Page 36 – Sustainability Academy

The Centre for Sustainability and Excellence (CSE) in collaboration with the Institute for Business and Professional Ethics (IBPE) at DePaul University have designed a timely course on “How to Create a B-Corporation and Gain a Competitive Advantage”.

A Benefit Corporation is a type of for-profit corporate entity, authorized by 30 US States and the District of Columbia, which includes positive impact to society, workers, community and environment, in addition to profit. Incorporating as a benefit corporation legally protects an enterprise’s social goals by mandating considerations other than just profit. By giving the directors the secured legal protection necessary to consider the interest of all stakeholders, benefit corporations can help meet the needs of businesses helping solve social and environmental challenges.

There are many impetus to becoming a B-Corporation. The demand for corporate accountability is at an all-time high. Socially responsible and impact investing are growing in market share, with $8.7 trillion in assets under management in the US. Even so, companies are often pressured for quick returns by investors. B-Corporations provide insulation against pressure from short-sighted investors.

Benefit corporations differ from traditional corporations in purpose, accountability and transparency but not in taxation. The rules of how to use a b-corporation standing, when to do so and how to leverage the advantages are not always clear. CSE and IBPE combine research and experience to share:

Practical benefits of B-Corporations
Why investors like benefit corporations
How Corporate Responsibility gives companies competitive advantage
How to integrate Corporate Responsibility to a company’s culture and strategy
Differences between a certified B Corp. and a benefit corporation

The course will be led by Nikos Avlonas, founder and President of the Centre for Sustainability & Excellence (CSE) a global sustainability strategic advisory and training firm with activities in North America, Europe, MENA and Asia. Nikos has been distinguished as one of the “Top 100 Thought Leaders in Trustworthy Business Behavior” by Trust Across America, an organization dedicated to promoting trustworthy business behavior. In 2017, he has been recognized as a Sustainability Professional of the Year by PR News.

The course is informed by the work of IBPE, founded in 1985 as a joint effort of the College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences and Driehaus College of Business at DePaul University. IBPE promotes ethical deliberation by decision-makers by stirring their moral conscience, encouraging moral imagination, and stimulating research into business innovation and practices. It is a forum for exploring and fostering ethical practices in Chicago-area business organizations at DePaul University with programs for students, faculty and the business community.

There is limited space in the course. You can register at bcorps-how-to.eventbrite.com.

Fri, March 31, 2017; 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM CDT

1871 – Technology and Entrepreneur Center

theMART, 222 W Merchandise Mart Plaza, #1212

Chicago, IL 60654

Why do we need Benefit Corporations?

Since the dawn of the new century, the world has been struggling to alleviate the severe consequences of the environmental degradation, the global financial crisis and public discontent. The awareness that the current economy model is not sustainable has led to the inception of a new alternative business model called the Benefit Corporation.

This new promising alternative is galloping to replace the current profits-über-alles model. The benefit corporation has already been authorized as a type of for profit corporate entity by thirty U.S. states and by Italy that is the first European country that makes this legal status available on its entire territory.

The purpose of a benefit corporation is to redirect a profit driven operation mode of the business enterprise to a general public benefit operation mode that makes positive impact on both society and environment. A benefit corporation model regards the stakeholders’ interest as the one of paramount importance for its long run success and its aim is to forge the trustful and long lasting relationships with its stakeholders.

How do Benefit Corporations affect the market?

The neoliberal financial market model has started to decay after the global financial crisis hit the world in 2008. The race for profit maximization at the expense of environmental and social good has proved to be unsustainable and unbalanced.

A new type of for-benefit organization-a benefit corporation-can be the new engine of reformed capitalism that will balance environmental, social, and economic performance. The radical change in the way that capital markets work is fundamental tool to address current most pressing issues that can endanger the future of humanity.

It is more than obvious that the recovery of economy and capital markets cannot occur without a crucial change in organizational structure of for-profits organizations.

The benefit corporations along with the implementation of CSR in the existing for-profit organizations can aid the evolvement of the current global market and bring the whole world to take the right path towards prosperity.

