SUSTAINABILITY ROBERT PERRY
The time is now Businesses cannot afford to ignore the importance of sustainability if they want to become fitter, faster and far better at adapting to change and unlocking value. Robert Perry, Manager of Thriving People at the Sustainable Business Council (SBC), shares his views on how Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) need to be an integral part of business strategy.
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e have dipped our toes into a new future, defined by ethical consumer decision making and a purpose-driven workforce, and had a taster of what the future of work might hold. SDGs give us a roadmap for a world we want, and the COVID-19 pandemic has proved the challenges we face cannot be dealt with in isolation. Notably, issues of health, income and education have come to the forefront during this crisis. Just like an X-ray, the pandemic has laid bare the underlying fractures of our society around inequality, diversity and inclusion. The ‘digital divide’ and
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HUMAN RESOURCES
AUTUMN 2021
the right to internet access, especially in rural areas, is a case in point.
Sustainability opportunity
As we move forward, sustainability will continue to be a driver of better consumer engagement, productivity, attraction and retention of talent, especially in disruptive labour markets, sizeable market opportunities and wider access to capital. Investors are making decisions accordingly, and governments are pushing regulation that favours such investments. The rise of environmental, social and governance related funds is just one way the investor community acknowledges that a purpose beyond profit links to value creation in tangible ways. The real opportunity of sustainability will be realised when business strategy creates shared value for stakeholders beyond shareholder profit. We are already seeing business do this by leveraging resources and innovation to create new solutions to some of society’s most pressing issues. In doing so, it creates a more prosperous environment in which to operate, making business more sustainable and resilient.
The COVID-19 pandemic presents both an enormous challenge and tremendous opportunities for achieving the SDGs. The government’s living standards framework and wellbeing budget signal a new paradigm for Aotearoa, but we still have much work to do, and the clock is ticking. This truly must be the decade of action.
Publicly listed companies and the financial services sector will be required to provide climate risk reporting from 2023. Time to act
Climate urgency must take centre stage in 2021. Businesses need to leverage their leadership into action, putting people at the heart of a ‘just transition’ so they thrive. The Climate Leaders Coalition (CLC) and the SBC are working in tandem to accelerate New Zealand’s decarbonisation. They are fronting the wave of ambition for climate action, collaboratively walking the talk on actions we said we would take under the 2019 Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Act.
