Panel, Work, Nuclear, Ratan Tata & Stilbaar

1. The ripple effects of regulation

Our Sustainability Leaders Panel, run in partnership with Echo Research , is a group of senior sustainability executives who provide regular insight into their experience of the evolving, and often challenging, sustainability landscape. Most recently, we engaged the panel in a survey focused on the way businesses are reacting to new sustainability regulations.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, given two-thirds of our respondents will come under #CSRD requirements (imminently or in the future), the challenges of adapting to this regulatory shift are front of mind.

The inevitable pain of complying certainly comes through in results, but encouraging our panellists are also already seeing some benefits being unlocked by regulation. These include engaging boards more effectively in sustainability, encouraging the business to think more carefully about risks (with double materiality playing a big role here), and perhaps most importantly doing the long-talked about task of taking sustainability out of a silo and into the heart of the business. There are also some weak signals that other transformative benefits might be coming down the line – including that regulation and reporting might act to drive businesses to change their business model in progressive ways. Though that is not to deny that panellists are clear we are a way off a shift in mindset from “just” complying with this undeniably complex and onerous legislation. There are also interesting findings around how the job of CSOs is changing, and in future surveys, we plan to look in more detail at how sustainability leaders can best create organisation-wide change.

You can find more information on the survey results here. And if you would be interested in joining the panel, please contact Kerry ([email protected]).

2. Good Jobs for all??

Did you know 1 in 4 working-age Brits has a criminal record? That means the UK economy could be missing out on around ￡11.5 billion by excluding these individuals from the workforce. Enter the Good Jobs Project.?

Companies like Greggs , Greene King pubs, Severn Trent Water, and TIMPSON LOCKSMITHS LIMITED are partnering with the charity ReGenerate and the Good Job Project to help more people with criminal records find employment. Hiring ex-prisoners isn’t just about doing good – it's good business sense. In fact, research shows that 90% of employers who hire individuals with criminal records report high levels of competency, loyalty, and retention.?

This initiative also aims to tackle reoffending rates, which cost the UK an estimated ￡18 billion annually. Supporting returning citizens in finding sustainable jobs not only benefits the individual, but also strengthens our local communities by helping to break the cycle of reoffending. And with nearly two-thirds of businesses struggling to fill positions, why not look to this untapped talent pool.??

By adopting more inclusive hiring practices, employers can better meet their recruitment needs while improving their bottom line. So, the next time you’re looking to fill a role, consider how you can make your hiring process more inclusive. And who knows, you might just find your next star employee.??

3. Fission mission?

It’s recently become clear that AI’s rapid growth is going to be an important technological, economic and – given its thirsty appetite for energy – environmental force. And that with volatile energy markets, AI companies have a big energy puzzle looming.?

Tech companies have long been getting ahead of this volatility in energy by purchasing future energy contracts. Some are now getting involved in their own power generation. This week, Google announced a deal with Kairos Power to source nuclear electricity via small modular reactors, the first deal of its kind. Meanwhile, Microsoft and Amazon are reviving existing large reactors.?

These developments are interesting. For starters, they demonstrate the sheer scale of AI’s growth and the corresponding growth in energy demands – tech companies haven’t needed to source their energy in this way before. But there is also the choice of energy. Nuclear has the advantage of providing round-the-clock power in the way fossil fuels do, but without the carbon emissions. Yet it’s not without environmental and social problems, and the projects take a long time to develop – Google isn’t expected to get energy from Kairos Power until 2030.?

This adds another twist to the tale – the fact that Google has chosen these small, new nuclear reactors to accelerate the development of this new technology, which has the potential to offer simpler, safer nuclear solutions.?

The arguments around nuclear in all forms are complex, but we need all the tools at our disposal to tackle the climate crisis, and where technology can help abate its own impact, all the better.?

4. A heartfelt goodbye to Mr. Tata??

It’s not often we come across visionary leaders who not only transform business but also could be said to have shaped the future of a nation. But Ratan Tata, the Indian industrialist and philanthropist is a contender. His recent death has inspired us to write our first Friday Five obituary.??

As the chairman of Tata Group, the “salt-to-software” conglomerate, Tata oversaw more than 100 companies, employing over 660,000 people with annual revenues exceeding ￡75 billion.??

Tata was known for leading with principles and prioritising the well-being of employees and communities. One example is the acquisition of Corus Steel, during which he focused on maintaining jobs and preserving Corus's legacy rather than cutting costs aggressively, as is common practice in takeovers. Although the deal faced difficulties due to fluctuating steel prices, it remains a landmark decision that demonstrates Tata’s bold leadership.??

Of course there were missteps along the way, on both business strategy and practices. But Tata displayed a reflective response to them, exemplified by his response to a strike that crippled operations at a factory in Pune in 1989: "Perhaps we took our workers for granted. We assumed that we were doing all that we could do for them, when probably we were not."?

And the thread which runs through his career is a philosophy which runs close to our own heart at Good Business, Tata believed that profit was important, not as an end in itself, but as a way to sustain positive change. As Peter Casey, author of The Story of Tata, aptly puts it, the company “yokes capitalism to philanthropy, by doing business in ways that make the lives of others better.”?

5. Reviving Fashion??

We’re probably all aware by now that fashion often comes with sustainability issues. Whether through creation, transportation, or disposal, clothes leave a negative impact on the environment. And according to The UN Alliance for Sustainable Fashion, the average consumer now buys 60% more clothing than they did 15 years ago.??

This means we’re always on the look out for innovative fashion-related solutions, and two caught our eye this week.?

The first answers the question of what you do with that old pile of t-shirts that are probably at the end of their useable life? Rapanui invites customers to send back their old cotton-based clothing—no matter the condition—at no cost. In return, you receive a ￡5 voucher to spend on their recycled cotton creations. Not only do you declutter your wardrobe, but you also get rewarded for doing so.?

The second takes the concept of circularity and runs with it. Stillbaar is a new company which comes with a promise: it will buy back every garment it sells, regardless of its state. So if you buy something and later find you no longer want or need it, you can trade it in for store credit. When garments finally reach the end of their journey, Stillbaar ensures they’re sent off to textile-to-textile recyclers to be transformed into new fibres.?

Two new additions to a growing mix, alongside resale platforms like Vinted and eBay and the growing list of rental sites, to help make fashion work better for everyone.??