The Centre for Sustainability and Excellence (CSE) president and founder, Nikos Avlonas is being recognized for his leadership in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Avlonas is a finalist for PR News CSR Professional of the Year. Winners demonstrate best practices in the CSR arena, outstanding communications efforts powering important sectors of PR: corporate social responsibility and green initiatives, and nonprofit communications. The awards will be presented during the PR News Spring Awards Luncheon on March 22, 2017, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

According to the PR News, “finalists set new standards of excellence and point the way for other organizations to follow.”

Others may be new to CSR, but Avlonas has been a pioneer for over 15 years. Before starting CSE, he was Scientific Advisor to the European Foundation for Quality Management, focused on Business Excellence and CSR. As a project leader he helped develop a CSR Framework and tools supported by the UN Global Compact.

“Education is the most powerful tool you can use to make a positive impact on our planet,” says Avlonas. He has grown CSE into a premier global Sustainability Strategic Advisory and Training organization, completing projects for Fortune Global 500 Companies such as BP, Nestle, Heineken Group, DHL, Under Armor, the European Investment Bank, Government of Dubai and the Lloyds Banking Group. His has trained and coached executives from NASA, Walmart, Word Bank and Coca Cola.

Looking forward, Avlonas created the Sustainability Academy and it’s initiative to train 100,000 sustainability practitioners by 2020! The Sustainability Academy offers affordable, specialized online education. Certified courses include the Online Diploma on Corporate Sustainability, helping create a critical mass of practitioners across fields, disciplines and throughout organizations. Instilling a common language and understanding helps integrate sustainability in all aspects of corporate and institutional functions – whether existing programs or business development. Avlonas envisions deep change, enabling corporations, municipal and community organizations to apply principles such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Congratulations, Nikos Avlonas, for recognition of years of service and leadership. Thank you for being a visionary and a CSR Professional of the Year!

Sustainability definitely is the new “black”. Companies across the whole world start to realize that they must extend the reach of their sustainability and corporate responsibility plans and come closer to environmental, economic, and social terms. Planet Earth must be protected in any way.

The uncertain legislative and regulatory environment, however, suggests the opportunity for closer integration of sustainability programs with a corporation’s public affairs activities. Public affairs couldn’t be the missing part of all this process because they can actually find the way to support this global vision.

Not only big companies but also small ones must tell their environmental story in order to enhance its reputation with customers, employees, and investors. That’s why public affairs should take part to this and help them to make a step forward.

Issues such as food security and a warming planet need people and organizations with very different interests to be persuaded to act for the common good.

“What if public relations’ role was not about managing reputation or winning favor for past acts of philanthropy but engendering positive future change and accelerating progress on key sustainability issues?” As the guardian says this is where public relations may have a more dynamic role; as an agent for change rather than to gloss up reputations.

So, as far as we can see, public relations will totally participate in sustainability’s area during the upcoming years.

During a webinar featuring research from CSE on sustainability practices in Silicon Valley, attendees indicated a widespread perception that Silicon Valley is strongly in tune with sustainability practices.

We’ve all heard how Millennials are purpose driven, favoring companies which model their values – Silicon Valley is rife with Millennials. It’s the home of start-ups, young companies situated to take advantage of IoT and other sustainability technologies. And, of course, with social media, viral videos, blogging, eye-catching websites, producing CSR reports must be second nature.

Over 78% of the Global Fortune 500 produce a sustainability report (many receiving instruction from us!); 61% when looking only at the Fortune 100. So, Silicon Valley companies should be in that 60-80% range.

Yet, only 29% in our study produced a sustainability report. Low emphasis on reporting could be due to a lack of resources – time, budget, mandate. Perhaps Silicon Valley culture is still short-sighted. Who worries about sustainability when quarterly returns are due and an exit strategy in place?

What do you think?

One reason given is that they lack the know-how. They are doing admiral work in ESG – 95% claim to focus highly on ethics, 63% on environment, 51% on community and employees. But, when it comes to reporting accomplishments, they need to do more than post a few feel-good bullets on their website.

There is a process to good CSR reporting – accepted practices, ever changing guidelines and regulations. Public Relations is often tasked to spread the message, but without a well-trained and dedicated staff, at best CSR reporting falls to the wayside. While strong CSR reporting can be an effective tool in a company’s public relations arsenal, at worst, it can fall prey to greenwashing.

