The end of 2019 seemed, for me,
to go by like a whirlwind. Finishing up projects for clients, getting presents
wrapped and under the Christmas tree, and preparing for a house full of guests.
Before I knew it, we were ringing in the New Year with family, friends and
glasses of prosecco.
Before I jumped right into the
new year, I took a moment to ask a few friends and fellow ESG experts for their
reflections on what they considered to be the most significant ESG events –
positive or negative -- in 2019.
From my own perspective, while
not really an “event” but more of a collective trend was the awakening of many
companies to the importance of taking stances on policy issues critical to
their businesses, their employees and their customers. Examples include Levi’s
and Walmart’s public support for gun control; Chobani’s continued calls for
immigration reform; and support for abortion rights from companies such as Eileen Fisher and MAC Cosmetics. The other “event,” of
course, that swept the world was Greta Thunberg, whose voice and actions will
hopefully continue to have an impact in the years ahead.
Have thoughts of your own? Send them
in via the comments button below.
Stay tuned for next week’s blog,
which will explore predictions for 2020.
Looking back on
2019, what were one or two of the most significant
events from an ESG perspective?
“I think it
has to be the Business Roundtable Statement. I know many people were skeptical
about it as long in intention, short on action, but I think its symbolism will
propel the movement to a purpose economy forward."
– Phillip Haid, Co-Founder
& CEO, PUBLIC Inc.
“On the positive side, the growth and
amplification of the climate crisis by youth activists Greta Thunberg,
Alexandria Villaseñor, Autumn Pelletier, Bruno Rodríguez and the millions of
students participating in school strikes around the world. … Unfortunately, the
Failure of COP 25 -- “the meltdown in Madrid” -- shows that governments are not
willing to take the necessary actions to mitigate and finance an effective plan
to combat the climate crisis.”
– Jane Madden, Managing Director, Finn Partners
"Good news: Goldman Sachs became the first bank to say no
to Arctic drilling and financing coal. Tied in first place for bad news: [1]
The second shoe fell with news that BlackRock and Vanguard have not been living
up to all their talk about pushing for climate action. [2] COP26 fell apart
with zero traction shown on ESG/climate by industry and government.”
– Aman Singh, Senior Director
of Sustainability Communications, Corporate Reports
“The Business
Roundtable's Statement on the Purpose of the Corporation was significant for 2
reasons: (1) It's difficult to get 180 people to agree strongly enough with
something to sign their name to it. (2) It generated as much buzz among
companies, media, governments, citizens, conferences and meetings large and small,
than anything I remember in the last 10 years.”
– Sarah Bostwick Stromoski, Manager, CEO &
Investor Engagement, Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose (CECP)
“[The] Increasing number of
shareholder proposals related to climate change and sustainability in general,
and the proliferation of long-term or sustainability-related CEO initiatives
and commitments (EPIC, CECP, WEF, US CEO Roundtable, etc.). And, the failure of
the Madrid COP (unfortunately).”
– Thomas Scheiwiller, Founder
and Owner, Scheiwiller Impacts
“There wasn't a lot of
great news in 2019 -- for example, emissions worldwide went up last year despite
all the hype. Also, the fact that tobacco companies proved themselves to be as
nefarious as they always have been with the horrible news about vaping and its
impact on public health.”
– Leon Kaye, Executive Editor, TriplePundit.com and CR Magazine
“GRI adding a tax payments indicator, and Greta Thunberg
shaming governments into action.”
– Judy Sandford, Managing Director of CSR and
Sustainability, Addison
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