Comments for Toronto Sustainability Speaker Series (TSSS)

Comment on 3 Stupid Mistakes that Sustainability Job Seekers Make by Ron Grantham

Ron Grantham — Fri, 13 Feb 2015 12:13:00 +0000

I totally understand and agree with your viewpoints, but in this day-and-age, many of the jobs we are seeking go through a computer system rather than a living, breathing human being. For example, on USAJOBS, your application will go through a computer system that will look for “key words”; oftentimes your resume does not even make it past the computer screening. I am not saying that the word “passion” would be considered as a “key word”, but some unnecessary words are programed in the system. Some “stupid” people, or very smart people depending on how you look at it, copy and paste the position descriptions into their resumes just to get past the computer screening. As an interviewer, this quickly irritated the mess out of me because, unlike others, I read every single word in the resumes to offer the best applicants the opportunity for a face-to-face interview. That being said, I would much rather read a bunch of resumes from passionate people than those that are replica’s of someone else’s ideas.

Comment on 3 Stupid Mistakes that Sustainability Job Seekers Make by Joss Tantram

Joss Tantram — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 08:59:00 +0000

Dear Jennifer (and everyone),

As another person running a boutique sustainability consultancy I get a lot of enquiries from people wanting to move into a career in sustainability and asking for help.

In order to balance helping with saving my own time, I wrote the following piece to provide advice and insight.

It covers both new entrants and early entrants and also discusses putting sustainability in all careers…

I hope it is useful.

http://www.terrafiniti.com/blog/so-you-want-a-career-in-sustainability/

Best regards,

Joss

Comment on The Bottom Line from the Climate Summit: Little Urgency for the Necessary Change by NicholasBrush

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Comment on Millennials Don’t Want Charity Jobs – We Want Impact! by Guy

Guy — Fri, 30 Jan 2015 15:04:00 +0000

In France we have seen a multiplication of professional Masters Degree in sustanaible Development, Social Economy, International Solidarity butin the past years because the formations structures as Universities our private schools as HEC and ESSEC had analysed the fact that more and more young people are searching for a meaningful job. But their IS NO JOB IN THESE FIELDS. Worst ! If you find a job it will not be paid, or not realy, or it will be a volonteer contract etc. The shame for those public and private universities is to sell new meningful professions to respond to the client demand, but not to assure that the other society actors will do the same, so we don’t have frame for professions as humanitarian workers, or for the new social workers etc. But we have a tranning market. The meaninful traning is gold but not for the student…

In 10 years, I’ve always been working in the social, cultural, public, international solidarity, social economy fields as manager and I’ve always been paid the “Mininum Salary Guaranteed”. As Yunus use to says “charity is not a economical scheme”. Why does in France 99% of the jobs offers in the senses fields (social work, cultural production, territorial development, sustanaible develoment) are “Insertion Jobs” ? For most of the french association doesn’t have financial strategies and depende on public subventions wich are falling appart thanks to the speculation crisis. That’s why our Masters degree in these fields are poor workers here or get out France to reach a proper life …

For those who stay in the country we’re still working to strengthen the NGO’s financial and management capacities, which means help them to change their way of thinking social action, cultural production, international relationship etc. But it’s not easy to do so in a precarious situation. For exemple, French social workers are the first to be touch by the speculation crisis and are still working hours without getting paid for their jobs, waiting for NGO’s to find a new design.

I realy hope social business, social finance, permaculture, agroeclology and theses solutions we have will be spread and learn before it’s to late. I don’t see other way to save my life and to work for the commun good.

Comment on The State of Sustainability Reporting & Transparency in Canada by Joss Tantram

Joss Tantram — Tue, 27 Jan 2015 12:38:00 +0000

Dear Kathrin,

Thank you for posting this fascinating article.

My observations from our work would definitely back up your conclusions – companies are still failing to convey the value implications of sustainability to investors – and some are starting to question the process and point of reporting as it is currently configured.

Reporting is clearly a potentially powerful way of conveying such information, but reporting can often be seen as an artefact itself, rather than a story of the sustainability ambition, management and performance of a company.

However I would also say that there are two sides to the story – and just as companies are failing in the value dimension of sustainability, so investors are too – mainstream investors still rarely ask about such issues. SRI investors, whilst they do look at reports, do not as yet seek to understand the value dimensions adequately – relying largely upon questionnaires.

For a superb overview of this challenge – and much more on challenges with the state of current sustainable investing check out the work of Mike Tyrrell of SRI Connect, especially this recent piece on the issue: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20141203225855-37837787-should-i-my-company-complete-this-sri-questionnaire?trk=mp-reader-card

I would contend that the challenge you raise goes beyond formal sustainability reporting itself, it is also just as much about an understanding of sustainability as a strategic issue capable of affecting company value – just like any other set, range or example of strategic company issues.

For me – the chicken and egg situation noted above requires that a responsibility for developing a strategic understanding of sustainability lies both with investors and company staff – and requires the latter to have IR staff open to such understanding, CSR/ sustainability staff versed in making the case and leadership who truly “get” strategic sustainability.

