Tag: sustainability

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Daily Compliance News

April 11, 2023 – The 10,000 Companies Edition

Welcome to the Daily Compliance News. Each day, Tom Fox, the Voice of Compliance, brings you compliance-related stories to start your day. Sit back, enjoy a cup of morning coffee, and listen to the Daily Compliance News. All from the Compliance Podcast Network. Each day we consider four stories from the business world, compliance, ethics, risk management, leadership, or general interest for the compliance professional.

Stories we are following in today’s edition of Daily Compliance News:

  • EU sustainability rules to hit 10K companies. (WSJ)
  • The Travel Act and state corruption. (Valley Central)
  • What’s next for banks? (NYT)
  • Do you use all of your vacation days? (Bloomberg)
Categories
Compliance Into the Weeds

COSO Framework for Sustainability Controls and Reporting

The award winning, Compliance into the Weeds is the only weekly podcast which takes a deep dive into a compliance related topic, literally going into the weeds to more fully explore a subject. In this episode, join Tom and Matt as they discuss a new sustainability framework that companies can use to improve their sustainability efforts. The document emphasizes the importance of data governance and using a recognized control framework for effective financial reporting, similar to COSO. The hosts explore the challenges of collecting and managing sustainability data, while highlighting the need for organizations to have a Chief Data Governance Officer and an in-house data committee. They discuss the importance of competent leadership, effective communication, and the role of vendors offering sustainability supporting solutions. Tune in to discover how the right oversight mechanisms can save organizations money by streamlining IT vendors and why sustainability data reporting is the new challenge of achieving Sarbanes Oxley compliance in the 2000s.

 Key Highlights

·      COSO Internal Control Framework for Sustainability Disclosures

·      Comparing Sustainability and Ethics/Compliance Frameworks

·      Challenges in Sustainability Data Collection

·      Importance of Data Governance in Large Enterprises

 Notable Quotes

1.     “ESG and sustainable business information, on the other hand, tends to be longer term and more qualitative.”

2.     Revenue numbers are in dollar returns and carbon emissions are not.

3.    Radically different sorts of disclosures and data there, but you have to think through.

4.    You’re going to have to make sure that the data governance mechanisms you have? Do you have a Chief Data Governance Officer? Some organizations do. Do you have an in house data committee to think about are we collecting all of this data?

 Resources

Matt  on LinkedIn

Matt on Radical Compliance

Tom

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Daily Compliance News

March 23, 2023 – The No Chickens Edition

Welcome to the Daily Compliance News. Each day, Tom Fox, the Voice of Compliance, brings you compliance-related stories to start your day. Sit back, enjoy a cup of morning coffee, and listen to the Daily Compliance News. All from the Compliance Podcast Network. Each day we consider four stories from the business world, compliance, ethics, risk management, leadership, or general interest for the compliance professional.

Stories we are following in today’s edition of Daily Compliance News:

  • Don’t want no chickens. (Reuters)
  • End of Swiss exceptionalism. (Bloomberg)
  • Banks botching risk management. (WSJ)
  • Companies are looking at another year of shareholder sustainability proposals. (WSJ)
Categories
The ESG Report

Why Sustainability is the Business Opportunity with Richard Blundell

*This episode first aired as episode 182 of the ESG Report.*

 

Tom’s guest on this week’s episode of the ESG Report, Richard Blundell, discusses the risks and opportunities associated with growth in the insurance industry. They talk about how to finance a company’s growth by understanding their risks. Business financing is trending towards sustainability, and Tom and Richard explore how companies can access capital by implementing sustainable practices and strategies.

A global environmental services and technology consultant with over 35 years’ experience, Richard Blundell has extensive experience in senior executive management and consulting. Mergers and acquisitions, corporate and market development, and operations management are among his areas of expertise. His experience includes launching new businesses and managing growth-stage businesses around the world. He is also an advisor to the Prince of Wales Accounting for Sustainability charity.

 

Here are some key points Tom and Richard talk about: 

  • Richard talks about his professional background and current role as an advisor on sustainability.
  • Richard believes that sustainability in business leads to lower costs, less waste, more resource efficiency, better quality jobs, better employee engagement, and more access to capital.
  • In addition to improving access to capital, sustainability can also improve performance in public markets, lower capital costs, and lower debt costs.
  • Richard highlights that materiality is a way for companies to determine priorities and goals for sustainability, decarbonization, and ESG by considering what is important for both the corporation and its stakeholders
  • Quoting Paul Wellman, Richard tells Tom that working toward social, environmental, and economic outcomes can invigorate and energize an organization.
  • Sustainability can be a life insurance policy for the planet.
  • Companies without decarbonization plans may not have access to financing from banks and other financial institutions as they do not understand the risks associated with growth, and may not be seen as providing a benefit to society, Richard tells Tom.
  • Richard believes that the circular economy aims to eliminate waste by keeping inputs and outputs at their highest utility throughout their life cycle.
  • Companies like Interface and Nike are committed to sustainability and continue to innovate and stretch their targets as they learn more about driving efficiency and process in the decarbonization journey.

