Commentary From Crisis Management Expert Edward Segal, Author of the Award- Winning Book Crisis Ahead: 101 Ways to Prepare for and Bounce Back from Disasters, Scandals, and Other Emergencies (Nicholas Brealey)

Here's some news that might make Mother Nature a bit happier.

The second annual EcoVadis Network Impact Report that was released last week shows a rapid acceleration in the "scaling up" of sustainability activities and accomplishments. Compared to 2020, last year there was a 54% increase in the companies that reported implementing reuse/recycle measures and a 30% increase in the number of companies that said they use or produce renewable energy.

EcoVadis, a business sustainability ratings company, said they have seen several positive environmental and social actions rise sharply since 2016. The total scope of score improvement has tripled across their network of thousands of companies in hundreds of industry categories.

The Impact Report outlines EcoVadis' "Model for Impact" for how organizations can drive positive change through sustainable procurement and similar business relationships.

The company said their Index, "summarizes key actions and outcomes that are facilitated and tracked in the EcoVadis Ratings platform. This acceleration in positive impact is the result of not only quantitative growth within the EcoVadis network, but also new dimensions that increase the breadth and depth of collaboration and improvement in sustainable business practices."

Corporate Leaders Are Under Unprecedented Pressure

"Corporate leaders have, in recent years, come under unprecedented pressure to substantiate sustainability commitments with practical action," according to the report.

It noted that, "Regulators, investors and consumers increasingly now expect companies to quantify and disclose progress towards published targets and to document the tangible benefits such measures are generating for the planet and society. When it comes to acting on climate change and social inequality, therefore, the time for 'ambition' has expired. In 2022, 'impact' must be the watchword for effective corporate sustainability governance."

ESG Still An Elusive Concept For Some

The report cautioned that, "... despite the increased focus on 'impact' that is coming to predominate ESG discourse and strategy, it remains, for many companies, an amorphous concept. Indeed, there is much uncertainty regarding how leaders can best go about measuring the positive effects generated by corporate sustainability programs."

The company said their report and data outlines a model for how organizations can drive positive change through sustainable procurement and similar business relationships.

"Businesses and governments are feeling immense pressure to break down broad commitments into tactical targets and action plans—particularly in the value chain—and start executing and reporting on them," said Pierre-François Thaler, cofounder and co-CEO of EcoVadis.

Benchmarking Practices

"By designing sustainable procurement strategies around performance and positive impact, organizations in the network are far better equipped to translate ambition into action and realize the positive environmental and social outcomes described in the report."

Suppliers, or rated companies, thus play a critical role as change agents in the EcoVadis network.

EcoVadis said that, "By adopting more sustainable practices at every stage of their operations, supply partners impact their own business network, including up and down their supply chain. EcoVadis ratings support rated companies by benchmarking their practices against best practices, and highlighting areas of improvement to increase their positive impact.

"We translate this analysis into an overall EcoVadis Score, which companies use both to benchmark and compare their maturity against industry peers, and to drive performance and scoring improvement going forward."

'Looking To Business To Deliver Climate Solutions'

María Mendiluce is the CEO of the We Mean Business Coalition, which campaigns for business-led climate action. She said that, "The world is looking to business to deliver climate solutions. Companies now face pressure and scrutiny from investors, policymakers, customers, and suppliers to take rapid, far-reaching action. The number of companies setting science-based emission reduction targets aligned to keeping temperature rises within 1.5C has already surpassed 1,200.

"As we head into 2022, the We Mean Business Coalition aims to recruit even more businesses to initiatives like this and we will continue to amplify the call from business to governments that they implement the climate policies that companies need to ensure we reach the global goal of halving global emissions by 2030," she said.

Setting The Right Levels Of Ambition

Mendiluce observed that,  "Corporate climate leadership requires companies to set the right level of ambition through science-based targets, taking action to meet those targets and advocating for the right policies.

"We are seeing more and more companies meeting this level of leadership. For example, Danish energy firm Orsted has made the full switch from black to green power, installed the first offshore wind farm in the US and is rapidly becoming a market leader as demand for renewables increases.

"While Volvo Cars is not only well on track to decarbonize its operations, it is also now working with its supply chain, investing in low-carbon steel as a key material. Both companies were among nearly 800 to sign a letter to G20 economies calling for greater government ambition to send clear signals to the market," she concluded.

Saving 2 Billion Plastic Bottles

Alan VanderMolen, chief communications officer at SC Johnson, said that," While major corporations are calling for a global pact to stop plastic pollution, some companies are already making progress to create a waste-free world.

"SC Johnson, the makers of Windex, Meyers, Glade, and many other popular household products, has saved 1 billion bottles from entering our oceans. That's the equivalent of more than 44 million pounds of plastic."

He noted that the company, "...is limiting its plastic use by paying a premium for what is called Social Plastic [which is], plastic collected and repurposed for new products. This is what they now use to make all Windex bottles on the shelves."

SC Johnson's efforts are part of an international campaign led by Plastic Bank which Plastics Technologies said "is a social enterprise focused on the global supply chain for recycled ocean-bound plastic...it has stopped 2 billion plastic bottles from entering the ocean. The group has partnered with more than 200 global companies on this initiative."

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