Sustainability Leadership Buy-in Deck
How to communicate the value of sustainability and secure buy-in with leadership
Why did we make this deck?
How can you use this deck?
Topic | Covering |
What is Sustainability? | What sustainability means, how it works and what’s the ROI |
What is B Corp? | What B Corp means, how it works and what’s the ROI |
What is Carbon Reporting + Net Zero? | What Net Zero means, how it works and what’s the ROI |
What does it require from us? | What does it involve us doing, and what’s the impact for employees |
A Partner to help us | About Futureproof, what we do, and how we can help your business |
What we’ll cover
What is Sustainability?
Sustainability is everywhere
“Sustainability means meeting our own needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”
The real definition of sustainability
United Nations, 1987
“Sustainability is going to be the next digital and every business will be a sustainable business”
Julie Sweet
CEO of Accenture
2021
This quote doesn’t just mean environment
How Sustainability links together
17 SDGs �The UN’s framework to achieve global sustainability �(17 Sustainable Development Goals)
How do we achieve Sustainability?”
(Meeting our own needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs)
ESG�Framework for how businesses can report on their Sustainability�ESG = Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance
Certifications
Verified accreditations that help businesses improve ESG impact
There are over 18 globally (e.g. like B Corp)
70% of employees want companies with sustainability agendas.��Fast Company
The ROI for Sustainability
91% of companies take sustainability criteria into account in purchasing decisions.
Consumers want to buy from you
Companies want to work with you
Shareholders want to invest in you
Employees want to work for you
72% of executives believe that sustainability issues are driving innovation and opening up new markets.��Accenture - Sustainability as a Competitive Advantage (2018)
90% of companies with strong sustainability practices experienced fewer incidents of bribery, corruption, and fraud.
Harvard Business Review - The Comprehensive Business Case for Sustainability (2019)
89% of companies with strong sustainability practices had equal or higher financial performance compared to their industry peers.��MSCI - Foundations of ESG Investing (2019)
77% of employees consider a company's social and environmental commitments when deciding where to work, �
Accenture: Innovative Business Models & Technologies that Create Value (2020)
Attract and retain talent
Innovation and competitiveness
Improved financial performance
Better risk management
The ROI for ESG
Full report: https://www.paulpolman.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/MC_Paul-Polman_Net-Positive-Employee-Barometer_Final_web.pdf
Key takeaways for Leadership to know�
What is it?�
2023 Polman Report
What is a B Corp?
Certified B Corporations are a new kind of business that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. ��B Corps are legally required to consider the impact of their decisions on their workers, customers, suppliers, community, and the environment.
�B Corps are a community of leaders, driving a global movement of people using business as a force for good.
Becoming a B Corp, means you formally acknowledge to make decisions based of People, Planet and Profit.
B Corps are…
How B Corps link to Sustainability
17 SDGs �The UN’s framework to achieve global sustainability �(17 Sustainable Development Goals)
How do we achieve Sustainability?”
(Meeting our own needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs)
ESG�Framework for how businesses can report on their Sustainability�ESG = Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance
Certifications
Verified accreditations that help businesses improve ESG impact
There are over 18 globally.
B Corp
Regarded as the ‘best’ certification for businesses to follow.
Cover all areas of ESG and ladders impact back to The UN’s SDGs.
On the current B Corp assessment, you must achieve 80/200 points in the B Impact Assessment (BIA).
The BIA covers 5 comprehensive sections - Governance, Workers, Community, Environment and Customers.
Today’s Assessment
99% of companies
B Corps
35-55 points
80+ points
Why the BIA is a strong certification:
Companies are scored on their environmental social and corporate governance impact
6. Climate Action
7. Circularity and Environmental Stewardship
8. Collective Action
9. Risk Standards
10. Impact Management
1. Purpose & Stakeholder Governance
2. Worker Engagement
3. Fair Wages
4. Justice Equity Diversity & Inclusion
5. Human Rights
In 2024, the B Corp certification will go through its biggest change to date.
Instead of achieving a 80-point threshold, companies will have to meet the specific areas of 10 areas of your business.
The new B Corp Assessment
What the new assessment means for businesses in 2023?
People
Planet
Being a B Corp means you balance all 3 in Director decisions
Profit
This is the legal change to your Articles of Association
6,000+ Companies
150+ industries
80+ countries
(1500+ in the UK!)
They’re a growing force for good
It’s a commitment to People
Impact on People
B Corps focus on treating people as, people.
From employees, suppliers, customers to our local community.
📊 Increasing diversity & inclusion
🧘♀️ Enabling workplace flexibility
👩🏫 Providing training and development
📄 Greater company-employee transparency
📈 More opportunities for career growth
❤️🩹 Ensuring health and safety
👶 Wellness and family support
💲 Fair pay and financial opportunity
🤕 Supporting underrepresented groups
🤲 Increase impact on our community
💫 Inspiring customers and suppliers
It’s a promise to our Planet
Impact on Planet
B Corps reduce as much impact on our planet as possible.
From offices, home working, suppliers to products & services.
