Where does the buck stop?

↓
​

Hello Reader,

We're finding ourselves coming back to the themes of accountability and responsibility and the blurriness that occurs when it comes to 'best interests' this past fortnight, with a mix of headlines capturing our imaginations.

The first of which was the latest climate-related suit seeing the state of New York suing meat giant JBS over misleading sustainability claims. The claim against JBS (most known in Australia as the parent company of family favourite Primo) is that the company is allegedly greenwashing and lacks demonstrable action towards its 2040 net zero commitment. Unsurprisingly, JBS disagrees.

Still in Big Meat, we see industry groups here in Australia attempting to limit and discredit the work of the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), by saying that environmental impact, accessibility, and food affordability shouldn't be considered as part of new official dietary advice being developed. Key elements of the food system, most of which are at great risk.

In another less-meaty headline, Air Canada was found liable in a suit that saw it blame its own AI chatbot for getting its wires crossed when supplying information to a passenger on its website (hat tip to Mia Fileman for bringing this to my attention this week).

So, where does the buck stop exactly?

Why is it reasonable for the world's largest meatpacker to claim they're being sustainable while still engaging in deforestation?

Why isn't it reasonable for updated dietary guidelines to consider the entire food system, future health challenges due to rapidly changing ecological factors and ideal future nutrition requirements?

What does it say about a company's processes and its commitment to its customers, if they're so scared of setting a precedent with a single refund, that they try to blame their tools to avoid taking responsibility for poor service?

As business leaders, if we aren't seeing the whole system we operate in for what it is, denying parts of it when it suits us to and amplifying other parts of it when it suits us to, how responsible are we being?

How well are we upholding our duty to our stakeholders and driving organisational performance if we are being illogically selective about what falls in our realm of accountability?

Who does this ultimately benefit?

Here's to stepping up and taking more accountability.

​

All hands on deck 💪

Cheers,

Melissa

​

Inspiring Purpose

Fidelity Bank founder (and Unilever chair) has urged future entrepreneurs to have purpose as their guide at a recent event, showcasing how the Ghanaian bank has successfully integrated social and environmental sustainability initiatives into its operating model.

Talking about the bank's mission to deliver returns for all stakeholders (that's 'stake-', not just 'share-') by activating its purpose more broadly and thoughtfully, Fidelity Bank funds projects throughout Ghana that are designed to improve social, economic and environmental wellbeing for the country.

Business As Unusual Innovation

You may have seen just how 'striking' cardboard packaging can look on the shelf in a sea of plastic, which is partly how Aussie dip brand Nuffin is garnering shelf presence and a distinct point of difference. Plastic-free and preservative-free, they are set to remove tonnes of plastic from the waste stream.

Hopefully the plastic-free is for the shipping outer as well, as often this can be where sustainability efforts in packaging fall down (the part the consumer doesn't see on shelf), but more brands boldly innovating their pack formats with waste in mind is a welcome change.

Sustainability Reporting: Obstacle or Opportunity? ​ Read article

Roundup

🌼 The National Climate Risk Assessment report was released this week by the Australian Government's Department of Climate Change, Energy the Environment and Water, and ohhh mother, it makes for a sobering read. Here is Melissa's post with some thoughts (which at the time of writing has a woeful 3 likes (including one pity like from Adam). If you're feeling generous, pop on over and give it some LinkedIn love. The algorithm has not been kind to this one!)

🌼 With mandatory reporting for environmental and social impacts for organisations on the horizon and in play in many regions, there's been a surge in tools to help manage the reporting and initiatives. This one announced as an EY and IBM collab caught our eye, as it seems even the big consulting firms are making sure they get in on the action and not letting SaaS brands have all the fun.

🌼 The idea of circularity is gaining in popularity, but is actually going backwards in action. This report shows it's officially a 'megatrend' but that consumption of materials continues to grow. We wonder if this points to a lack of understanding or 'too-hard-basket-ism' - what's your take?

🌼 The EY Europe Long-Term Value and Corporate Governance Survey shows an alarming waning of enthusiasm for our most pressing issues and pushing out of climate targets to 2050 (because, I suppose, 2030 is a bit too close for comfort now). The number one reason cited for driving sustainability was to extract value through customer loyalty and price premiums... which seems, shockingly short-sighted.

What We're Reading

Don't Even Think About It: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Ignore Climate Change by George Marshall written back in 2014 has some fascinating insights.

It talks about uncertainty about future outcomes as a key reason people are more likely to act in self-interest, and that the antidote to that is to frame certainty around unlikely things, rather than uncertainty around likely things.

PO Box 899, Bulimba, QLD 4171
​Unsubscribe · Preferences​