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innovation

Structured vs Unstructured Data
Biz StrategyFuture TechGovernance

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

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.
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Structured vs Unstructured Data
Biz StrategyFuture TechOpinions

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

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.
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COP28
FinanceGovernanceOpinions

COP28: An Important Step – Just Differently So

COP28 yielded mixed results, featuring some historic 'firsts' such as a fossil fuel phase-out commitment, a $700 million loss and damage fund, the recognition of nuclear energy, and (this is huge!) a pointed spotlight on food systems' role in adaption. Most of the old challenges though remain: It's all carrots and no sticks. Which shows in the continued absence of enforcement of Climate Targets or their stringency, and the eye-level conversation with Global South nations.
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Toshiba Robot
Future TechGovernance

Digitalisation in the age of Corporate Responsibility

How does digitalisation impact and link to corporate responsibility? This is the question we look into in this post. Combining the two disciplines results in a range of interesting questions. For example: If humans create non-human agents (e.g. in the shape of AI): For what, towards whom are these responsible? And: are they responsible at all - or is it their creator who is?
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Mistakes and Learning
Biz StrategyGovernanceOpinions

Continuous Learning Mistakes: When time teaches to know better

Knowledge and data are two interesting entities: essential for decisions at any one time. And yet evolving with time. And with that, decisions taken some time ago, possibly decades earlier, may prove flawed – in hindsight. But what if years down the road these insights are resurfaced and either proven to be partially or fully inaccurate? What if the nuggets are suddenly being used in a context that has shifted significantly since? What if our best intended and best-possible informed statements of the past are called out years, decades later? A few thoughts on this dilemma.
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Circle - Perpetuity - Forever
CircularityDefinitions

Circularity – A puzzle piece: Not a Silver Bullet, not a Panacea

It is quite astonishing: all the different contexts that the term ‘circularity’ or ‘circular economy’ is being used. They key point mostly is of course the waste reduction promises inherent in the term, and the subsequent lower dependency on finite resources. But, in addition to reducing waste, carbon – or rather carbon footprint – is a key factor. Unfortunately, the reality is sobering: taking fashion as example, at best between 3% and 6% of the industry's carbon footprint could be remedied that way. And even worse: in order to realise the potential, three fundamental hurdles must be addressed. Some efforts are underway, of course, but a steep hill remains to climb.
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Time to Think
Biz StrategyGovernanceOpinions

The leadership difference: Time to Think

Research has known for a while that when someone in your presence is trying to think, much of what you are hearing and seeing is your effect on them. That is also the case for boards. Because: under the right conditions and circumstances, people will – invariably – think for themselves. Just: is that desired?
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Business not as usual
Governance

The ‘unusual’ in the ‘business as usual’

The more time I spend ‘doing sustainability’, i.e. being involved both as a professional as well as as an individual in cajoling, motivating, convincing and helping companies – and the individuals therein - to become ‘better citizens’, the more I realised that … actually, in would not be that hard to do better. Or let me reformulate more accurately: it is equally hard as many other things in businesses.
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GlobalisationGovernanceSupply Chain

Risky Fashion: The challenges of Integrating Product Design and the Supply Chain

The design stage is usually the longest, most expensive and riskiest part of the chain. Additionally, research has shown that at least an estimated 80% of a product's environmental (and to a lesser degree also social) impact is locked at the design stage into a product. By integrating the product design with the supply chain, companies can compress non-value adding time and costs in their supply chains, increase responsiveness and mitigate supply chain risks – while simultaneously managing (improving) their sustainability performance without added costs or efforts.
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Consumer-ismFuture Tech

Scenarios of the future: Future cities, future consumers

At Shirahime, we have worked quite extensively over the last few months on the development of fashion industry scenarios beyond the 2020 time frame, going as far as 2045. We mentioned for example Shell as one that used this approach to suit their own goals. Siemens' 'Future Life' video, as presented the The Crystal in London. A much more interesting approach, and very insightful in terms of methodology, but also how tangible the results are presented, is Siemens’ work on Future Cities
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GlobalisationSupply Chain

Sourcing Destination: Brazil – A Latinamerican Powerhouse

For retail, Brazil is the ‘next hot’ place to go to. For a variety of reasons: For one, the country’s economy has been for a long time up and raising. Brazil is one of the 4 BRIC countries – the 4 most dominant raising economies, and ranks forth among them. Its retail sector is expected to boom tremendously over the next few years owing largely to the two major global sport events – the 2014 FIFA World Cup and Rio 2016 Summer Olympics that will take place in the country.
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Future TechGlobalisationSupply Chain

2045: Fashion Industry Scenarios

2045: scenarios for the textile and fashion industry: How will the industry look like in 5, 10 and 30 years time? Scenarios offer research-based insights, and potentially can show how realistic a world is, that looks rather quite different from what we're used to. What if Asia become today's Europe? What if we did not buy to own? What if everyone was a maker?
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Brand ReviewMaterialsSupply Chain

Better Business series: C&A

C&A, part of the Cofra Holding that owns C&A Europe, Brazil, Mexico and China, has been a family business since 1841. The company is quite conservative in communicating corporate responsibility achievements. Their style of communication appears to be more emotional than factual. The company has been awarded the Textile Exchange Future Shaper award in 2012 recognising the company’s commitment to promoting the analysis and certification of organic cotton and textiles.
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