Uplift Lifts & Bits - October 2022

October 2022 - In This Issue:

• Solving the Sustainable Supply Chain Puzzle

• 5 Tips for Setting Science-based Emissions Targets

• Rethinking Corporate Grantmaking with an Equity Lens

• Boards & the ESG Governance Gap

• Gender at UNGA

• Uplifting News:

  • Uplift & Green Worldwide Partner to Help Companies Create More Sustainable Supply Chains

  • Uplift Welcomes Chris McGrath

Lifts & Bits

Solving the Sustainable Supply Chain Puzzle

Most of the environmental and human rights impacts that a business has on the world are in its supply chain. As business works to become more sustainable, cleaning up and greening supply chains remains an enormous and important part of the equation. Think for a moment about one of your favorite products and the individual materials that go into making it. Before the product's final stage of manufacturing, it has likely gone through three, four, five or six layers of a supply chain and been transported to a different location each time.

Gaining visibility into all of the environmental and human rights impacts of companies that are part of that process can seem daunting and impossible. That’s why I’m so excited by Uplift’s new partnership with Green Worldwide Shipping® - a global transportation and logistics company.

With Green's expertise and visibility into supply chains and Uplift's expertise in sustainability, human rights and ESG, we can provide unparalleled data, insights and solutions to help companies accelerate their supply chain sustainability goals.

By helping corporations and their suppliers move towards more sustainable and responsible ways of operating, we can help reduce environmental and human rights risks in our world, and that’s good for everyone.

Read more about our partnership: https://lnkd.in/gnCg4JBt

Corinne Graper, CEO Uplift

5 Tips to Set Science-based Emissions Targets
 

When companies set public sustainability targets and regularly report progress, they set the standard for others in their industry. But before goals are communicated externally, it is critical that a company first sets achievable targets rooted in data and with a detailed roadmap on how to get there. With increased regulation around carbon disclosure and growing stakeholder expectations around addressing climate change, many companies (including the top 250 global companies) are using science-based targets (SBTs) to set their emissions goals.

SBTs are emissions reduction commitments developed through a data-backed framework and verified against rigorous criteria. Since 2015, more than 1,300 companies have developed and publicly disclosed science-based targets for their Scope 1 & 2 emissions through the Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), and last year more than 2,200 were in various stages of the science-based target-setting process. This process helps companies work toward cutting in half global emissions by 2030 and achieving net zero emissions by 2050. SBTs are designed to help businesses contribute to stabilizing global temperatures well below 2℃ and pursue efforts to limit warming to 1.5℃, as outlined in the Paris Agreement.

Some executives may not want to make public commitments. But developing science-based targets can actually provide a measure of protection and the data to back it up. Many companies in the early stages of their sustainability processes are quietly setting internal science-based targets to ensure they’ve built a solid foundation for future public reporting. Here are some helpful tips as your company advances on its sustainability journey:

• Know your carbon footprint. Follow the Greenhouse Gas Protocol to track your company’s emissions. If Scope 3 emissions make up more than 40% of your company’s total emissions, you’ll need to include it in your target-setting.

• Don’t include your carbon offsets. The world of carbon offsets is fraught with landmines: it is largely unregulated, highly fragmented, and full of low-quality projects that don’t contribute to global emissions reduction goals. In addition, SBTs do not allow for the use of carbon offsets as a viable emissions reduction strategy.

• Look to the future. Your SBTs can be set for as short as 5 years or as long as 15 years. Establish timelines that align with your company’s typical approach for goals setting and risk forecasting process. Design your company’s targets to match your business language and culture.

• Plan for annual reporting. Companies committing to SBTs are expected to disclose their progress annually. Set this expectation with your team early on and create target monitoring and reporting practices to ensure this can be done. Your target calculations and reporting should follow soon after your emissions inventory is complete.

• Approach with transparency. Meeting science-based targets may not be achievable by all companies, but don’t let that dissuade you from pursuing them. A company can protect itself from the reputational risk of not meeting these targets by regularly communicating progress and openly discussing challenges faced along the way. Increased trust with stakeholders can be achieved when companies demonstrate transparency, but targets should not be set unless executive leadership is fully committed to pursuing them.

Rethinking Corporate Grantmaking with an Equity Lens

There’s a difference between “doing good” and “doing right” when awarding financial grants to community organizations. Many companies intend on “doing right” through their strategic philanthropy and corporate giving efforts. But too often this goal is missed and they end up simply “doing good”. What’s the difference? Equity.

“Doing right” is just that: it does right by the community being served while reducing barriers to accessing the resources being offered. “Doing good,” on the other hand, may show up unintentionally through a mindset which promotes the idea that recipients in the community should just be happy with what they receive, even if it’s not ideal.

In some cases, grantmaking processes are built in a way that the requirements for receiving a grant are so burdensome that some of the most deserving organizations are effectively written out of the process. When this happens, the very partners we are hoping to empower are actually being undermined. The end result may be that current grantmaking practices only further perpetuate the issues of equity we’re working to rid from society.

