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Biz Strategy

AI x Sustainability (4): The Role of AI in Integrating Sustainability into Financial Balance Sheets

December 10, 2024

How can AI help connect the worlds of sustainability/ESG data, and that of company financials? ESG is typically considered a mere cost - yet: this perception stems chiefly from a lack of integration of mutually beneficial data of these two worlds. With better approaches to cost accounting, to performance analysis, as well as using predictive analysis relate to trends, legislation and asset management, the ability of AI to integrated diverse and complex data sets may precise be the pathway to shift that needle.

Biz Strategy Future Tech Supply Chain

AI x Sustainability (3): Supply Chain Compliance with AI

November 12, 2024

Can AI help us to get to (better) grips with supply chain compliance? Supply chains are based on fairly complex partnership networks where every link ideally must meet strict efficiency and compliance standards. Supplier audits and legislation aim ultimately to ensure high standard, it is a not the least highly time demanding task to be successful at. AI offers the potential to support practical solutions for risk assessment, process optimization, and partner evaluation. Commercial providers are already jumping on the band wagon by providing ways to build 'digital twins' of real supply chains – hence opening them up for 'offline optimisation' - and of course highly sophisticated data analytics tools drawing from multiple disjoint data sources.

Biz Strategy Future Tech Governance

AI x Sustainability (2): Leveraging AI for ESG Reporting

October 22, 2024

Could ESG reporting finally become less repetitive and tedious? AI has the potential to transform ESG reporting by automating compliance tracking, integrating data from diverse and unstructured sources, and streamlining audit preparation. This opens up opportunities to free data and ESG experts from repetitive, tedious tasks. Yet, while AI offers promise, tight oversight remains essential to address challenges like data quality ('crap in is crap out') and system integration.

Biz Strategy Future Tech Opinions

AI x Sustainability (1): Where does it fit?

October 1, 2024

AI has the potential to transform corporate responsibility by handling data-heavy tasks like reporting or data and KPI management. It hence can contribute to helping companies 'being less bad'. However, its potential to support professionals and companies in driving real positive impact is still developing. This post introduces AI’s current potenntial in corporate responsibility and sustainability. In upcoming blog posts we'll explore specific applications: in sustainability reporting, supply chain management, and integrating financial considerations with sustainability impact.

Biz Strategy Governance Opinions

What would the world lose if your company disappeared?

July 23, 2024

Our economic well-being relies on indefinite growth in a finite system, raising sustainability concerns. But, if we dared to ask: What would the world lose if your company disappeared? Companies might find themselves in a totally novel position on how to justify their existence: Through assessments of their overall impact on society and the planet, or indeed having to advocate how their business case positively contribute to all facets of life.

Biz Strategy Finance

Balance Sheet Shadow: The overlooked impact of corporate cash holdings

June 24, 2024

This blog uncovers the surprising, and mostly overseen fact, that corporate cash holdings in banks more often than not have a relevant carbon footprint. Relevant enough for a company's own Scope 3 and overall footprint. We discuss actionable steps from the Green Action Cash Guide, and the type of support the guide gives – but also lacks. Topics touched upon are: board support, data gathering, and strategies for shifting to climate-friendly banking partners.

Biz Strategy

The Illusion of Impact Effectiveness. Or: How to Stress test your Corporate Responsibility Impact Performance.

May 28, 2024

In her thought-provoking 2020 article, Laura Liswood exposes "The Illusion of Inclusion," where companies appear diverse but lack genuine inclusion. In this blog post I extend this idea to "The Illusion of Sustainability Impact Effectiveness," where businesses seem committed to sustainability but achieve minimal real impact. By adapting Liswood's Inclusion Stress Test, I drafted a version of the assessmnt that can be a usueful tool for companies to genuinely assess and enhance their corporate responsibility efforts across all dimensions.

Biz Strategy Governance Opinions

Climate Litigation x Boards of Directors: Approaching New Frontiers

November 1, 2023

Governments as well as legal persons such as companies are undoubtedly important players in this whole societal shift towards climate mitigation and adaption. When it comes to corporates though, and notably stock quoted companies, there is a group of people that is most prominently exposed in regards to the legality and societal ‘license to operate’ of a company: the Board of Directors (BoD). The question hence for this blog post is: How is this climate litigation business shaping up to affect the Board of Directors of publicly listed companies?