CSE’s research furthers its commitment to high caliber training in sustainability for corporate executives and sustainability managers worldwide. Our Sustainability Academy offers affordable, online courses providing the foundation for sustainability strategy and reporting. We offer advanced training to improve sustainability organization wide with our Certified Sustainability Practitioner (CSR) Programs: Houston, Feb. 23-24; Toronto, April 5-6; New York, May 25-26.

Branding and reputation are critical for building positive stakeholder relations, whether customers, investors or the global community. Consumers and clients need to ask for transparency via CSR reporting. Every company, Silicon Valley or not, should offer this look into their own progress toward sustainability. Let’s align reality with perception!

Nikos Avlonas

Adjunct Professor Sustainability, DePaul University (Chicago)

Founder and President CSE

Over the last few years we’ve seen sustainability climb the corporate ladder, to the point where many companies have put it at the heart of their business strategy.

Here are several corporate sustainability trends to watch out for in 2017:

Climate Change and Paris Agreement COP21 and next steps

However without US approval the agreement can not been valid . Donald Trump has both promised to withdraw from US commitments and said he’ll keep an “open mind”. Key appointees could dismantle legislative, regulatory and physical infrastructure conducive to COP21. Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson, ExxonMobil CEO, has controversial views toward climate change, as does EPA nominee Scott Pruitt, with stated preference for state’s authority. The Good news are that already the US payment to the U.N. Green Climate Fund was approved for the second year in a row a few days ago. (The US committed to transferring $3bn to the fund)

The evolution of Sustainability Reporting

As the importance of sustainability continues to rise for companies around the world, demands for accountability are growing stronger. The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has published an analysis paper titled ‘Sustainability and Reporting Trends in 2025: Preparing for the Future’. The paper, which is the first to be published as part of GRI’s 2025 Reporting Project, examines future trends in sustainability and corporate reporting and disclosure. GRI’s Reporting 2025 paper identifies several trends that indicate how disclosure will evolve in the next decade. Some of these trends include:

Companies will be held accountable, more than ever before
Business decision makers will take sustainability issues into account more profoundly
Stakeholders will have more access to data, which will require organizations to align real-time decision-making processes with their communication on issues such as climate change
New data technology will lead to greater transparency with corporate reporting moving fully into the digital realm and occurring in real-time instead of annually. etc

The rise of CFO’s role in sustainability

Historically, Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) were not deeply or directly engaged in sustainability efforts, viewing them as too soft or not in their purview. In a survey conducted by Ernst&Young and GreenBiz Group, 65 % of companies stated their CFO has become involved in sustainability. One key reason for growing CFO involvement is the growing scrutiny of company sustainability issues by equity analysts. The growth of integrated corporate reports, in which sustainability data is reported alongside traditional financial reporting data emerging trend in business, will further engage CFOs in sustainability.

Greenhouse gas reporting will remain strong, with growing interest in water

Climate change has become a strategic concern at many companies, despite a lack of US regulatory requirements to measure, manage or report emissions. According to Water Disclosure Global Report 2014, 76 % of companies publicly report their greenhouse gas emissions; another 16% said they plan to do so within five years.

The report also states that the interest in reporting on water is also on the rise, especially in water-intensive industries such as metals and mining, oil and gas, chemicals, agriculture, power and utilities, and food and beverage. 62% of respondents publicly report their water usage. About one in six of those have their “water footprint” verified by an independent third party; 22% said they plan to do so within five years. Nearly 80% of companies see water issues as opportunities rather than a risk affecting business in the next five years. The opportunities range from the savings realized by using less water to potential new products and services.

Employees and investors will remain the key stakeholder group for sustainability programs and reporting

It is believed that company sustainability initiatives are driven principally by customers or investors and shareholders, and sometimes by NGO activist groups or regulatory agencies. The survey conducted by Ernst&Young and GreenBiz Group found that employees ranked as the second top stakeholder group in driving the company’s sustainability initiatives (cited by 22% of respondents), behind customers (37%) and ahead of shareholders (15%), policymakers (7%) and NGOs (7%).