 

KEY QUOTE:

“If I am going to finance a company’s growth, I want to finance a company that’s in the insurance industry as well. I want to finance the company’s growth by understanding the risks associated with that growth.” – Richard Blundell

 

Resources 

Richard Blundell | LinkedIn

Categories
Innovation in Compliance

Why Sustainability is the Business Opportunity with Richard Blundell

Tom’s guest on this week’s episode of Innovation in Compliance, Richard Blundell, discusses the risks and opportunities associated with growth in the insurance industry. They talk about how to finance a company’s growth by understanding its risks. Business financing is trending towards sustainability, and Tom and Richard explore how companies can access capital by implementing sustainable practices and strategies.

A global environmental services and technology consultant with over 35 years of experience, Richard Blundell has extensive experience in senior executive management and consulting. Mergers and acquisitions, corporate and market development, and operations management are among his areas of expertise. His experience includes launching new businesses and managing growth-stage businesses around the world. He is also an advisor to the Prince of Wales Accounting for Sustainability charity.

 

Here are some key points Tom and Richard talk about: 

  • Richard talks about his professional background and current role as an advisor on sustainability.
  • Richard believes that sustainability in business leads to lower costs, less waste, more resource efficiency, better quality jobs, better employee engagement, and more access to capital.
  • In addition to improving access to capital, sustainability can also improve performance in public markets, lower capital costs, and lower debt costs.
  • Richard highlights that materiality is a way for companies to determine priorities and goals for sustainability, decarbonization, and ESG by considering what is important for both the corporation and its stakeholders
  • Quoting Paul Wellman, Richard tells Tom that working toward social, environmental, and economic outcomes can invigorate and energize an organization.
  • Sustainability can be a life insurance policy for the planet.
  • Companies without decarbonization plans may not have access to financing from banks and other financial institutions as they do not understand the risks associated with growth and may not be seen as providing a benefit to society, Richard tells Tom.
  • Richard believes that the circular economy aims to eliminate waste by keeping inputs and outputs at their highest utility throughout their life cycle.
  • Companies like Interface and Nike are committed to sustainability and continue to innovate and stretch their targets as they learn more about driving efficiency and process in the decarbonization journey.

 

KEY QUOTE:

“If I am going to finance a company’s growth, I want to finance a company that’s in the insurance industry as well. I want to finance the company’s growth by understanding the risks associated with that growth.” – Richard Blundell

 

Resources 

Richard Blundell | LinkedIn

Categories
The ESG Report

Jared Connors Looks Into 2023

In this episode of the ESG Report, Tom Fox discusses the regulatory movement towards mandatory climate disclosure requirements. Guest Jared Connors explains why product liability, previously viewed as a negative for sustainability, is now viewed as a positive.

Jared Connors is on the regulatory team at Assent. In his role, he supports and analyzes the market, engages standards and framework makers and regulatory agencies to help understand what companies will face and how they can comply.

 

  • Jared says that product compliance depends on how certain jurisdictions approach sustainability. 
  • Consumers make an impact on upstream corporation supply and demand, and that impact is shown via downstream companies who produce the products.
  • Companies have to do a better job at being proactive about knowing their supply chain and the stance of the suppliers that they work with.
  • Organizations need to be able to show that their suppliers have no connection to modern day slavery. 
  • Jared stresses the point of transparency as opposed to sustainability. When companies, suppliers and stakeholders are transparent, business becomes more ethical. 

 

Resources

Jared Connors on LinkedIn

Assent

Categories
The ESG Report

Assent Webinar on the ESG Regulatory Year in Review & 2023 Forecast

On this special edition of the ESG Report, I repost a recent webinar hosted by Assent. In this webinar, top Assent SMEs looked back at key ESG, supply chain and sustainability topics from 2022 and into 2023. Speakers included Cally Edgren, Director, Regulatory & Sustainability Experts; Dr. Bruce Jarnot, Regulatory & Sustainability Expert, Product Sustainability; Jared Connors, Regulatory & Sustainability Expert, ESG & Responsible Sourcing and Travis Miller, General Counsel.

Topics covered include:

  • Events in 2022 that impacted supply chain sustainability and global product market access;
  • What Assent’s regulatory experts see on the horizon for 2023 and beyond;
  • Steps manufacturers must take to protect their market access in 2023; and
  • Developing programs to address increasingly complex supply chain sustainability requirements.

Resources:

For more on Assent, click here.

For the full webinar click here.

Categories
Innovation in Compliance

The Disability Navigator with DeeJae Durante

Tom Fox’s guest on this week’s show is DeeJae Durante. DeeJae is a livestream strategist and coach, helping individuals with disabilities get their messages out through marketing tools like podcasts and livestreams. She joins Tom to talk about creating accessibility for disabled individuals in the corporate world, and the true meaning of inclusion.  