Biz Strategy Finance Governance

The Next Wave: Biodiversity (9) – Habemus suasiones! Recommendations we have!

October 11, 2023

After some results at the COP in Vancouver, as well as the release of the first ever Science -Based Targets for Nature (SBTN) – finally (!) the recommendations by the TNFD (Task Force for nature-based financial disclosure) have been released. So the question obviously is, how do these targets address the 5 key drivers of biodiversity erosion eventhough it is only about reporting? Are the TNDF recommendations worth their salt?

Biz Strategy Governance Opinions

Climate Litigation x Companies: An (un)surprising Surprise?!

September 13, 2023

Governments are undoubtedly important players in this whole societal shift towards climate mitigation and adaption. Equally important though, and by the argument of some possibly even more important: companies, the corporate world. The largest number of cases on a global level are brought forward against governments. But about a forth of all cases are filed against corporations. This is not negligible - and, maybe more importantly, a number on a brisk raising trajectory. The question hence for this blog post is: How is this climate litigation business shaping up to affect corporate players?

Biz Strategy Governance Opinions

Climate Litigation x Governments: A surprisingly (un)revolutionary approach

August 2, 2023

Litigation, going to court, is by definition not a fun business. And yet, in this 2023 several Climate Litigation cases have already caught the headline – and many more are in the makes. Among all the court cases, one particular case sticks out like – depending on the political viewpoint – either a lighthouse of hope, or a sore thumb: Urgenda vs Government of the Netherlands. In this blog post we dig deeper into this case: Who was going to court against whom? And why exactly? How come the plaintiffs won? And: is this just a one off local phenomenon in the Netherlands?

You too, can do: Be part of the solution, not the problem. Adding value with your skill set.

Biz Strategy Opinions

You too, can do. Or: How to be part of the solution, not the problem

June 27, 2023

More and more people call themselves 'sustainability experts'. Just -we do not need more of them. Instead we need people who are extremely good at what they do, apply their skill in a context to create change and that nourishes them for years to come. That's the Sweet Spot. How did you find your 'Sweet Spot'? And how did you transition?

Biz Strategy Governance Opinions

It starts with … Me, myself and I.
OR: a simple field manual to create (sustainability) disempowerment in organisations.

May 10, 2023

This manual was originally drafted when I was astonished by the way how ‘doublespeak’ is being used in organisations to prevent change. Any change. Including – but not limited to – sustainability related ones. It is a cynic-sarcastic-semi-realistic manual on how to be reasonably successful in disempowering an organisation. It is applicable to all areas that encompass change including innovation, sustainability, internationalisation, digitalisation and so forth.

Leadership and Operations have complementary accountabilities in rolling out Sustainability

Biz Strategy Governance

Getting Sustainability Done: Top Down ↔ Bottom Up – Who is Accountable for What?

June 28, 2022

‘The conversation is always about cost, not about impact!’ And: ‘Employees just don’t get moving!’ Do these statements remind you of your company’s challenges? Your not alone! Leadership and Operations Teams have complementary sustainability implementation accountabilities and responsibilities. But instead of leveraging that fact, more often than not the blame game is played. What to do about it? Implement Fair Process Leadership governance processes - and train all teams through Serious Games.

Biz Strategy Governance

Where the Rubber Hits the Road: Accountability requests at Leadership Level

May 17, 2022

This time around I want to make it explicit: If a company is not performing in sustainability terms, it as good as always down to senior leadership. Both, executive leadership – CEO, COO, CFO, CMO, CSO etc. - as well as non-executive leadership at board level. For one, arguably simplistic, reason: sustainability deliverables are oversteered by ‘higher priority’ KPIs. And what does mean? Fundamentally, it is down to decisions where the ball stops at the top leadership level. Do you recognise these scenarios?

The Theory U Process of Co-sensing and Co-creating

Biz Strategy Opinions

Valleys of Despair and Mountains of Stupid: When it comes to sustainability, we’re all apprentices – all the time

March 29, 2022

‘I feel like a fraud’. This is what employees of clients I work with often voice. It is usually at the point of time when strategy is moved to implementation. Hence: when it all gets concrete. The statement is an expression of the feeling of overwhelm that comes with delving into sustainability issues, acquiring new knowledge and terminology, and in addition having to adapt ones habitual practice of work.It also happens once the low hanging fruits are gleaned, everything gets much more difficult. It's the 'valley of despair'. Why is it important to pay attention to it? And what can leaders do about it?

