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Half of Board Members Report Lacking Skills to Address Climate Issues: WTW/Nasdaq Survey - ESG Today

Nearly half of board members report lacking skills and expertise in their organizations for addressing climate issues, even as most acknowledge that a strong ESG strategy can lead to better financial outcomes, according to a new survey by advisory, broking and solutions company WTW and the Nasdaq Center for Board Excellence.

“Board members are evolving their ESG agenda from reacting to stakeholder pressure to proactively linking ESG to business strategy. As a result, we are seeing greater interest in addressing skills and resource gaps and more emphasis on oversight of emerging risks.”
~ Kenneth Kuk, Senior Director, Work & Rewards at WTW

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ESG Today Guest Post

Dr. Matthew Bell, EY Global Climate Change & Sustainability Services Leader, explains why exponential, not incremental, change is needed ahead.

Over the last two decades, sustainability has undoubtedly helped to introduce “greener” business practices, but many would argue that these have been largely incremental, from boosting energy efficiency to building trust with consumers and regulators.

As the window in which environmental disaster can be averted narrows, sustainability professionals are increasingly aware that something less incremental and more fundamental will be required.

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Deloitte Survey

ESG has become a key focus area for procurement executives around the world, rising to the #2 spot of top priorities in a new survey by global professional services firm Deloitte, up from 7^th place in the prior 2021 study.

For the report, the 2023 Global Chief Procurement Officer Survey, Deloitte surveyed approximately 350 procurement leaders from more than 40 countries. Deloitte has been conducting the Global CPO survey since 2011.

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Ontario on building the economy

We are building the economy of the future to benefit you today. We're investing in and connecting our electric vehicle (EV) and EV battery supply chains to create good-paying jobs across the province. EVs and the batteries that power them will be built in Ontario, by Ontario workers.

Peruse articles on Unlocking critical minerals and the Ring of Fire, Made-in-Ontario electric vehicles and batteries, Ontario's clean competitive advantage, and more.

Peruse the articles here.

The IFRS Foundation’s International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) will take over responsibility for monitoring progress of companies’ climate-related disclosures from the Financial Stability Board’s (FSB) Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) as of next year, following a request from the FSB.

The transfer of responsibilities marks a significant step in the ongoing consolidation of sustainability reporting standards, following the publication last month of the ISSB’s global standards for sustainability and climate reporting.

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Nestlé Moves Away from Carbon Offsets to Focus on Emissions Reductions Across Brands

Global food and beverage company Nestlé will shift away from the use of offsets to achieve carbon neutral brands, focusing instead on actual emissions reductions in its operations and value chain, according to a company spokesperson, following media reports that the company was walking away from carbon neutral pledges for some brands.

Nestlé announced a commitment in 2019 to achieve net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050, and in 2020 the company published its “time bound plan” to reach its climate goals, which also include targets to achieve a 20% emissions reduction by 2025 and 50% by 2030.

“Our net zero roadmap does not rely on offsets. We focus on GHG emissions reductions and removals within our value chain to reach our net zero ambition.”

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A Pivotal Moment to Tackle Some of Society’s Biggest Challenges

Guest post by John McCalla-Leacy, Head of Global ESG at KPMG

The news agenda is filled with discussions about the climate crisis and the business world’s response to ESG challenges. We hear leaders – from the political and business worlds – full of great intentions. However, transforming enthusiasm into impactful action is often the biggest blocker to much needed change.

A climate standard will play a major role in the ISSB’s announcements this week and rightly so, but it’s reassuring to see that the ‘S’ in ESG has also played its part in motivating the organization’s strategy.

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Ten things to know about the first ISSB Standards

Better information leads to better economic decisions. IFRS S1 requires companies to communicate the sustainability-risks and opportunities they face over the short, medium, and long term. The requirements are designed to ensure that companies provide investors information relevant to decision-making. IFRS S2 sets out specific climate-related disclosures and is designed to be used with IFRS S1. Both Standards are based on recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).

Issuing these Standards is just the starting point. The ISSB is consulting on future priorities to help determine what comes next. We welcome your feedback before the consultation closes on 1 September 2023.

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Home Depot Says 85% of Lawn Equipment Sales to be Battery Powered by 2028, Saving 2 Million Tons of Emissions per Year

Home Depot announced a new goal to have more than 85% of its US and Canada sales of outdoor power equipment, including lawn mowers, leaf blowers and trimmers to be powered by rechargeable batteries, instead of gas.

According to the company, the transition would reduce more than 2 million metric tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per year, with gas-powered mowers creating as much pollution in an hour as driving 300 miles in an average car, and a gas leaf blower generating emissions similar to driving 1,100 miles.

Read the full report here.

The Government of Canada announced an investment of C$350 million to support the newly launched Initiative for Sustainable Aviation Technology (INSAT), aimed at supporting research and development into sustainable aviation technologies, and accelerating the aerospace industry’s green transformation.

According to a government statement, the new INSAT investment will aim to establish a pan-Canadian, industry-led network, focused on funding R&D projects. The projects will target four key technology areas, including hybrid and alternative propulsion, aircraft architecture and systems integration, the transition to alternative fuels, and aircraft support infrastructure and operations.

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