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A Pledge for Every Occasion?!

July 27, 2021

Over the last couple of years a plethora of pledges has arisen in the sustainability/ESG space. The weird thing: Pledges intend to drive change the wrong way around. Commit people (read: companies) publicly, then hope they will actually move in accordance to the pledge/commitment, and then only hold them to account if and when they do not delivery. If anyone remembers that is. Do we need all these pledges? Do they really make a difference? Data says: probably not ... Shouldn't hence the Lemma simply be: Actions before words. Impact before messaging. Walk before talk. Science before marketing.

Biz Strategy Finance Opinions

A ‘system positive’ company. Bullshit bingo or separating the wheat from the chaff?

November 17, 2020

‘System positive’. The latest term I came a cross in the finance world, and which intends to identify business that are particularly well set up to survive the tribulations to be expected in the decades to come. Immediately the cynic in me asks: Another addition to the sustainability bullshit bingo? And yet: the 5 questions proposed for scrutinising companies are very sharp, very relevant and very insightful. They only fall short of one: Will the company thrive within or even thanks to the Doughnut Boundaries?

Finance Governance Opinions

Making a difference – or not?

January 14, 2016

The COP21 Climate Agreement that was reached this past December in Paris, and which comes into effect in 2020, is a milestone in global sustainability efforts. Yet - are we doing enough? What is enough?

Globalisation Opinions

6th IPCC Report: Scientists – thank you for all your hard work!

August 17, 2021

A week or so ago, the latest, sixth, IPCC report dropped. My suggestion hence is simply read it. Even if only the executive summary. But just read it. All I would like is to grab the opportunity to give a HUGE thank you to all the scientists involved. Thank you dear IPCC scientists! Thank you for all the work, the patience, and the glimmer of hope that despite it all remains a firm part of the reports. Even this latest one.

Biz Strategy Consumer-ism Opinions

Real value is the name of the game. Differentiation was yesterday

November 21, 2012

t is fairly old news, but merits repeating nevertheless: our current economy, at the verge of collapse as it is, is egocentric, and at the same time understates costs while overstating benefits. In other words, it promotes a type of behaviour that is degeneratively competitive: the ‘me’ wants, needs, more of whatever it may be, while anything and everything else is losing out. No matter how high the cost for the bigger picture – society and the planet, that is – may be.

Biz Strategy Circularity Opinions

Why bother – with Sustainability? Start with Why

October 27, 2020

Over a decade ago, Simon Sinek pointedly demanded: Start with Why. Targeted at a then rather uninspiring marketing and branding industry, 10 years on is still as valid as ever. Just now, we need to ask businesses: Why are you bothering with investing millions, and thousands of hours into sustainability? Often the answer will be: because we have to. An answer just as uninspiring as the sales slogans Sinek was bashing a decade ago. Because when it comes to Sustainability: Know your genuine Why. Or don't bother.

Biz Strategy Opinions

Collaboration & Team Work: Buzz or Drag?

May 11, 2021

Collaborations toward a common goal, across organisations, can be one of the most gratifying things we ever may get to experience. Funny enough: Neither collaboration nor team work is something outrageously difficult in principle. If the common and mutually beneficial goal is front and centre. But this is exactly where the hitch is. Some thoughts about the hurdles of genuine collaboration and team work.

Sustainable Business Leadership in 2030 - Four Scenarios

Biz Strategy Governance Opinions

Companies & Sustainability: Who leads it? And how?

July 6, 2021

If you’ve ever been part of a bigger discourse about how to scale out sustainability economically and globally, you’ll have been quick to notice that by and large you’ll be faced with representatives of four distinct camps of advocates: The Grassrooters; the 'Setting the tone at the top' people; those in support of government regulation driven by civil society; and the 'Fiduciary Duty Advocates'. But which camp owns the driving leadership role? Funnily enough, that role does get handed around as if it was a game of musical chairs ... or the proverbial hot potato.

Opinions

The Gold of Small Things

August 24, 2021

Science fiction literature and movies are obsessed with the story line, and the film industry has made billions of dollars from it: a time traveller goes backwards in time. Changes (‘corrects’) a small thing – and Voila! All will be good. But precisely in the here and now Big and Bold things need happening - yet, doing small and important things remains relevant. Not the least because few of us humans see themselves as capable of completing Big and Bold things. So - maybe inspiration from science fiction is not all bad afterall ...

