Tag: sustainability

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

 

Categories
Innovation in Compliance

Supply Chain and ESG – What You Need to Know: Episode 3 – The New World of Product Compliance and ESG with Cally Edgren and Devin O’Herron

 

In part 3 of the Supply Chain and ESG – What You Need to Know series, Cally Edgren and Devin O’Herron of Assent join Tom Fox to discuss product compliance and sustainability. They explore how the two worlds are starting to intersect. 

 

 

Making sure products meet regulatory requirements is what product compliance is all about. In recent years, the requirements have been changing. There used to be a focus on safety features like mechanical and electrical safety, but things changed with the RoHS Directive in 2002. That directive was meant to make sure electronic waste from third-world countries was safe. It was one of the first times a regulatory rule had more to do with sustainability than traditional product safety.

 

Manufacturers need to understand that their customers are no longer just concerned with what they hold in their hands at the end of the process – they want to make sure that their suppliers are using responsible processes. The two worlds of operations compliance and product compliance are starting to connect. As we become increasingly aware of the importance and relevance of the social and environmental costs associated with manufacturing processes and the barrier they present towards sustainability, ESG metrics represent another way of managing and measuring these externalities. 

 

Resources

Assent

 

Categories
The ESG Report

Digital Sustainability with Jed Yueh


 
Tom Fox is joined by Jed Yueh, founder and CEO of Delphix. They discuss his newest passion project with SustainableIT.org and their mission to advance global sustainability through technology and leadership. 
 

 
The Work of SustainableIT.org 
Many people believe that sustainability is somebody else’s problem to solve, but Jed makes it clear that we cannot keep thinking that way if we want to make a difference. At SustainableIT.org, they collaborate with esteemed technology leaders to drive sustainability forward across the world’s largest organizations. 
 
The Link Between Technology and ESG 
Jed tells Tom that companies must “take a hard look at how you govern technology programs so that they don’t have adverse impacts on society and the environment.” Most companies view ESG as something in-demand, and so they independently chart the course they will take on ESG initiatives. At SustainableIT.org, they create and identify the best programs that can actually digitize the way a business functions while decreasing its carbon footprint. 
 
Making an Impact
Facilitating change is not about one technology company being pro-environment. Jed names a number of SustainableIT.org’s board members, explaining how many of these great technologists work for some of the world’s biggest companies. “That’s how we can have the biggest impact,” he says. 
 
RESOURCES 
Tom Fox’s email
Jedidiah Yueh | LinkedIn | Twitter | SustainableIT.org
 

Categories
The ESG Report

Sustainability Transition and Ratings with Jagmeet Lamba and Daniel Perry


 
‘Compliance is no longer the standard. Companies want to do business with other companies whose values align with theirs.’ This is one of the main talking points in this week’s episode of The ESG Report, where Jagmeet ‘Jag’ Lamba and Daniel Perry join Tom Fox for a conversation about third-party risk management.
 

 
The Importance of Third-Party Automation 
“Companies are not islands,” says Jag, “they exist mainly with the help of partners.” As the companies grow and expand, the third-party network does too. With the compliance burden, data security/privacy burden, and now, the ESG burden that accompany all of these third parties, it’s impossible to manage without automation.
 
Reputational Damage 
Tom mentions the risk of reputational damage to one’s brand through their third parties. In Jag’s company, Certa, reputation plays a role in all of the contracts they make with their key stakeholders, therefore, any reputational issue is a breach of that contract. He advises holding your third parties to that same standard. It is no longer sufficient to be compliant, as today, employees and other companies want to do business with those whose values align with theirs. “Compliance is no longer the standard,” Jag tells listeners.
 
The Work of EcoVadis: Improving Sustainability 
ESG stands for environmental, social, and governance. The ‘S’ can also stand for sustainability, but, “Sustainability actually covers all of the pillars of ESG,” Daniel claims. 
In a company, experts are generally required to aid in making procurement decisions, but they  are probably not also experts on sustainability and ESG. His company, EcoVadis, provides a simple scorecard that tells how well, or how poorly a company is doing on key areas of sustainability, such as environment, labor and human rights, ethics, and supply chain. With these scorecards, you can start making broad, tactical decisions. By having one way of understanding the ESG of all suppliers, companies are able to implement necessary changes. 
 
The Partnership between Certa and EcoVadis 
Both Daniel and Jag detail their goals for both their clients, as well as the world of ESG, from their respective company perspectives. “The only way to have a strong ESG profile is if you also measure the ESG profile of your third parties,” is a quote from Jag that sums up this partnership quite well. 
 
RESOURCES 
Tom Fox’s email
Jagmeet Lamba | LinkedIn | Twitter | Certa
Daniel Perry | LinkedIn | Twitter | EcoVadis
 

Categories
The Compliance Life

The Compliance Life-Kim Yapchai, Make Tomorrow Better (and have some fun)


The Compliance Life details the journey to and in the role of a Chief Compliance Officer. How does one come to sit in the CCO chair? What are some of the skills a CCO needs to success navigate the compliance waters in any company? What are some of the top challenges CCOs have faced and how did they meet them? These questions and many others will be explored in this new podcast series. Over four episodes each month on The Compliance Life, I visit with one current or former CCO to explore their journey to the CCO chair. This month, my guest is Kim Yapchai, the Chief Counsel – Environmental, Social & Governance at Tenneco Inc.  This encompasses both compliance and sustainability.
Kim calls herself a “businessperson with a law degree” and she has had a distinguished career in the in-house world. She held in-house positions at Ford Motor Credit Company and Masco before moving to Whirlpool to become the company’s first Chief Compliance Officer. From there she moved to Tenneco to the CCO chair and then into her current role. Further, she is the company’s first Chief Sustainability Officer. In this role, she is working to improve transparency of information shared with stakeholders, set goals, and promote the use of that information by investors, customers, and others. Kim has received numerous awards include the prestigious Top Minds in Compliance Award from Compliance Week.
In this fourth and final episode, Kim discusses receiving the designation of Chief Sustainability Officer and how that intersects with her role as CCO. We conclude with a look at where the risk management professional and risk management profession might be in 2030 and beyond. Finally, in her role as Chief Sustainability Officer, Kim wants to work to “Make Tomorrow Better”.