rights journey.

Done well, corporate sustainability materiality assessments should improve the quality and relevance of your disclosures and ideally, clarify where your company needs to take action and inform your core business strategy. Unfortunately, most materiality assessments don’t live up to that promise. In this blog post, we reflect on how we got here and why the materiality assessment process is in desperate need of an overhaul.

How can you make the most of your time with the board? We asked sustainability leaders from our corporate peer group for their advice on effective board engagement.

Scenario planning can be an effective strategic process for understanding risks and opportunities, but what about your company’s impacts on society and the environment? In this blog, we provide five recommendations to help create scenarios in which your company supports sustainable futures by operating within the limits of key systems.

Climate change is already having a significant impact on the environment, on communities, and on economies. To address this crisis, companies must set ambitious and credible climate goals. This blog explores trends we have observed around climate goal setting in 2021-2022.

Whether you call these sustainability steering committees, integration teams, leadership councils, or something else, having an internal, cross-functional group to support your company’s sustainability journey can be invaluable. In this blog, we share best practices and lessons learned for establishing and revitalising steering committees to ensure they are a well-functioning support for the business.

Scenario planning is an effective strategic tool for decision-makers, but it can be challenging to know where to begin. In this blog, we break down Dr. Nardia Haigh’s scenario planning framework into eight straight-forward steps.

Scenario planning is a tool for companies to prepare for the unpredictable impacts of sustainability issues. In this blog, we interview Dr. Nardia Haigh to learn more about how to conduct effective scenario planning.

In the third and final instalment of our blog series on carbon offsets, we offer an alternative to offsetting: insetting your emissions within your own value chain. We highlight how carbon insetting can help you reduce your carbon emissions profile while also supporting your value chain members and advancing climate justice.

This is the second entry in a three-part series about carbon offsets and their viability as a credible solution for reducing emissions. In this instalment, we look at the most common issues with carbon offsets (with a focus on nature-based offsets) and highlight key considerations and actions you can take to better ensure that your offset investments are effective and credible.

The demand for carbon offsets has never been greater, and their legitimacy as an effective tool for stopping climate change has never been more tenuous. This is the first entry in a three-part series that explains carbon offsets and their viability as a credible solution for reducing emissions. In this instalment, we unpack carbon offsets and carbon credits and explain why the market for carbon offsets is growing.

In our conversations with companies around the world, we have heard a common need: How do we build good relations with Indigenous Peoples? This third and final post in our series aims to help bridge this gap. We partnered with Chief Leanne Joe to identify resources that help you understand Indigenous truth-telling, systemic discrimination, and highlight essential business practices that can help you build long-lasting relationships founded on trust and respect.

In our conversations with companies around the world, we have noticed a common refrain: building good relations with Indigenous Peoples is essential, but we aren’t sure how or where to start. This is the second entry in a three-part series that aims to help bridge this gap. In this instalment, we discuss some of the specific actions that your company can take towards embedding an understanding of Indigenous worldviews into how you operate and your approach to building capacity with Indigenous communities.

In our conversations with companies around the world, we have noticed a common refrain: building good relations with Indigenous Peoples is essential, but we aren’t sure how or where to start. This is the first entry in a three-part series that aims to help bridge this gap. In this instalment, we unpack the importance of understanding Indigenous worldviews, taking the time to understand the needs of their Peoples, and acting with deference and sincerity towards building positive and long-lasting relationships in order to advance reconciliation.

In this blog post we delve into the ways that Human Resources teams can support the sustainability objectives of your company by integrating sustainability into every part of the HR life cycle. We include key resources for Human Resources teams to develop and manage an inclusive, sustainability-driven workforce.

As companies globally are increasing their ambition on climate change, you may wonder how to help your company take meaningful action. We have compiled the tools experts are using to help their companies advance a net-zero future.

Advancing climate justice is the responsibility of every company, but it is a complex, multifaceted undertaking, and you may be wondering where to begin. Here are some key actions your company can take right away.

Leading companies recognise the reality of climate change and its effects. In response, they often focus on mitigating emissions. But these efforts are only part of the solution. This blog post discusses the need for companies to participate in a just transition to a net-zero economy.

Systems thinking is a crucial sustainability capability, but companies may face some hard-to-overcome hurdles when implementing a systems thinking approach. This blog post identifies common challenges that companies encounter, and suggestions on how to get unstuck.

Calls are growing for companies to become sustainable and create value for company stakeholders. But is stakeholder capitalism enough to ensure a sustainable future? This blog post explores why it is not.

Systems thinking helps companies to manage disruptive risk, make more informed choices, and limit the impacts of their activities. Yet, many companies are not sure how to best leverage systems thinking for sustainability. This blog post explains why leading companies think in systems and points you to some of our favourite resources.

We are all embedded in a system of production and consumption that reinforces the privileges of a few at the expense of a majority of others and of the planet. Some of us are insiders and have reaped the advantages. This blog post explores what it takes for insiders to become agents of change.

In this blog post, we tackle the idea of social and environmental thresholds and why companies need to consider them when developing their corporate strategy, setting credible sustainability goals, and taking meaningful action.

Many companies choose to invest in their local communities, both as a way of demonstrating their commitment to sustainability and to manage community-related risk. This blog post highlights key resources to help your company make meaningful and strategic contributions in the communities where you operate.

In the rapidly evolving ESG space, many companies aren’t sure where to start. While each company’s sustainability journey will look a bit different, depending on its industry, location(s), value chain, and investors, customers, or partners, there are some common steps that can help any company confidently start down the sustainability path.

Climate change threatens both the future success of businesses and the wellbeing of society. Corporate directors have the opportunity and responsibility to steer their businesses towards supporting climate resilience. To do so, directors must understand climate science, the risks and opportunities for businesses, and the actions needed to respond to them.

To achieve the societal transformation we need, companies must do their part to embed sustainability into their core strategy. And that means focusing on more than shareholder value or even stakeholder value… It means focusing on systems value. We've created a straight-forward five-step process to help companies develop a truly embedded strategy.

The increasing pressure on companies to account for their impacts on the environment and on communities has been hard to miss. And many companies are making an effort to “do good” in the community, but they are often unsure how best to go about it. This blog post helps companies to figure out how they can contribute.

More than ever before, the public has turned its attention to business leaders and said “how are you going to be a part of the solution?” To help companies take a credible position, we have created a straight-forward eight-step approach that will help you to craft a comprehensive yet concise position statement on key issues.

Customers, employees, communities, and even shareholders are demanding meaningful corporate action on sustainability. This blog post lists seven straight-forward questions to help you assess your company’s existing goals, or to consider as you develop your next round of sustainability goals.

Climate change is projected to have significant impacts on economies, the stability of global financial markets, and the companies that operate within them. To address this crisis, companies are recognising they must set strong corporate climate goals. This blog post discusses encouraging and significant developments around climate goal setting in 2020-21.