This exact issue was the subject of a (free) publication we produced (2004) while I was at WWF, ‘To Whose Profit (ii): Evolution – Building Sustainable Corporate Strategy’ (http://www.terrafiniti.com/docs/TWPii.pdf) which focussed upon supporting both companies and analysts in understanding firstly how to make the case for sustainability and strategic value (the company) and suggesting possible mainstream investment tools capable of appreciating sustainability as a value driver (the analysts).

The document provides step-by-step guidance for practitioners in companies to make and communicate the strategic value case in language that investors use and understand.

I believe the document still has utility – as the situation you articulate seems to be as true today as it was 10 years ago – that sustainability is not properly understood and communicated in value terms.

As noted above, moving forward from the current situation requires change both within and without the company. Unless sustainability is strategically integrated, and capable of being expressed and understood as drivers of strategic value or sources of strategic risk then the mainstream can quite happily continue to largely ignore them – to the detriment of us all!

As another perspective on the state of reporting at present, we recently produced a quick overview of themes and trends based upon our work
to review and rate all 100 entries to the CorporateRegister.com CRRA 15
Reporting Awards: http://www.sustainablebrands.com/news_and_views/stakeholder_trends_insights/joss_tantram/sustainability_reporting_2014_state_art

For me – the “value gap” is and has long been the biggest challenge that sustainability faces if it is to become a natural and automatic aspect of strategic thinking and behaviour. Bridging that gap has long been theoretically possible, but rather slow in happening!

Thank you again,

Joss

Comment on The State of Sustainability Reporting & Transparency in Canada by Lyn Brown

Lyn Brown — Tue, 27 Jan 2015 04:01:00 +0000

While sustainability reports (SR) have not driven the degree of operational or strategic progress we may have hoped for, it is less because stakeholder pressures have become reputation issues. The greater obstacle lies in the absence of clear regulatory penalty coupled with express lanes and market reward for superior performance and companies that are voluntarily leading the way toward a cleaner economy. Nonetheless, that sustainability performance/reporting is now on the risk management/governance agenda of more corporate boards is a reason to be both optimistic and resolute in striving for operational actions that give concrete form to sustainability vision. The SR is one way we can continue to give this effort visibility.

Comment on The State of Sustainability Reporting & Transparency in Canada by Brad Zarnett

Brad Zarnett — Mon, 26 Jan 2015 17:06:00 +0000

Hi Alan, thanks for sharing your thoughts. You make many good points – I’ve tried to summarize them below:

1) The changes to our economic system aren’t enough to deal with the ecological reality facing us.

2) Stakeholder pressure hasn’t been enough to make the necessary changes – it’s often incremental or cosmetic changes.

3) We need systemic change

4) CSR Reports lack uniformity and often act simply as a box ticking exercise

5) Integrated reporting – reporting on the value you have created or destroyed in relation to a range of capitals in addition to financial capital, including natural, social, human and manufactured – is a great tool for an economic system that doesn’t yet exist.

6) Despite the obstacles…”you can’t stop pushing. Just recognise and adjust your approach to the field the game is being played on.”

Alan, thanks again for sharing your views.

Comment on The State of Sustainability Reporting & Transparency in Canada by Alan Knight

Alan Knight — Mon, 26 Jan 2015 07:05:00 +0000

Thanks for this. It reminds us, if we needed reminding, that reporting has not achieved its ambition of driving significant change. Reporting has always been the tail (tale) wagging the dog. The theory was that if there was enough pressure on companies from stakeholders, peers, and possibly shareholders and governments to be transparent, that transparency would force change. But the dog has not been that moved by its furiously wagging tail. Stakeholder pressure has not penetrated too deeply in most cases. It has been deflected by PR into a reputational issue. This has resulted in many Incremental and cosmetic changes in the margins but has rarely penetrated to strategy and business models. It has not driven the kind of significant systemic change that is needed to avoid overshoot (vis. Limits to Growth). There are many reasons for this. One is the still non-standard and non-compulsory state of reporting. This makes it easy to publish something that does not identify material issues, does not link material issues to strategy, does not provide goals and context and does not use core, comparable performance indicators. You still get a tick in the box for reporting though. And we know from reader studies that this is all that counts because few people actually read CSR reports; they simply note that one exists. But more importantly, shareholders and the guardians of our current economic systems could give a toss. That is, they will put out a press release that says they care deeply, but will do nothing that forces or results in systemic change. They are happy with and defend the current market system (economic policy and systems, national accounts, acounting standards, stock markets etc.), which neither demand nor give much scope to do anything about anything that is not monetised and then financially material. Integrated reporting – reporting on the value you have created or destroyed in relation to a range of capitals in addition to financial capital, including natural, social, human and manufactured – is a great tool for an economic system that doesn’t yet exist. So, as for so many other things these days, the absence of real change, the inability of the ‘tale’ to have any real impact on the dog, is a result of the resistance and systems manipulation by the ‘ruling’ oligarchy (the dog). Doesn’t mean you stop pushing. Just recognise and adjust your approach to the field the game is being played on.

Comment on Sustainability Top 30 Under 30 Nomination by Sasstainable

Sasstainable — Wed, 21 Jan 2015 20:07:00 +0000

Missed eligibility on this by one year! Wish it was inclusive of 30 year olds.. Nevertheless, hope you find some great sustainability leaders and I’ll pass on the names of any deserving candidates!

Comment on The Bottom Line from the Climate Summit: Little Urgency for the Necessary Change by Harry Fragnad

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