📊 Measuring our energy, water and waste
📜 Environmental management strategies
⚡️ Eco improvements at home or in-office
📉 Measuring our scopes 1-3
🎯 Setting and working to formal GHG targets
🚗 Reducing business commuting & travel
📦 Environmental packaging and design
📄 Environmental purchasing policies
🚮 Company waste programmes
🏡 Sourcing from eco suppliers
🧑🏫 Educating stakeholders on the environment
It’s never forgetting our Profit
Impact on Profit
B Corps know growth is fundamental, in the right way.
And that’s why B Corps grow 28x faster than average.
😀 Job growth and promotions
🎯 Customer/client targets
💬 Feedback and true impact our work
🔍 Financial reviews and audits
🎯 Strong ethics & anti-corruption
📊 Controls and risk measures
🎩 Strong corporate governance
🧾 Clear financial and impact reporting�
♻️ Feedback and improvement mechanisms
🔒 Data compliances and controls
🏆 Accreditations and quality control
Accelerate your growth
Increase your revenue
Attract top �talent
Join a growing community
The ROI for B Corp
What is Carbon Reporting & Net Zero?
Net zero means cutting greenhouse gas emissions to as close to zero as possible, with any remaining emissions re-absorbed from the atmosphere, by oceans and forests for instance (e.g. carbon offsetting or removal). Reduce your emissions by (recommended 90%) from your baseline year, and offset/remove your remaining residual remissions (max. 10%) – by no later than 2050.
Carbon reporting is…
Carbon reporting is the process of measuring and reporting the amount of greenhouse gas emissions generated by an organization. It is used to understand an organization's environmental impact and identify opportunities to reduce their carbon footprint.
Net Zero is…
55% of young people value ESG commitments from their employer���KPMG
50% of companies know they need measure their emissions, but 9/10 don't know how.
68% want to work for an employer that is doing something positive for the future of our planet��Business Leader
Measuring emissions and commitments to Net Zero has increased 17% year on year.���Climate Action 100%
Becoming business norm
Attract & retain talent
Importance of doing so
People want companies to do
The ROI for Carbon Reporting & Net Zero
The European Commission found 42% of corporate environmental claims made online were likely to be false or deceptive.��The Guardian, 2023
Reduce legal and reputational risk
Remove�Green-washing
In a survey of 7,500 adults around the world, 44% said they did not trust sustainability claims
Build consumer �trust
The ROI of authentic impact reporting
58% of CEOs admitted their own company has engaged in some form of greenwashing, jumping to 72% of CEOs in North America.��Axios, 2022
72% of companies have emissions targets for meeting global climate goals, yet nearly a quarter say they have no plans to publicise their progress beyond what’s mandated.��South Pole, 2022
Less likely to ‘green-hush’
A Partner to help us
Futureproof is the only sustainability platform you need. From carbon reporting, supplier management, ESG policies, impact reports, to achieving certifications like B Corp.
Sustainability software for businesses
Sustainability is costly
£79k /year
Spend on Sustainability
27% annual increase
SMEs spend time and money on:
edie, 2022
Publish Sustainability
💌 Create impact reports
📉 Annual carbon reduction report
🌟 ESG badges & RFP credentials
🖥️ Publish live sustainability pages
💬 Futureproof annual quote
Manage Sustainability
✅ Complete outstanding actions
📑 Store documents
🎯 Create company & team goals
📊 Collect & measure ESG data
🧑🏫 Run training
Improve Sustainability
📄 Implement new policies
🛠️ Setup new processes
📉 Reduce carbon footprint
♻️ Update policies and standards
🤩 Complete new roadmaps & tasks
Sustainability, in one platform
ESG Hub
How Futureproof works
Improve your business in ESG and achieve certifications like B Corp.
Company Dashboard
Set up, manage and track your sustainability & ESG in one place.
Publish Manager
Show the world everything you do with custom sustainability pages.
Emissions Manager
Measure, analyse and reduce your carbon footprint to Net Zero.
Value and ROI
Futureproof saves companies days (not hours) of time to keep on top of managing their sustainability initiatives.
Save time
Employees love being on Futureproof. Being on a team, working through tasks and making an impact in the company.
Delight employees
Futureproof does everything for you.
No need to hire sustainability consultants to audit your position or create policies.
Save cost
Futureproof keeps you on top of managing new policy versions, incoming regulation and best practice ESG for your business.
Less risk
Futureproof signals to stakeholders your company is progressive. Use our name in your presentations, pitches and comms.
Increase sales
Get access to Futureproof’s community of companies, partners and consultants - all prioritising people and planet.
Increase partnerships
On average we �save companies
282 hours
per person
per year working on B Corp
The Platform made it SO easy for us to work through our B Corp application diligently, swiftly, and as a team. With time being so precious for us, it was amazing to be able to just dive into the platform, find a task, fill out a template and move on to the next one without it feeling a huge time drain. The way Futureproof puts together the reading, the tasks, and the instructions honestly couldn't have been better - you understood why you were doing a task, and the bigger picture it fit into without having to do endless research!
�Their support throughout our B Corp submission process was invaluable - from the insights they gave about the process (honestly, it's so important to talk to someone who has done it before!) to the on-the-ground support they give at a task level. Genuinely, couldn't have done it without them! ��KATE HIGHAM,
HEAD OF OPERATIONS AT BORN SOCIAL
Loved by SMEs, big to small
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