Sustainable Brands
Materiality Activation in the European Fashion Industry
As the need for increased focus on human rights issues and responsible supply chain management grows across industries, the upcoming EU Directive on corporate sustainable due diligence, published in 2022, will require organizations to provide consumers with more transparency when purchasing goods. This article elaborates on the implications for European companies, considers the environmental and social concerns that the fashion industry is facing, highlights inspiring progress by sustainable pioneers in the sector and then makes the case for human rights and supply chain management as foundational materiality topics and crucial elements for ESG acceleration. The downloadable checklist for materiality activation gives three tips to help your organization determine material issues.
Accelerating Sustainability: Finch & Beak Joins SLR Consulting
To accelerate sustainability at an even faster pace, Finch & Beak has officially joined SLR Consulting as of 18 March 2022. Both companies have, for the past 25 years, helped clients to achieve their sustainability goals. By combining the ESG industry experience that Finch & Beak has with the experience SLR has as a global leader in environmental and advisory solutions we will be able to expand both of our companies’ work into new markets.
Telenet's Stakeholder-Driven Solution for Internet in Covid Times
As the world faced the global pandemic, our working and learning models were transformed, turning ourselves toward the telecommunication industry to ask for new digital solutions and reliable internet connections. At the same time, the digital gap became more apparent, leaving those who can’t afford internet access in a vulnerable position. Building on its adaptability and resilience during the early months of the Covid crisis, Telenet further strengthened its commitment to society and offered a new service to bridge the digital divide.
Positive Impact Through Meaningful Partnering
In a fast-changing world with increasing internal and external risk, companies need to find smart solutions to achieve their sustainability objectives. Building strong partnerships with external stakeholders can help companies increase their positive impact as well as gaining a competitive advantage. This article sheds light on the partnership between Accor and the food waste reduction start-up Too Good To Go, highlighting both organizations’ objectives and partnership’s benefits.
Lessons from DSM’s Winning Sustainability Strategy
The roots of global specialty chemicals company Royal DSM are as a Dutch state-owned coal mining company that started in 1902. The company’s future, however, is far removed from its past. DSM’s Strategy 2021 describes how the company plans to drive above-market growth through developing innovative solutions addressing Nutrition & Health, Climate & Energy and Resources & Circularity, together with increased customer-centricity and large innovation projects. In this article, DSM’s approach is decomposed by looking at the elements of its sustainability strategy, and we provide tips how to replicate this.
Materiality Matrix in Focus
Analysts are better able to assess fundamental risk and reflect it in stock prices when corporate disclosures are specific and avoid vague, abstract language. However, according to SASB’s State of Disclosure Report, companies used vague and non-specific language more than 50% of the time across ESG topics. Sustainability leaders such as DSM, Unilever and Barry Callebaut demonstrate that a focused materiality approach that is strongly allied to the company’s Enterprise Risk Management and aligned with its business strategy leads to better results, both for society and for shareholders. With only an approximated 30% of companies actually combining their materiality assessment with their Enterprise Risk Mapping, “StratESGy”, i.e. the alignment of business strategy with ESG factors, is still in its infancy.
Winning Sustainability Strategies: Free Downloads
Co-authored by Jan van der Kaaij, Managing Partner at Finch & Beak, and Benoit Leleux, Stephan Schmidheiny Professor of Entrepreneurship and Finance at business school IMD, Winning Sustainability Strategies (Palgrave, 2019) is a book that offers practical suggestions for improved effectiveness of sustainability strategies based upon practitioner cases and data analysis from the Dow Jones Sustainability Index.
Value Proposition Design for the Circular Economy: Adidas & Parley
Born as a spin-off of the Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik founded in 1924, the world’s second largest sportswear manufacturer needs no introduction. Throughout the decades, the Adidas brand has become synonymous with top athletic performance as well as iconic, personal style with its Adidas Originals line. How does the almost 100 year old company stay fresh? One way is through innovating for a sustainable future.
How Interface Makes the Circular Economy Come to Life
As one of the world’s sustainable business pioneers, Interface knows what it’s like to change a company’s strategy from a traditional approach towards a focus on sustainability without sacrificing business goals. In the mid 1990’s, the company pivoted away from the traditional industrial model of modular carpet production towards a business model focused on sustainability. By 2017, Interface focuses on innovation in circular business models by closing the loops in its business operations. High time to take a closer look.