The practice of employee education and engagement on sustainability has spread rapidly and evolved into a more institutionalized element of companies’ broad sustainability strategies. Companies use a wide range of tools to engage employees on sustainability, including “Treasure hunts”, Earth Day fairs, and employee award and recognition programs. The various tools and techniques for employee engagement will encourage employees to become a powerful voice in support of company sustainability messages. Additionally investors play a key role and request more transparency while ESG related ratings are becoming more demanding.

Many sustainability issues are at a tipping point

In many sustainability topics we have reached a tipping point. Businesses cannot afford not to act. They must recognize their impacts and implement comprehensive sustainability strategies to deal with them. The aforementioned COP21 and SGGs are prime examples of how all the important parties have ratified the agreement to tackle climate change

Need for unique sustainability strategies

Each company must come up with its own sustainability strategy. There isn’t a universal strategy that fits all companies. They must recognize their impacts, measure their performance and come up with innovative ways to create and enhance their strategies.

Growing need for transparency

Despite the selected path by each company, transparency ensures the successful application of the strategy. Transparency is ensured and enhanced by the use of frameworks, standards, guidelines and through external assurance

Consumers drive sustainability

Consumers and customers expect sustainability as a standard. They expect safe products, sustainably produced products, decent working conditions, products that are produced with the least impact to the environment and to natural resources.

Sustainability was an influential topic of the past few decades and it remains so today. The trends will only increase over the coming years, with more companies taking their own path when it comes to sustainability and, increasingly, using sustainability as a way to differentiate themselves from their competitors.

Corporate Sustainability is rising however not all companies and other organizations including Small Medium enterprises and NGOs are not fully aware on its importance and practical benefits. New legislation together with pressures from consumer groups, investors and others will potentially increase the awareness and need for more comprehensive Sustainability Strategies

Nikos Avlonas

Founder and President -CSE

Adjunct Professor Sustainability, DePaul University (Chicago)

Over the last few years we’ve seen sustainability and corporate responsibility climb the corporate ladder, to the point where many companies have put it at the heart of their business strategy.

Here are several global sustainability trends to watch out for in 2017 for Gulf Countries:

Gulf region pledges to COP21

Climate change has been on the agenda for many decades, with awareness steadily growing but with no significant commitments. Yet in 2015 a bold new agreement was signed in Paris, which sets out a global action plan to put the world on track to avoid dangerous climate change by limiting global warming to well below 2°C. Paris agreement (COP21) was adopted and signed by 195 countries, including USA and China – the world’s biggest polluters and two countries traditionally reluctant to make commitments on the climate change front. Six Gulf countries (Qatar, Kuweit, UAE, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain) are among the world’s top 10 per capita emitters. 16 MENA countries have submitted their pledges. Most countries have two targets: an unconditional target (to be reached by a country on its own with domestic resources) and a conditional target (contingent on outside financial and technological assistance). For example, UAE has pledged a 24% clean energy by 2021, Oman has pledged a 2% decrease unconditionally by 2030, and Saudi Arabia a decrease of 130MtCO2 annual by 2030.

Sustainability Reporting in the Gulf Region

As the importance of sustainability continues to rise for companies around the world, demands for accountability are growing stronger. According to a survey by KPMG (2015), in UAE about 30% of the largest 100 companies produce sustainability report, an increase of more than 10% in the last two years. In Oman about 35% of the 100 largest companies produce an annual sustainability report. The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has published an analysis paper titled ‘Sustainability and Reporting Trends in 2025: Preparing for the Future’. The paper, which is the first to be published as part of GRI’s 2025 Reporting Project, examines future trends in sustainability and corporate reporting and disclosure. GRI’s Reporting 2025 paper identifies several trends that indicate how disclosure will evolve in the next decade. Some of these trends include:

Companies will be held accountable, more than ever before
Business decision makers will take sustainability issues into account more profoundly
Stakeholders will have more access to data, which will require organizations to align real-time decision-making processes with their communication on issues such as climate change
New data technology will lead to greater transparency with corporate reporting moving fully into the digital realm and occurring in real-time instead of annually. etc

