You might ask what business WWF, a longstanding advocate for environmental and social activism, could possibly have at an international investment and finance conference like FundForum? The answer is a lot. This report, based on comments made earlier this year by Mark Griffiths (leader in sustainable innovation), explains further.
Sustainability has ever-increasing relevance in the private sector. Griffiths warned listeners in Copenhagen that investors share vital accountability with producers and consumers for the current state of climate ‘emergency’. He could not understate the urgency of WWF’s mission as one for the whole of mankind, declaring ‘we have a generation to solve climate change issues’.
Has a date for action been finally set?
Well, now. We are late for the date in fact. If the entire world lived like Europeans, 10th May 2019 was as the would-be-have-been date for the exhaustion of Earth’s natural resources budget.
‘Emotive’ dedication to our planet has become unignorable for corporations. The human side of finance’s has been awoken by the activist clamour of Gen Z and Millenials, headed by Greta Thunburg and Extinction Rebellion.
Firms can no longer function solely around the four prime aspects of revenue, brand, cost and risk.
According to Griffiths, businesses and investors now have to work to achieve three goals; measuring and setting targets for their Carbon Footprint, supporting climate-smart politics, and developing a climate plan to integrate into their supply chains.
Vital change can happen in the supply chain that is the stem between consumers and producers.
What's already going on in the industry?
Green data can only be described as the key to changes that need to happen in the supply chain. The mission to equip firms with green data solutions to meet demand for sustainability from consumers and regulators has seen a flurry of tech innovation.
By collaborating with BCG Digital Ventures to form OpenSC, WWF has made innovative strides to provide a rigorous method that certifies a food product’s sustainability. OpenSC does not use newly developed tech - GPS and radiofrequency-identification (RFID).
Open SC’s true innovation lies in its potential to provide traceability for regulators, accountability for manufacturers and satisfaction for consumers. Essentially, the data collected by GPS technically allows every stage in a fish’s journey (from being caught, shipped and processed) to be viewed in absolute detail.
"Firms can no longer function solely around the four prime aspects of revenue, brand, cost and risk."
Transparency in supply chain data ultimately aids investors who are seeking to invest sustainably to make better decisions. Griffiths underlined OpenSC’s benefit to the room of delegates in Copenhagen::monitoring sustainable production bears financial gain for investors, as blindly investing into companies that could suffer from regulation has foreboding implications for market value.
The future...
Sustainability possesses an imperative role in the present and future of business and investment. Using green data to secure certification and transparency around the supply chain makes WWF a trailblazer in the financial shakeup around sustainability, a product of the climate emergency we are facing.
Watch Mark discuss the mission of impact for profit innovators, live from FundForum International 2019 below.