GreenBiz 22 – Key Learnings for your Sustainable Business Journey

Last week, our team had the pleasure of attending GreenBiz 22. For us, and many others, it was the first in-person gathering in over 2 years. Getting back into the swing of live networking, frantically planning your schedule, and even small talk was rejuvenating and energizing.

The event was of course also jam packed with insight, with well over 50 sessions, breakouts, and lunch-ins to explore.

At a high level, the key learnings from the conference reinforced themes that everyone in the sustainable business community should already be well aware of:

• Industry collaboration is mission critical. If we are to make any meaningful progress on today’s ESG issues, we need to drop the mental model of competition, collaborate across industry and sector, and move towards a systems-thinking approach.
• Trust is lacking. Consumers, investors, employees, and other key stakeholders are skeptical about corporate ESG commitments. Businesses must embrace transparency and set interim goals to build trust and lay the foundation for meaningful implementation.
• We need to be going further, faster. Especially on issues like climate change, our window to curb global emissions in line with a 1.5 °C world is shrinking. We must move beyond commitment and start taking bold action.

To help bridge the commitment-action gap, let’s take a deeper dive. Reflecting back on the event, we’ve identified four areas to keep an eye on as you navigate your sustainable business journey. Read on for some core learnings from each.

1) ESG and Sustainability Storytelling

Today’s consumers are rewarding sustainable brands with their loyalty and dollars, but they can detect greenwashing and unsupported claims from a mile away.

Browse through the slideshow below for a brief synopsis on how to tell a more authentic sustainability story.

2) Changes in ESG Reporting & Investor Priorities

Driven by investor pressure, ESG disclosure and external reporting is becoming the new normal for businesses. As the head of Investor Relations at Asana pointed out, “ESG reporting is like paying your taxes - you have to do it, and you might get some money back if you do.”

Here are a few ESG reporting trends to be aware of this year:

3) Emerging Regulation

With the US Securities and Exchange Commission expected to propose ruling for mandatory climate-related disclosure any day now, businesses are wondering what they should do to prepare.

Here are some of the latest updates we learned from GreenBiz:

4) Charting a Course to Net Zero

The number of businesses making net zero commitments is at an all time high. Yet as companies embark on their net zero journeys, many are struggling to connect aspiration to implementation.

To deliver on your commitments, keep these things in mind:

If you were also at GreenBiz, we’d love to connect! Get in touch with our representatives Bri Decker and Ashley Mack on LinkedIn. Curious how SBC can support your sustainable business journey? Check out our suite of Climate, ESG Reporting, and Sustainability Strategy services.