So how can companies be more effective grant givers? By approaching their processes with an equity lens.

Here’s a compare and contrast checklist that helps to move the discussion and create an effective mindset change.

One of the most profound changes to make strategic philanthropy more equitable is to shift how grants are issued, how grantees are selected, and how to measure success. To do this requires a fundamental shift in how grant processes are created right from the outset, tailoring the grant process to nonprofits of all shapes and sizes.

By implementing some of these changes, companies can ensure they are moving from “doing good” to “doing right.” For additional information on how this can be applied throughout your grantmaking process, feel free to contact jerometennille@theupliftagency.com.

Boards & the ESG Governance Gap

According to the most recent annual PwC Corporate Directors Survey, more than half of all corporate boards lack a strong understanding of ESG (environmental, social, governance) strategy and associated risks. On the positive side, there has been an increase in board focus on ESG issues with more than half having ESG as an agenda item during board meetings and incorporating companywide ESG risk as part of these discussions. Despite the uptick in discussions about ESG, many who are engaged in those discussions still lack a strong grasp of key related issues and support for implementing strong ESG initiatives.

The report also found a fairly sizable divergence between larger and smaller companies on what aspects of ESG were being discussed. Companies with revenue over $10 billion reported having more robust discussion about climate change while companies with less than $1 billion in revenue talked far less about it. Those same smaller companies also indicated that, while they discussed ESG, it wasn’t being linked to their company’s overall strategy.

With that in mind, here are some ideas for what companies and their boards can do to advance ESG, regardless of size or location:

• Build the board's knowledge of ESG beyond just disclosures and regulatory compliance. Companies should understand and meet the demands of evolving disclosure requirements and standards, but they also need to focus on the issues that fall within the E, S, and G buckets. By understanding how to integrate and address those issues in their business strategy, they can accelerate their results.

• Work to build support across all levels of the company. The most natural place to build support around ESG may be with the C-suite, but companies also need to be transparent about ESG goals with all employees, including how ESG targets are linked to executive (or employee) compensation.

• Set ambitious and meaningful goals. While the pinnacle of ESG work might be science-based targets, not every company is ready for that. In the meantime, however, corporate leadership can still establish short- and long-term targets. It’s about progress, so you shouldn’t let perfection stand in your way.

• Embed ESG into the overall business strategy. Instead of treating ESG as a siloed activity or “check the box” initiative, it needs to be thought of as central and core to the business and integrated throughout your business strategy.

While these are just four ideas, there’s so much more that can be done to integrate and embed ESG as a strategic enabler of business goals. Are you trying to figure out how to take the next step in your ESG journey? Reach out and let us know!

Gender at UNGA

We were inspired by the conversations and leadership of companies standing up for gender equality at side events during this year’s United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

Especially the discussion that LeMia Jenkins from Pinterest, Allison Tummon Kamphuis from Procter & Gamble and Michelle Milford Morse from UN Foundation had on how companies can leverage media and storytelling to advance gender equality, inclusion and the power of being seen. LeMia discussed Pinterest’s work to design an inclusive platform that prioritizes representation and how it is advancing gender equality internally. LeMia cited examples such as Pinterest lengthening its paid maternity leave policy and ensuring pay parity. Allison shared how P&G is focused on ending gender stereotypes and diminishment in its advertising, as well as other harmful norms. Allison and LeMia also shared how platforms and advertisers can work together to advance representation.

It’s up to the companies of today to change the narrative – and they are stepping up to the plate. We are proud to work with Pinterest on this journey.

Uplifting News:

Uplift Partners with Green Worldwide

We’ve partnered with Green Worldwide Shipping, LLC® a leading provider of international logistics and customs compliance, to help companies streamline solutions and accelerate their sustainability goals through:

• Comprehensive Scope 1, 2, and 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions tracking, management, and reduction services

• Sustainable supply chain design and optimization

• Human rights due diligence planning and reporting

• Human rights compliance

• ESG, social impact, and environmental strategy & implementation

• ESG & sustainability communications and reporting

Together, we have a tremendous opportunity to help companies in every stage of their sustainable business transformation.

Read more about our partnership here.

Uplift Welcomes Chris McGrath

We are excited to introduce Uplift’s new VP of Communications, Advocacy & Impact, Chris McGrath.

Chris is a communications expert with deep experience working in business, civil society, the United Nations, and U.S. politics. His career has been defined by fighting for social change on the local, national, and global levels.

Chris has led communications for several political campaigns and on Capitol Hill, and spent over a decade at the United Nations where he specialized in advocating in Washington on behalf of refugees around the world. Most recently he led external communications for a high-growth tech company.

His multi-sector background enables him to see issues from diverse perspectives and create communications strategies that influence thought leaders and drive measurable change.

Chris will lead Uplift’s communications team to help our clients tell their social impact, human rights, and environmental stories in ways that are accurate, humble, and compelling.

Visit our Teams Page