Giles Gibbons

Good Business - Sustainability | Strategy | Impact

June 17, 2024

1. Sustainability Leaders Panel

Feeling busy at the moment? You're in good company! 92% of sustainability leaders say the amount of time they spend on compliance with sustainability regulation has increased in the past year. This is one of the findings gleaned from our Sustainability Leaders panel, a collection of in-house sustainability professionals spanning financial services, consumer goods, tech, hospitality and transport industries.

Teaming up with our good friends at Echo Research, we kicked off the Sustainability Leaders panel in May 2024 to provide insights into the sustainability landscape in the UK and elsewhere, exploring different themes and emerging trends. What issues do sustainability teams spend their time addressing? How do they work with other parts of the business? What are the characteristics of an effective team?

So why now? We think sustainability is at an inflection point. Over the three decades that we’ve worked with companies to support them in turning the dial on social and environmental impacts, there has never been so much debate about what the future will look like, or scrutiny over the role of the sustainability function. This is driven – in large part – by new regulations and by the need to take action to address enormous challenges including climate, nature and biodiversity, privacy, and human rights. The regulatory landscape certainly presents challenges to hardworking sustainability teams but may well in the end prove to be their best and most useful tool in the quest for change, as boards are finally required to sit up and take notice.

With the results of the first panel survey now in, we are excited to be discussing the key insights on Tuesday 18th June at 5.30pm at The Conduit in London. We're hoping this meetup will provide an informal space for sustainability leaders to have a chat over a drink, learn from their peers, and maybe even find solace during this turbulent time for sustainability professionals.

Currently there are still a couple of places available, so if you’re a leader in sustainability and keen to attend, please let us know by emailing kerry@good.business. We’d love to see you there! And of course, we’ll be sharing the insights with Friday 5 readers in due course.

2. SKYLights goes to Kenya

Last week, three of the Good Business team spent time in Nairobi, Kenya, where we facilitated SKYLights, a knowledge sharing workshop that brought together representatives from our SKY Girls partners from across six African countries, as well from the Gates Foundation, who funds SKY.

Over the course of three jam-packed days, SKYLights attendees heard from a range of expert speakers who discussed pressing topics and challenges faced by SKY. From receiving a crash-course in Artificial Intelligence, to gaining a deeper understanding of teenage psychology and safeguarding, to reflecting on creative idea generation and programme sustainability, SKYLights pushed the attendees to think bigger and bolder, and to build on each other’s experiences and insights to find answers to the key challenges they face, irrespective of location.

But beyond its educational purpose, the workshop provided the invaluable opportunity to share experiences between SKY countries, build collective knowledge of ways to increase our impact, and connect as a wider team. It was a week defined by enthusiasm and purpose, and we are grateful to all those who participated – from speakers to attendees – for bringing such great ideas and energy. We’re excited to continue working on SKY and to implement the learnings from the week to make SKY even more impactful and effective. And we can’t emphasise enough the value of bringing people together, in person or online, to explore shared challenges.

For more information about SKY Girls, click here.

3. Promising the Earth

It’s been a frenzied time in UK politics as parties and candidates prepare for a general election few expected quite so soon. Among the open letters, canvassing efforts and televised mud-slinging, parties have this week published their manifestoes.

There’s plenty to digest. Greenpeace has provided a useful primer for questions to ask to see if a politician is serious about climate and nature, ranging from “will you make my home more energy efficient?” to “will you rewild our countryside?”, while Carbon Brief has a handy tool that allows you to compare the commitments from the main parties on a range of energy and climate issues.

While all parties apart from Reform remain committed to net zero, some distinctions are emerging. After distancing themselves from “ideological eco-zealotry”, the Conservatives’ manifesto shows a watering down of climate policies in the name of saving costs for households, despite mounting evidence that a faster transition is a cheaper one. Labour has committed to make Britain a “clean energy superpower” but having U-turned on a £28B green investment pledge, has a tough road ahead to make this a reality. All remaining bases are covered as you would expect, with the Green Party putting a strong climate and nature focus across all policy areas, while Reform UK has its head firmly in the volcanic sand regarding the climate crisis.

There has been a disappointing lack of focus on climate and environment in the build-up to the election, particularly given their relevance to other crucial issues like jobs, investment and industry. As ever, the short term crowds out the long term when it comes to political promises. The manifestoes often raise more questions than they answer given the lack of detail, so we won’t hold our breath on what we can expect over the next five years. But it’s clear that we’re going to having to use our voices as individuals, businesses and civil society to put pressure on politicians to deliver the support that our environment – and ultimately we – need.

4. Hotter planet, fewer babies?

Climate change is rapidly making our world dangerously hot, even if this week’s weather in the UK doesn’t fully reflect it. Beyond the obvious environmental impact, there’s a hidden consequence: the effect on reproductive health.

Pregnant women, often overlooked in scientific research, constitute one of the most vulnerable populations. Recent evidence highlights the danger posed by heat waves during pregnancy, exacerbating existing maternal health disparities. Rising temperatures contribute to premature births worldwide, while droughts and air pollution compound the risks. Shockingly, Black mothers face a 2.5 times higher risk than their white counterparts (based on research across 16 California counties). The reasons behind the racial gap in the Global North stems from entrenched inequalities where communities of colour live in neighbourhoods with more concrete, which absorbs and holds heat more than areas with green spaces.

The situation is equally alarming in the Global South. A study among outdoor workers in India revealed that exposure to heat stress above 81°F doubled the risk of miscarriage. In India overall, 8.5 percent of urban pregnancies and 6.9 percent of rural pregnancies end in miscarriage.

This trend will only escalate. Last year, a record-breaking 6.3 billion people—particularly in South and East Asia and the African Sahel—endured at least 31 days of extreme heat, according to a new report. If nothing is done, those heat waves will cause millions of babies around the world to be born preterm. This comes with a variety of long-term health conditions, such as anaemia, jaundice, sepsis— and, at worst, infant mortality.

The mounting evidence of heatwaves’ adverse effects is just one aspect of climate change’s profound impact on health. However, the critical connection between climate and health remains underexplored and deserves greater prominence. Notably, women and children, especially those from black communities, face greater vulnerability to climate-related impacts.

To address this, we must prioritize two key actions: First, curbing greenhouse gas emissions; second, implementing protective measures for women and children during heatwaves. By amplifying our prevention and preparedness efforts, we can safeguard the most vulnerable. This commitment forms an integral part of a just transition toward a more sustainable global economy.

The Goods: Smart camping

Heading to a festival or camping this summer but you don’t have enough storage to keep your tent for the rest of the year? You are not alone: around 250,000 tents end up in UK landfills each summer. Even if you are not guilty of polluting the environment by leaving your tent on the fields of Glastonbury, Decathlon has introduced a solution that could be of interest: a tent buy-back scheme.

Under the scheme, customers can return their eligible tents to Decathlon UK stores before September 13th. The scheme covers ten major types of tents. Participants will receive a gift card equivalent to the full amount they initially spent, regardless of the tent's condition. The returned tents will then be refurbished, cleaned, and resold through Decathlon’s ‘Second Life’ resale platform.

Why is this a great solution for everyone? Well, beyond offering customers a full return on their investment, it dramatically reduces waste, addressing a significant environmental issue by keeping thousands of tents out of landfills. And it’s a good example of how to build circular principles into a business model. In this scenario, the tent user gets their money back, someone else gets a tent at a lower cost, and the environment benefits.

Decathlon's tent buy-back scheme is combining practicality with eco-consciousness. What will be your summer endeavour to combat waste and promote a greener future?