Impact Measurement & Valuation
Three Steps to Develop a Strong Climate Strategy
Companies are facing immense pressure to evolve their business strategy in view of climate change. Indeed, climate-related concerns have increased exponentially in recent years among investors and other stakeholders. Developing a climate strategy entails having a plan to mitigate the company’s impacts on climate change, as well to adapt to the new circumstances arising from climate change. This article outlines the compelling case for having a strong corporate climate strategy in place, and suggests three steps to develop such a strategy together with a downloadable checklist.
Tackling ESG Integration Challenges in the Insurance Industry
An investigation of the 25 largest European insurance companies (in terms of assets) that were eligible for inclusion in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices in 2021 yielded insights into how the insurance industry is integrating ESG issues into strategy. As the largest institutional investor in Europe, with €10 trillion invested in bonds, equity, and other investments, this industry, whose main experience, and business specialty centers on assessing risk, provides a strong case study for how corporates strive to advance on ESG topics.
Accelerating the Race to Zero for Steel, Cement, and Construction
Today, the world emits 50 billion tons of CO2 equivalents of greenhouse gases (GHG) each year. As part of this, so-called "harder-to-abate" industries are responsible for 27% of the global CO2-emissions, being the second largest source of GHG emissions. Materials, steel, cement, aluminium, and chemicals are jointly responsible for almost two-thirds of these emissions. Directly affected by the generated emissions in the harder-to-abate industries is the construction industry, which relies on materials like steel and cement. According to the Global Alliance for Building and Construction, the construction industry emits 38% of global energy related CO2-emissions, with the expectation to grow if no urgent actions towards net-zero targets are implemented.
Discussing and exchanging on the expanding spectrum of impact challenges and opportunities
Co-Creating Impact Summit 2021
The Co-Creating Impact Summit, organized by Novartis, gather experts inside and outside of Novartis to continue the company's work of improving its impact on the society and the planet. The summit will bring together thought-leaders and experts from academia, institutions, business, and the financial markets to discuss the expanding spectrum of impact challenges and opportunities. The all-day virtual event will explore ways of reimagining and resetting capitalism, including impact-based decision-making, impact investing, social impact of access to health care, the integration of financial and sustainability reporting, and the crucial role of leadership.
Traceability: The Path towards More Sustainable Supply Chains
In the improvement of sustainability practices, there is still massive potential in the supply chain. For example, according to CDP, if suppliers to 125 multinationals were to increase their renewable electricity consumption by 20%, over a billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions could be saved: equivalent to the combined emissions of Brazil and Mexico. Nevertheless, only 23% of tier-1 suppliers are engaging on emission reduction activities with their own suppliers. Evidently, business processes such as planning, sourcing, producing, and logistics require restructuring and redesigning. One of the factors that can play a major role on enhancing efficiency and optimization in the supply chain is improving traceability: the ability to track and monitor all steps involved in the development of a finished good, from the procurement stage of raw materials to production, consumption all the way to the disposal of goods.
The Future of Post: Transforming beyond GHG
The postal industry is experiencing a transformational shift, caused by rapid globalization, the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic and the immense growth of e-commerce. Postal companies provide an indispensable service to society each day. However, with home parcel delivery growing by 16.5% in 2020, their impact on society and the environment also increased significantly. Moreover, the UN estimated that more than 70% of the world’s population will live in densely populated areas by 2050. Increasing demand for freight transport will require effectively managing these impacts, to turn them from risks into opportunities.
Register Now for the New ESG Acceleration Webinar Series
Join us for 2021's first instalment of Finch & Beak's ESG Acceleration Webinar series, aimed at speeding up sustainability performance and building resilience in the decade to deliver - especially during these challenging times. In February and March we'll focus on the social aspects of ESG with cases and guest speakers from S&P Global and the postal industry. Join us as we dive deeper into the business case for social impact, Human Resources-related criteria in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index assessment, and the organizational development of ESG.
Focus on making intangible social aspects more concrete and measurable
ESG Acceleration Webinar: The Business Case for Social Impact
During this webinar we'll zoom in on how to get a grip on your company’s social impact, from direct employees to the wider society through impact measurement & valuation. Together with guest speaker Eric Mieras, Managing Director of PRé Sustainability, we're diving into the potential of impact measurement and valuation for business planning and concrete business cases - with a specific focus on the more challenging social side of impact. The approach will be illustrated with findings from European postal industry.
Impact Measurement & Valuation
Impact valuation is a systematic way of measuring the impact of the core activities of a company, to manage risks, optimise costs and seize opportunities, and goes beyond the customary reporting and informing. Finch & Beak has co-developed a framework for impact measurement that can serve as an ESG tool to embed sustainability into vital business activities.
