ESG performance tops the list of Corporate Affairs risk priorities globally for organizations, and Corporate Affairs professionals surveyed across the world point to climate change as the most pressing ESG issue. While climate change broadly is less top-of-mind since last year, there is a dramatic increase in concern around net zero and carbon emissions as a critical issue. This suggests that Corporate Affairs priorities are becoming more focused on net zero strategies. The COP 26 meeting in Glasgow later this … “Insight of the Week: Corporate Affairs Professionals Say Climate Change is the Most Pressing ESG Issue for Global Business”
Corporate Action on Inequality Requires a Value Chain Approach Building Corporate Leadership in Addressing Inequality, 2021 According to in-depth interviews with key opinion formers, the inequality agenda stretches wide and deep across a company’s value chain. To drive real equity at scale, these actions need to extend beyond the corporate workplace to the supply chain, communities, customers, external partners, and through public policy. Meaningful action on inequality requires a holistic approach across the value chain where no one is left … “Insight of the Week: Corporate Action on Inequality Requires a Value Chain Approach”
A Third of Sustainability Experts Identifying as Minorities Have Experienced Discrimination in Their Careers % of Respondents Identifying as Minority Group Who Have Experienced Discrimination in Sustainability (n=93), 2021 Among sustainability professionals who identify as a member of a minority group,* more than one-third say discrimination has negatively affected their career in sustainability. In a recent survey of 496 sustainability experts in 75 countries, only 12 percent say they are part of a minority racial or ethnic group, and even … “Insight of the Week: A Third of Sustainability Experts Identifying as Minorities Have Experienced Discrimination in Their Careers”
A Third of Female Sustainability Professionals Have Experienced Discrimination in Their Careers % of Respondents Not Identifying as Male Who Have Experienced Discrimination in Sustainability (n=161), 2021 In GlobeScan and The SustainAbility Institute by ERM‘s recent survey of 496 sustainability experts in 75 countries, only 39 percent identify as female, suggesting the sustainability field remains male-dominated overall. The gender gap narrows to about 50-50 in corporate roles and among experts in North America. Around the world, newcomers to the profession … “Insight of the Week: A Third of Female Sustainability Professionals Have Experienced Discrimination in Their Careers”
Four Key Drivers of Inequality in the Coming Years Major Trends, 2021 Rising inequality is a defining challenge of our time and current approaches to addressing it are perceived to be highly insufficient. A multi-stakeholder research project identified four mega-trends (health, future of work, social divisions, and climate change) both as drivers and as possible areas for solutions to respond to this complex challenge. These wider cross-cutting trends provide a great starting point for identifying pathways to effective action in … “Insight of the Week: Four Key Drivers of Inequality in the Coming Years”
Circular Economy, Food Systems, and Biodiversity Are Key Focus Areas for the EU Green Deal Priority vs Progress, Expert Stakeholders, 2021 Stakeholders rated a range of sustainability issues on two dimensions – level of priority and progress made. Two issues – clean energy and climate – are areas where priorities and progress are both viewed as being strong. Circularity, food systems, and nature are all issues where priorities are high, but where progress is seen to be weak. These areas … “Insight of the Week: Circular Economy, Food Systems, and Biodiversity Are Key Focus Areas for the EU Green Deal”
High Concern about Climate Change Persists During the COVID-19 Pandemic Seriousness of Climate Change and Global Warming, “Very Serious,” Average of 17 Markets,* 2003–2020 Even with parallel worries about COVID-19 and the economy, environmental issues are still highly concerning for people around the world. Across 17 markets surveyed over the past two decades, a majority continue to think of a range of environmental issues as being “very serious.” Concern about climate change has grown dramatically since 2014 and continues to … “Insight of the Week: High Concern about Climate Change Persists During the COVID-19 Pandemic”
Strong Support for Government Efforts to Reduce Future Pandemics through Ending Deforestation Consumers in China, Myanmar, Thailand, the U.S., and Vietnam, 2021 As human activities such as deforestation increase the risk of disease transfer between animals and humans, an overwhelming majority of people in China, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and the U.S. support government action to curb this destructive practice. Identifying and capitalizing on public support for measures helps drive policy change. Given the strong support for preserving forests, there is … “Insight of the Week: Strong Support for Government Efforts to Reduce Future Pandemics through Ending Deforestation”
People in Most Countries Say Their Governments Are Doing a Poor Job of Protecting Nature and Wildlife Performance of National Government on Protecting Nature and Wildlife, Net Performance,* by Country, 2020 National governments are widely seen as being poor performers when it comes to protecting the natural world. Out of 27 countries and territories surveyed, only those in Asia and Saudi Arabia rate government mostly positively. Saudi Arabian, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Indian respondents rate their governments positively on protecting nature … “Insight of the Week: People in Most Countries Say Their Governments Are Doing a Poor Job of Protecting Nature and Wildlife”
Significant Drop in Ivory Consumption Shows Potency of Governmental Action and Social Marketing Ivory Purchase in Past 12 Months, Chinese Consumers, 2017–2020 The ivory ban implemented in 2018 led to a significant drop in ivory purchase in China, which declined 17 percentage points from 2017. In the past year, just 12 percent of Chinese consumers claim to have purchased ivory. These latest declines are likely the result of effective public campaigns to end ivory purchases. This example highlights the impact … “Insight of the Week: Significant Drop in Ivory Consumption Shows Potency of Governmental Action and Social Marketing”