Governance Opinions

Health Care and the ‘S’ in ESG

April 9, 2024

The healthcare industry's social responsibility goes beyond just workplace and supply chain issues; it's about its impact on society and what its real goals are. Trials and prevention efforts often overlook certain groups. Politics and money regularly determine who gets treated, in function of political agendas in some jurisdictions. And: Using the GDP to measure health isn't necessarily helpful as it incentives fixing problems rather then preventing them early on.

Italy sings and applauds during Corona lock down

Globalisation Governance Opinions

The Post Corona World – A Backwards Corona Forecast

April 14, 2020

When will Corona 'be over'? never. There are historical moments when the future changes direction. We call them bifurcations. Or deep crises. These times are now. Matthias Horx discusses what that means concretely.

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.

Circularity Globalisation Opinions

Is the industry going down the drain? The stats tell a story insiders don’t want to see

December 12, 2012

ntil the late 80s, fashion retailers and brands would typically have two main collections a year: spring/summer and autumn/winter. Then, in the 90s things changed dramatically. Increased competition saw retailers incentivising customers to visit their stores more frequently.

Biz Strategy Opinions

Better brands = better world?

December 10, 2012

“Marketing used to be about creating a myth and telling it. Now it is about finding a truth and sharing it”. Better brands are those brands that will ensure their long-term existence, that will go beyond their founders and their children. How? By taking better decisions and looking at the bigger picture.

Consumer-ism Opinions

What ‘New Normal’? A personal pledge with and for ‘tiny’ actions

May 5, 2020

We have a choice. We have a choice to define, to embody, to live, how we want the ‘new normal’ to be. Because, far from perfectionism, doing, being and actioning is what makes a difference. This is why, I herewith propose a ‘Pledge of tiny actions’.

Greenpeace-Detox-develops-market-for-BlueSign

Labels Opinions Supply Chain

A closer look at Detox Commitments

October 23, 2013

Detox has been a repeat topic on this blog. Most recently after my visit in May to Performance Days, but also previously. While slowly but surely more and more brands (17 at the time of writing) – and retailers – have signed a Detox Solution Commitment with Greenpeace, and hence work in some way or other with ZHDC (Road map to Zero), a key threshold was passed event most recently: With the Italian fabric mill Canepa, the first manufacturer has taken the pledge.

Consumer-ism Opinions

Responsible Attitudes In Fashion: Consumer vs. Industry

April 2, 2013

In the 1990s, Nike was caught in a sweatshop scandal showing poor working conditions in its suppliers’ Asian factories. Not...

Consumer-ism Definitions Opinions

Language Matters: Removing the gloss

April 27, 2021

Nearly a year ago I wrote about how the terminology we use abstracts from the fact that there are living and sentient human beings doing 'supply chain' work. Listening to a recent podcast it dawned on me that language can be just as useful to gloss over the seriousness and impact of scientific facts. And the resulting necessary actions. Climate Change vs Climate Emergency? Green energy vs renewable energy vs clean energy? Hence, some more thinking about the role of language.

Consumer-ism Materials Opinions

What I talk about, when I talk about knitting

December 25, 2010

I've recently resurrected my knitting skills. I've learned since that the lack of skill and ability to make our own, leaves us with a complete wrong understanding of the efforts required when making clothing.

Globalisation Governance Opinions

Outcomes vs Prescriptions: The Example of Regenerative Agriculture

June 22, 2021

Regenerative' is really a re-packaging of traditional agro-ecological approaches, with an added notion of leaving the land better than it was found. And yet - because lack of knowledge runs deep in companies, such lack is compensated by prescribing procedures rather than to focus on outcomes. It is a bit of a deja-vu indeed ...

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

Opinions

A Pledge for Every Occasion?!

A ‘system positive’ company. Bullshit bingo or separating the wheat from the chaff?

Making a difference – or not?

6th IPCC Report: Scientists – thank you for all your hard work!

Real value is the name of the game. Differentiation was yesterday

Why bother – with Sustainability? Start with Why

Collaboration & Team Work: Buzz or Drag?

Companies & Sustainability: Who leads it? And how?

The Gold of Small Things

The Post Corona World – A Backwards Corona Forecast

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

Is the industry going down the drain? The stats tell a story insiders don’t want to see

Better brands = better world?

What ‘New Normal’? A personal pledge with and for ‘tiny’ actions

A closer look at Detox Commitments

Responsible Attitudes In Fashion: Consumer vs. Industry

Language Matters: Removing the gloss

What I talk about, when I talk about knitting

Outcomes vs Prescriptions: The Example of Regenerative Agriculture

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