Biz Strategy Globalisation Opinions Uncategorized

Climate Change x Geopolitics: All hands on Resources?!

March 1, 2022

Did you ever wonder, how the New Climate Changed reality could look and feel like at its worst? Then, we may right now be getting a flavour of exactly that. Ukraine's resource richness may be an important variable in a globalised world that will increasingly be struggling to access necessary resources in the decades to come. Because, after all, and as we learned when we played monopoly: Whomever controls the resources controls the game.

Biz Strategy Consumer-ism

Sustainability x Employees: Ideas to motivate, create urgency, and inspire action

February 15, 2022

Ever since my first steps in the world of ‘making sustainability happen’, one of the questions I most frequently get to hear is: ‘how is this relevant to [insert your preferred corporate or private authority person]. It is a valid question. But not an easy one to answer. And certainly not new. It is a questions has been tackled in 3 ways: Well illustrated and visually attractive presentations; Gamification approaches; and resources that help take relatively easy and simple steps that, cumulatively, make a difference. Here hence a list of tools and approaches that intent to motivate, create urgency, and inspire action.

Biz Strategy Consumer-ism Finance

A CO2 baseline for all: Tools to footprint, for Individuals to Small Enterprises

February 1, 2022

Large companies and institutional players are challenged to assess and calculate their carbon footprint. But they typically have the means to hire experts – in-house or consultants – and buy licenses of useful tools.This applies similarly to larger-sized SMEs. But what about distinctly small companies or indeed even individuals? How can they get a guesstimate on their carbon footprint, and possibly even some pointers how to do better going forward? Hence, here a short list of such calculators, both for individuals as well as for small companies.

Biz Strategy Finance Opinions

Carbon Pricing: A Dilemma to happen. Or: When Ethics meets Market Economy

December 21, 2021

Pricing the ton of carbon is a key matter – more so as an increasing number of companies aim at publicly claiming carbon neutrality. Carbon hence has a price – and this raises the much discussed question: What is a fair (or better: ‘correct’) price for carbon? In this post I present a glimpse of some of the challenges and realities related to the topic. It leaves us with the question: What went wrong in the current system that fundamentally asks us to choose between having to monetarily price natural and societal resources, and a fair, equitable access to these resources specifically for hard hit communities? The question alone should not be even asked. And yet it seems that’s what we’re left with given the current time and age.

Future Fit Industries of 'Stuff': Governance, Responsibility, and the Age of Doughnut Economics

Biz Strategy

AI x Sustainability (4): The Role of AI in Integrating Sustainability into Financial Balance Sheets

AI x Sustainability (3): Supply Chain Compliance with AI

AI x Sustainability (2): Leveraging AI for ESG Reporting

AI x Sustainability (1): Where does it fit?

What would the world lose if your company disappeared?

Balance Sheet Shadow: The overlooked impact of corporate cash holdings

The Illusion of Impact Effectiveness. Or: How to Stress test your Corporate Responsibility Impact Performance.

Climate Litigation x Boards of Directors: Approaching New Frontiers

The Next Wave: Biodiversity (9) – Habemus suasiones! Recommendations we have!

Climate Litigation x Companies: An (un)surprising Surprise?!

Climate Litigation x Governments: A surprisingly (un)revolutionary approach

You too, can do. Or: How to be part of the solution, not the problem

It starts with … Me, myself and I.
OR: a simple field manual to create (sustainability) disempowerment in organisations.

Getting Sustainability Done: Top Down ↔ Bottom Up – Who is Accountable for What?

Where the Rubber Hits the Road: Accountability requests at Leadership Level

Valleys of Despair and Mountains of Stupid: When it comes to sustainability, we’re all apprentices – all the time

Climate Change x Geopolitics: All hands on Resources?!

Sustainability x Employees: Ideas to motivate, create urgency, and inspire action

A CO2 baseline for all: Tools to footprint, for Individuals to Small Enterprises

Carbon Pricing: A Dilemma to happen. Or: When Ethics meets Market Economy

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