The rise of CFO’s role in sustainability

Measuring Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility

The member countries of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) are expected to post robust growth over the next decade both in terms of population and GDP. Although the economic forecast is positive, it carries a risk: that un managed growth will bring negative side-effects such as power shortages and soaring prices, in particular for food. Therefore the key measures for ensuring long-term sustainable growth are:

Introducing energy-efficiency measures
Investing in clean fuel and renewable energy supplies
Improving energy efficiency
Investing in new water desalination capacity
Buying or leasing agricultural land abroad

Green Buildings

GCC countries spend more than $35 billion in green real estate projects that are free from all the polluting elements and based on the rationalization of electricity consumption and water with maximum use of renewable energy sources as well as low cost of construction and operating works. Dubai acquires 40% of the total green buildings in addition to implementing all the green building requirements by Dubai Municipality on all government buildings and private enterprises after being optional. The Saudi Green Building Forum pointed out the Kingdom now owns 15% of the total green buildings in the Middle East, where their budget reached $26 billion distributed among 76 projects.

Energy

The GCC counties approximately have 40% of the world’s oil reserves and 22%% of the world’s gas reserves. Thus in the past decade a 74% increase in energy consumption has been observed, with a projected further increase until 2020 of 10-15%. At the same time, GCC countries have made a general commitment to reduce GHG emissions, embracing the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). In Qatar, the Qatar Solar Energy was inaugurated in 2014 as one of the vertically integrated photovoltaic module production facilities in the region (300MW). Also, since 2008 a joint clean energy investment fund of $400 million was established between Qatar and the UK in order to attract investments. In UAE, the fastest rate of photovoltaic electricity generation can be observed including large and small scale production units. Abu Dhabi plans to produce 7% of its energy from renewable energy resources by 2020 and Dubai is committed to producing 5% of its energy from renewable resources by 2030.

Legislation – Government Strategy

Governments around the Gulf region have taken significant steps towards sustainability. For example, The Government of the UAE, both at a federal and Emirate level, intends to become “sustainable” from a social, environmental and economic perspective and these perspectives all overlap and impact the other. Efforts focus on the sustainable use of its resources (such as water and agricultural land), to diversify its economy (such as moving away from reliance on oil) and protect the quality of life of its inhabitants. This has included making sustainable development one of the key goals of UAE Vision 2021, the introduction of new green building legislation and new sustainable policies.

Sustainability was an influential topic of the past few decades and it remains so today.

The trends will only increase over the coming years, with more companies taking their own path when it comes to sustainability and, increasingly, using sustainability as a way to differentiate themselves from their competitors.

By Rosalinda Sanquiche, CSE North America

Whether good or bad for sustainability, 2017 will not be business as usual. With the Donald Trump administration, increasing acceptance that climate change is real and the Paris Agreement from COP21 being ratified in record time, this year we’ll have to answer key questions: How do we implement voluntary restrictions on carbon emissions? What does the US electorate’s “vote for change” mean for sustainability efforts going forward?

One might gain insight to 2017 and beyond by watching how the COP21 agreement is managed. Findings from CSE research, particularly of companies in Silicon Valley (watch the free webinar), indicate that much of sustainability is driven by legislation and compliance. Much is motivated by the low-hanging fruit of efficiency. All need to continue making a profit as they look toward their own sustainability strategies in meeting the COP21 goals.

So, let’s imagine three scenarios:

The US actively works to negate COP21

Donald Trump has both promised to withdraw from US commitments and said he’ll keep an “open mind”. Key appointees could dismantle legislative, regulatory and physical infrastructure conducive to COP21. Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson, ExxonMobil CEO, has controversial views toward climate change, as does EPA nominee Scott Pruitt, with stated preference for state’s authority. Energy Secretary nominee Rick Perry, former governor of Texas, advocated abolishing the Department of Energy. These appointments could allocate resources away from renewables in favor of fossil fuels, minimize pollution prevention and ignore other externalities. The US may set the tone for global leaders, political and corporate, to revert to a “me first” mentality. Collaboration goes by the wayside and instead short-termism, competition, and Industrial Era industries and economics continue unabated.

