Excerpt from LEAD-WiSE:
With an increasing amount of business beginning to shift their operations to sustainable models, consumer speculation and scepticism has helped uncover greenwashing efforts and recognize the companies truly seeking to combat climate change. For businesses, working towards enacting sustainable solutions should not be seen as a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) requirement, just as an Environmental Societal and Governance (ESG) policy should offer platitudes without action. Companies that are serious about engaging their workforce, portfolio, and their consumers to act on climate issues are promoting “mutual success”, as explains General Electric’s Chief Sustainability Office Roger Martella, “Different companies play different roles, but they are unified in the belief that now is the moment to capitalize on that energy and act.”
Sustainable solutions are easier to implement than many realize. There are opportunities for companies of all sizes to improve their sustainability, efficiency, and societal impact – but the first step, committing to change, is the most difficult. While combining business and politics has often been a complicated path for companies to navigate, failing to adapt to consumer demands and long-term social policy is a far more dangerous stance. However, engaging in activism can lead to a much stronger business model, as companies like Patagonia have demonstrated. The outdoor equipment and sportswear designer has been committed to social and environmental causes since 1985, when it donated 10% of its profits to conservation programs and organizations, before changing it to a yearly 1% donation on all revenue.
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