Uplift Lifts & Bits - June 2022
June 2022 - In This Issue:
Are Carbon Offsets the Botox of Sustainability?
Human Rights Risks in Brazil Reflect Global Supply Chain Problems
Survey Reveals Executive Disconnects on Sustainability
Improving Youth Mental Health - Pinterest, The White House & MTV Team Up
Uplift Launches Custom ESG Workshop for Executives to Help Accelerate Change
Lifts & Bits
Are Carbon Offsets The Botox of Sustainability?
The offset rush is coming! Many more companies are working to reduce their carbon footprint in time for the upcoming U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's requirements and the European Union's CSR Directive. (Both are on track to be enforced in 2024).
Like botox, offsets are a surface-level solution. If quality offsets are used as part of an integrated environmental mitigation strategy, they can be a critical component. But, the U.S. carbon market is unregulated, making it difficult for companies to know if they are procuring high-quality offsets or bogus marketing. So how can companies choose wisely? Follow Uplift's tips for due diligence on carbon offsets:
Additionality: Offset projects should be additional to business-as-usual procedures and support outcomes that would not occur otherwise.
Permanence: Offset projects should operate for an established long-term period to ensure carbon savings over time.
Leakage: Offset projects should not cause direct or indirect emissions from their construction or activity.
Co-Benefits: Offset projects should include additional benefits such as social equity, education development, and/or resiliency.
Accuracy: Offset projects should be verified by a reputable third party, not double-counted by a different party, and synchronous with the timeline that the emissions were released.
Relevance: Offset projects should align with the company's values and the requests of stakeholders.
Want more information? Read the full article by Uplift here.
Human Rights Risks in Brazil Reflect Global Supply Chain Problems
A recent Forbes article outlines human rights risks in Brazil tied to corporate supply chains – including modern slavery, discrimination, and the destruction and displacement of indigenous communities. These abuses are not unique to Brazil though and underscore why companies should conduct human rights due diligence across their supply chain.
The International Labour Organization estimates that at any given time approximately 24.9 million people are in forced labor globally. What does this mean for business?
Modern slavery is likely in every corporate supply chain and financial institution's lending portfolio.
Companies and their suppliers that violate human rights increasingly face financial and legal risks as many governments (including the U.S.) have pending or recently enacted stricter human rights laws.
Companies will also encounter increased enforcement of this legislation when importing/exporting goods.
Businesses branded as sustainable and responsible must have visibility into their supply chain, follow the UN Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights, enact a human rights due diligence process, and develop a plan to address and remedy violations.
At Uplift, we tell our clients that if you don't look for human rights abuses in your supply chain you won't see it. And if you don't see it, you can't fix it. So, we encourage you to start looking!
Survey Reveals Executive Disconnect on Sustainability
Google Cloud commissioned The Harris Poll to conduct a survey of 1,491 executives from 16 countries on their companies' sustainability efforts. Interestingly, 80 percent of the respondents rated their companies as "above average" in their environmental efforts. However, fewer than half stated that effective tools were in place to measure their sustainability impact, and more than 50 percent indicated that they believe their company was greenwashing to some degree. Additionally, two thirds of respondents indicated they want to advance sustainability, but they simply don't know how.
So why the gap? Respondents reported difficulties finding the right technology to invest in, being hyper-focused on growth and profits, and insufficient understanding of sustainability issues. At Uplift, we also see executive teams struggle to:
Prioritize the sustainability actions that are best for their company considering potential impact and feasibility.
Build sustainability into their culture and change management practices (Without this it's hard to drive innovation and improve enterprise-wide sustainability).
Gather complete and accurate ESG benchmarking and materiality data to support decision-making.
Accurately estimate the amount of time, staffing, knowledge, and resources it takes to implement sustainability initiatives.
What’s Inspiring Us:
Improving Youth Mental Health - Pinterest, MTV & The White House Team Up
Our partners at Pinterest are demonstrating that authentic social impact happens from the inside out – from content policy + compassionate search to philanthropy + culture, Pinterest is prioritizing mental health and emotional wellbeing throughout the organization.
To commemorate Mental Health Awareness Month in May, Pinterest joined MTV, Biden-Harris Administration officials, and other leading media and technology companies for the first-ever Mental Health Youth Action Forum in Washington, D.C.
Pinterest developed Light the Shadow with Pinterest at the Renwick to kick off the week’s activities. The experience spotlighted emerging leaders advancing mental health solutions, highlighted Pinterest's deep commitment to emotional wellbeing, and provided a beautiful space to bring approximately 300 mental health and policy leaders together to accelerate the mental health agenda.
Uplifting News:
Uplift Launches Custom Workshop Series for Corporate Executives to Help Companies Accelerate Change
Uplift is launching a customized strategic workshop series for corporations that want to increase their leadership teams' awareness and understanding of ESG. This follows the success of a two-part ESG workshop series that Uplift developed for a clients' 50 corporate executives. The workshop covers ESG regulations and trends, a competitive assessment, and a facilitated exercise to help leaders understand how different aspects of ESG are relevant to their industry and respective business units.
Contact hannahdarling@theupliftagency.com for more information.
Events & Team:
Webinar Series
5 Ways to Redesign Corporate Philanthropy to Advance Equity
Thursday, July 14, 1 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. CT
Uplift's social impact and community engagement leaders, Jerome Tennille, MSL, CVA and Ashley Cross Rayment, will host a conversation on how traditional grantmaking practices in corporate philanthropy may actually perpetuate the inequities we're seeking to solve.
Join us to rethink approaches to philanthropy and take an equity lens to grantmaking practices and funding models.
Sign up: Here