COP21 gets piecemeal implementation

Certain aspects of COP21 are clearly beneficial to countries and businesses both near and long term. Increasingly shareholders and stakeholders demand action to counter climate change as risk management for physical threats, ratings, prices, reputation, production and regulation (McKinsey&Co, July 2015). Even Goldman Sachs is aware of the threat of stranded assets (The New Oil Order). Corporate and political leaders such as Steve Munchin, Gary Cohn and Steve Bannon (all with probable roles in the Trump administration) could base decisions to protect balance sheets for automotive, battery, insurance companies and the like. Whether we’re globally unable or unwilling to take a systems thinking approach, at least some aspects of COP21 will be accepted to meet specific goals.

COP21 begins meeting its goals!

Many in the UK and abroad were horrified with Brexit, predicting doom for the British economy. Yet, the UK’s economy slowed less than predicted, and in fact grew. Might US election results be more globally benign than doomsayers anticipate? The US and China came together to make the Paris Agreement work, a rare and important point of accord. Both will want to maintain their role as leaders. China in particular will maintain its dominance among developing countries, not to be magnanimous but because it serves China’s interests to continue improving fuel efficiency, pollution reduction, consolidating a lead in sustainable technology manufacturing for itself and the rest of the world.

Regardless the outcome for 2017, CSE’s role in training sustainability practitioners helps ensure corporate strategies are based on understanding the global politics. CSE’s research and reporting furthers its commitment to systems thinking in sustainability training for corporate executives and sustainability managers worldwide.

To cultivate sustainability within your organization, one that includes understanding the fluid, global political context, attend one of our Certified Sustainability Practitioner (CSR) Programs offered this year:

Prepare for the New Year with a special Online Certified course to help you boost your sustainability career!

How about making the most unique and sustainable gift to yourself, by getting one of the world’s top Online Certified Courses in Sustainability?

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Get practical knowledge on how to create a Sustainability Report, how to introduce, measure and report carbon reduction strategies, how to meet stakeholder expectations with ESG performance and how to make the most out of Social Return on Investment (SROI)
Get a coaching program tailored to your needs and find a sustainability job.

Don’t forget your colleagues!

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For more information, please contact [email protected]

Sustainability Trends in Silicon Valley

Are Silicon Valley corporations role models for sustainability? Given the high concentrations of Millennials, many believe Silicon Valley veers toward sustainability. Yet the likes of Google and Apple are noticeably absent from the top of sustainability indices such as the Dow Jones Sustainability Index and Corporate Knights Global 100.

Our December 15, 2016, webinar presents analysis of sustainability and corporate social responsibility reporting by Silicon Valley-based companies and organizations from CSE’s report Sustainability Trends in Silicon Valley.

While many companies researched are leaders in their field, they are not necessarily leaders in sustainability. See where leading brands such as Adobe, AMD, Apple, Cisco, eBay, Facebook, FICO, Google, Intel, LinkedIn, PayPal, Oracle, SunPower, Tesla, and Zynga land on the sustainability spectrum. Find out about the overall corporate climate toward sustainability in Silicon Valley.

CSE’s research furthers its commitment to high caliber training in sustainability for corporate executives and sustainability managers worldwide. Its Sustainability Academy (a global initiative to train 100,000 sustainability professionals by 2020!) provides rigorous education to sustainability professionals, entrepreneurs and graduates needing the latest resources to advance in this ever evolving field.

The expert webinar will be led by Nikos Avlonas, president and founder of CSE, and Rosalinda Sanquiche, executive manager, CSE-North America. Join us on Thursday, December 15, 2016 at 11am ET. (REGISTER)

To learn more on how these findings can improve sustainability within your organization, attend one of our Certified Sustainability Practitioner (CSR) Programs.(Advanced Version)

Why do we need Benefit Corporations?

How do Benefit Corporations affect the market?

What do you think?

Climate Change and Paris Agreement COP21 and next steps

The evolution of Sustainability Reporting

The rise of CFO’s role in sustainability

Greenhouse gas reporting will remain strong, with growing interest in water

Employees and investors will remain the key stakeholder group for sustainability programs and reporting

Many sustainability issues are at a tipping point

Need for unique sustainability strategies

Growing need for transparency

Consumers drive sustainability

Prepare for the New Year with a special Online Certified course to help you boost your sustainability career!

Group registration form