Purpose Review: How Brands are Impacting Business & Culture
Welcome?to the September edition of the Purpose Review, sharing the latest news, trend insights and happenings from the Allison and Headstand Purpose Center of Excellence.
Climate Week NYC is nearly upon us, and the Center of Excellence (and our clients!) have much in store. On Thursday, September 26, at 5 p.m., come hear our very own Whitney Dailey speak on the Nest Climate Campus Main Stage with client Seventh Generation and Clean Creatives to discuss the growing global campaign that is leading public relations and ad agencies to stop working with fossil fuel companies.
In addition, you can livestream Tzeporah Berman, Chair of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative at The Hub Live, as she speaks about the need for greater international cooperation to manage a just transition away from coal, oil and gas.
In addition to a week full of important climate discussions, we’re also thrilled to be attending Ragan’s 2024 CSR & Diversity Awards Luncheon as a finalist for Agency of the Year. If you’re attending Climate Week, the luncheon or both and would like to connect, reach out to the Center of Excellence. We’d love to meet up!
Read on for the latest trends, news and updates from our team.
1.?The Wall Street Journal: Gen Z Voters Support Climate Action and Nuclear Energy, Poll Finds
Two-thirds of respondents to a poll of first-time young American voters agreed the U.S. must plan to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, and about four in five supported “new generation” nuclear energy to supplement renewable power sources. The poll also found a majority of respondents supported bans on fast fashion, while nearly 60% opposed eliminating the sale of gas- and diesel-powered trucks by 2035.
Anti-ESG measures are stalling and there’s little time left to pass them: At the state level, seven anti-ESG bills have been enacted this year, according to a Ropes & Gray analysis, while 29 became law in 2023. Reasons for the failed momentum include that investigations into ‘climate collusion’ have expanded so broadly as to lack focus, and that anti-ESG efforts don’t register high on voters’ priorities at the national level.
3.?Forbes: Report and climate justice framework from Surya Deva, Special Rapporteur on the right to development
A new United Nations report examines the costs and impacts of climate change, making drastic proposals to create new obligations and financial liabilities for countries and businesses in the name of climate justice. It also calls for a shift from capitalist economy to a “human rights economy” and proposes a four-pillar approach to address the impacts of climate change: mitigation, adaptation, remediation and transformation.
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4. The New York Times: Will A.I. Ruin the Planet or Save the Planet?
Even though electricity demand from A.I. is expected to at least double in the coming years, the efficiency of the technology could increase at an even higher rate. Big tech companies are working on ways to streamline software, hardware and cooling systems to reduce electricity consumption in data centers, and if those efforts are successful, and if we’re smart about how we use A.I., it might eventually offer a lot of environmental bang for the buck.
5.?Harvard Business Review: Companies Are Scaling Back Sustainability Pledges. Here’s What They Should Do Instead.
The anti-ESG political campaign has resulted in many companies toning down their sustainability initiatives. As enthusiasm for DEI, corporate sustainability, and ESG investment falls, the need to address these issues has become more urgent. This sustainability reset is an opportunity to take a set back from ambitious goals and replace them with meaningful action, by rethinking boundaries, rebalancing investments, and reshaping governance. One example noted here is our client King Arthur Baking, noting its collaborative work with milling and farmer partners to convert from conventional to regenerative agriculture.
79 – that’s the percentage of Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Index companies seeking external assurance to enhance transparency and meet stakeholder expectations for sustainability reporting.
The data, new from KPMG, is a 4% increase from 2021 to 2023. The trend among UK companies is driven largely by new regulations like the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), the EU regulations put into place January 2023 that require companies to report on corporate environmental and societal impacts, including the auditing of reported information.
The U.S. has been attempting to put its own mandatory disclosure rules into place, though the road has been challenging, including a lawsuit from 10 states aimed at blocking its implementation. While the fate of the U.S. rule has yet to be determined, the potential implications are clear: we will likely see more state-driven climate and emissions reporting requirements in the interim from those on the opposite side of the spectrum, and companies may consider it prudent to proactively increase their assurance activity regardless to get ahead of future reporting needs and to meet stakeholder expectations.
If you have any questions or would like to learn more, say hello to the Purpose Center of Excellence at [email protected].