Sustainable in a Circular World

Peggy's Vlog

Sustainability 101: Reporting

A whopping 80% of companies worldwide now report on sustainability, according to a study released by KPMG at the very end of last year. The survey digs into trends related to sustainability reporting throughout the year 2020. Here is what it found.

Geographically, we see in North America 90% of companies report sustainability, making it the highest regional reporting rate. When looking at it by vertical, we see the same six sectors that led in 2017 also continue to lead in 2020. Verticals such as technology and telecommunications, mining, automotive, oil and gas, chemicals, and forestry and paper, all top the list for sustainability reporting.

In my book Sustainable in a Circular World, I bring readers through the basics of sustainability, circularity, and trends we currently see in our personal and professional lives. Here is a short excerpt from the book:

Merriam-Webster defines sustainability as relating to or being a method of harvesting or using a resource so that the resource is not depleted or permanently damaged. Simply put, it is environmentally sound living without compromising the needs of future generations.

Today many refer to sustainability as corporate, social, responsibility (CSR) or environmental, social, and governance (ESG). If you peel back the layers of the onion, you will discover the sustainability conversation is somewhat more complex depending on how you view it and your interpretation of it. In fact, all too often people will inadvertently use the acronyms CSR and ESG and the word sustainability interchangeably.

Acronyms are funny things. They can mean a lot of things, but that doesn’t mean they may be correct for everything. Naturally, in the aforementioned case they can be the right definition, but they shouldn’t be used in the same sentence.

Look at it this way, when talking about CSR, we are talking about the best practices to uphold corporate governance that comes from disclosing and even benchmarking data and information. These are the ways you measure your sustainable development goals. There is a distinct set of objectives and governance guidelines. A key difference when interpreting the role and function of each objective and how to be economically sustainable to the environment.

Alright, that is just a sample. The rest of that chapter goes much deeper into reporting for stakeholders, consumers, and partners. It talks about sustainable stewardship for our economy, environment, and society. We are just getting started. How about you?

Want to tweet about this article? Use hashtags #IoT #sustainability #AI #5G #cloud #edge #futureofwork #digitaltransformation #green #ecosystem #environmental #circularworld