DeeJae’s Mission

Tom asks DeeJae what started her on the path of disability advocacy. DeeJae gives an anecdote about watching her father navigate life after a traumatic brain injury. It sparked the advocacy within her. She is very passionate about helping businesses realize the importance of providing diversity options for people with disabilities, as well as being open and considerate of everyone. 

 

The True Meaning of Inclusion 

There is no inclusion without accessibility. It is impossible to be inclusive or diverse in an organization if there is no consideration for disabled people. DeeJae talks about helping businesses create systems that accommodate disabled people and building different types of accessibility. “That’s why I really focus on accessibility and understanding what that concept is, because that will lead to inclusion,” she tells Tom. Creating different options for individuals within the organization to access information is another key component of accessibility. “Communication is so fundamental, and accessibility to information is communication.”

 

Accessibility Builds Loyalty 

“By having a policy of accessibility and inclusion for disabled employees, you not only create a very loyal workforce, but you can actually make your business better,” Tom remarks. This holds true for every aspect of business. Accessibility builds up social worth in your employees. Taking the initiative to be observant about the processes in your businesses and making sure that they are accessible to everyone is going to enhance your business. There is no excuse anymore, and there is no other option than to be accessible. “It’s something that we really need to implement into our businesses and our processes as soon as possible. The sooner that we do that, the better off we’re going to be and the more beneficial it will be to our business,” DeeJae stresses. 

 

Resources

DeeJae Durante | LinkedIn | Twitter

Categories
The ESG Report

The Role of Digital Solutions for ESG with Page Motes

Tom Fox welcomes Page Motes to this episode of the ESG Report. Page is the Head of Global Sustainability at Dell Technologies. In this conversation, Page and Tom talk about sustainability, how Dell oversees it, and where sustainability may go in the future.

The Role of Sustainability 

Tom asks Page to elaborate on what role sustainability plays at Dell. “The way we define the sustainability role and purview at our company is around all things environmental and then an aspect of social, really the human rights piece,” Page says. Human capital management, diversity, equity, and inclusion are also part of how Dell defines sustainability. 

 

Moving from Compliance to Sustainability and ESG 

There are skills that compliance professionals have that individuals in the field of sustainability can develop. Page specifically points to the ability to understand ambiguity, especially when dealing with the ethics side of ESG and sustainability. On the ethics side, there are more gray areas, so you have to have a set form of values and morals to help you navigate them. In sustainability, not everything is regulated, so you have to understand what works. “You’re working on a global scale. You’re having to understand all aspects of the company and the business. You have to understand the balance between what the business needs for business acceleration and growth,” Page stresses. 

 

Sustainability of The Future

Tom asks Page where she sees sustainability going in the corporate world. Page expresses that companies, as well as Dell, are thinking about how the solutions they offer their user and customer base can help them achieve their goals. “How can technology be used to create systems of change? How can we decarbonize our technology?” These are questions companies are thinking about intently. Currently, ESG and sustainability are more focused on structures and programs to meet regulatory requirements, but Page hopes that in the future, they will be more focused on innovation and collaboration.  

 

Resources

Page Motes | LinkedIn 

Dell Technologies

Categories
The ESG Report

How Sustainability Impacts Culture with Fariyal Khanbabi

 

Fariyal Khanbabi is the CEO and chairman of Dialight Group, an LED industrial lighting technology company that services the maritime industry. Dialight’s LED products provide lighting solutions that deliver reduced energy consumption and create a safer working environment. Fariyal joins Tom Fox to talk about her company’s product and services, as well as her thoughts on ESG. 

 

 

What is Dialight?

Tom asks Fariyal to tell listeners more about Dialight. Dialight is the global leader in sustainable LED lighting solutions for the industrial market, she responds. Wherever there’s a harsh environment or a plant where some kind of heavy industrial work is going on, Dialight is there providing “the next generation of lighting solutions that deliver reduced energy consumption, and most importantly a safe working environment”. As a company in the 21st century, Dialight is focused on promoting and executing sustainable practices and solving the climate crisis, using technology.

 

Environmental Protection Declaration

Fariyal defines Environmental Protection Declaration (EPD) and how Dialight utilizes them. An EPD is a verified document that communicates transparent and comparable information about the life-cycle environmental impact of products. Approximately 2 years ago, Dialight began using an independent agency to issue EPDs on their products, which verifies the environmental impact of all their major product lines. They focus on the materials they use, and it helps them understand what they should use for the next generation of products. They have incorporated the use of EPDs into their sales program as it helps them get products made with recyclable and sustainable materials that are approved by a board of environmental experts.

 

Workforce Sustainability 

Tom asks how sustainability, environmental consciousness, and governance are incorporated into employee acquisition. Fariyal explains that statistically, the next generation of employees does not want to work for a company that does not have a social conscience or is not doing something to help the environment. Even though Dialight is the most sustainable lighting company on the market right now, they actively try to make their employees feel that way. They participate in various initiatives based on environmental and gender-based activities and actively try to encourage women to find their space in the industrial industry. 

 

Resources:

Fariyal Khanbabi | LinkedIn |  Dialight