“I think the biggest issue is there are no quote unquote ‘incentives’ at the national level to require companies of any size, whether they're private or public to do this hard work, right. And corporate sustainability really is hard work, especially when you're talking about reducing carbon emissions within their supply chains……. (Europe has mandatory ESG reporting, but not the U.S.) So, it's only those companies that really believe in it, leaders who really care and understand that it can build resiliency, that it can also provide long-term longevity to their business models, if they embrace sustainability.”
Kate Gaertner, on Electric Ladies Podcast
Companies are under increasing pressure to report their environmental impact, carbon emissions and diversity statistics, and accurately, including from employees, consumers and investors. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) says it’s working on mandatory reporting requirements, but hasn’t released them yet. So, it’s still only “voluntary” in the U.S. Many companies made bold commitments at the big UN Climate Conference known as COP26 and now they have to figure out how to meet them.
How will they do it and what impact will doing so have on company operations, suppliers, employees, and profits as they have to pivot to meet what’s called ESG criteria (or environment, social and governance)?
Listen to Kate Gaertner, CEO of Triple Win Advisory, a sustainability consulting firm, explain it all in conversation with Electric Ladies host Joan Michelson in this important and engaging interview.
You’ll hear about:
- How companies can assess their ESG status and develop a plan to improve it
- What’s really at stake in this transition and transparency – challenges and risks – and opportunities.
- The need for government incentives to nudge companies to be more aggressive.
- How to engage employees in the effort, and leverage “purpose” authentically
- Plus, insightful career advice ….
“What kind of impact do you want to have, in your life and your family's life and your community, and of course, on the planet. Everyone says, well, ‘what are the career options in sustainability and corporate sustainability?’ They're endless because every industry, every sector, every company is going to have to embrace this and soon… Figure out where you want to play, and specifically where that focus is going to be in sustainability and just start to it, because there's so much need, and there's not enough people yet that are dipping their toe into sustainability.”
