We were recently asked to look at the global sustainability landscape for a major international manufacturer. The brief was simple: how should a company, operating around the world, navigate the resilience, policy and trade complexity inherent in the inevitable transition associated with a warming world.
The answer surprised us.
All too often it’s easy to get trapped in the “anti-green” climate we see in UK and US media and to take it at face value. Dismissing climate change even as a concern is considered normal. Who mentions the impacts of sea levels rising, when the radio gleefully discusses the potential for natural resources in a melting Arctic?
But if you metaphorically stand in the shoes of a business leader in China, or a manufacturing plant manager in Singapore, or a commodities business in Brazil, the world looks very different.
There was lots in the analysis, but this single slide, from helpful research by Deloitte, shows the global adoption of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) sustainability standards into national law. And many more countries not on this map – like India – are actively considering how to use the ISSB recommendations in their baseline approach.
For those not up on the jargon, simply put, this means countries around the world are still demanding companies understand, and report on, the risks of unmitigated climate change on their business model.
The rest of the world is not ignoring the transition. It’s a foolish business that ignores this trend, even if UK and US media pretend there’s no problem to address.
And we haven’t even mentioned the true story of consumer expectations.
If you think we could help you, then do ask.