Context Goals – Blowing The Smoke Away From The Finish Line

This is a blog was originally published on the Cause Nation blog. 

Over the past 10 years, there has been a significant shift in the way that companies communicate with their stakeholders. In an increasingly connected, ‘open source’ world, company marketing and communications teams no longer have full control of their story and are held up to much higher standards of transparency. For the CSR and Sustainability field, this shift has been highly influential in moving companies – both public and private – away from over-exaggerated claims of changing the world towards more authentic and credible actions and communications.

Now expectations are shifting again.

Since the Sustainable Brands New Metrics Conference in Boston last Fall, I have been reading and feeding my inner impact geek with the latest trends around measurement, storytelling, and in particular, the emerging sphere of ‘context goals.’

Context goals highlight the scope of our entire problem or challenge and a company’s role or impact within it. Instead of companies setting discretionary goals based on what they feel able to achieve and what their competitors are doing; companies will set goals based on scientifically-derived “thresholds” that determine what needs to be done to solve the world’s pressing social and environmental challenges. For example, scientists have the data to show us what GHG emissions reductions are required to prevent the devastating impacts of climate change – this is the threshold that can work back from to set goals for the corporate and other sectors to achieve.

Up until now, organizations have been racing along, edging ahead of their competitors and trying to stay at the front of the pack; context goals finally show us the finish line so that we can all train and prepare ourselves to go the distance. As Bob Willard put it during one of the SB New Metrics panel sessions “the time for incrementalism has passed and we need to act based on the realities.”

The focus of the discussions at the SB New Metrics Conference was on context goals for environmental sustainability efforts rather than social issues as the measurement methodologies are more advanced. This highlights the need to advance our understanding of social issues and viable solutions. Having said that, there is still some way to go to set environmental sustainability context goals. There still needs to be agreement on the science behind the setting of thresholds, and the complicated questions around how accountability is determined i.e. how much one company needs to do vs. another. 

Sustainability frontrunners are already leading the charge around context goals. Ben and Jerry’s is piloting the MultiCapital Scorecard Method, which not only positions social and environmental metrics alongside traditional financial metrics, but also shows progress against third party derived thresholds.

For the Cause Consulting team, the advent of context goals is very exciting. Over the past 10 years, we have been proud to work with many companies striving to make measurable progress against difficult social and environmental challenges. The ‘context era’ will continue to support them to tackle the root causes of these issues and demonstrate their important contribution.

It may also facilitate more collaboration between different organizations – both for-profit and non-profit – because there will be unified goals that everyone can rally behind and work towards. While, it will be important to maintain some competition to drive continuous innovation and improvement, by “blowing the smoke away from the finish line,” it will be clear that no one organization can or should tackle the issues alone.

The transition will not be without its challenges. In the short-term, companies will have to find a new level of comfort in, not only being transparent about their impacts and actions, but also about what this means in terms of the broader issue or challenge. In the short-term, this may continue to widen the gap between CSR/Sustainability leaders and laggards, as companies that are not so advanced in their approach to progressive business, may be concerned about exposing the true impact of their efforts.

Rome wasn’t built in a day nor will context goals be the focus of companies tomorrow; nevertheless, as Allen White, Founder, Global Initiative for Sustainability Ranking (GISR), said at the SB New Metrics Conference, “we have a future ripe for change” and context goals are an exciting tool to get us there.

More than a Sport?

I was in San Francisco recently and was lucky enough to catch the first day of racing for the America’s Cup.
In recent years, the America’s Cup has been transformed into the Formula 1 of the ocean. Teams now compete on multi-hull, high-tech vessels that literally fly across the water – it’s amazing to watch.

As you can imagine, these flying machines don’t come cheap and you’d be forgiven for questioning whether the money could be spent on something more meaningful.

The first point to make is that the design and creation of these boats is driving engineering and technological innovation, which has the potential to benefit social and environmental causes in the future. Just think of the advances made by Formula 1, which was recently praised for ‘reaching beyond the racing circuit and providing sustainable solutions to "real" life challenges’ in an article by Mike Scott for the Guardian.

Secondly, there is evidence of efforts by the America’s Cup to use the reach and popularity of its brand to raise awareness about key social and environmental issues. In their words, it's 'more than a sport'.

Beer-swilling Kiwi

Walking into the America’s Cup Village - once I’d made it through the swarms of beer-swilling Team NZ fans - I came to an area dedicated to the America’s Cup Healthy Oceans Project. This is a campaign in to raise awareness about the problems threatening the world’s oceans, namely marine protected areas, sustainable seafood, and marine debris/plastics. In the Village, there were people on hand to talk about the campaign, petitions to sign and videos and photographs showing both the wonders of and challenges facing our oceans. In addition, throughout and outside of the weeks of the competition, there have been a number of Healthy Oceans Project events taking place in San Francisco and around the world.

Walking a bit further into the village, I was asked if I wanted to sign the Clean Boater Pledge. This is an initiative run by California’s Boating Clean and Green program, which aims to protect San Francisco’s waterways by encouraging responsible boat ownership.  

Go to the America's Cup website and there's an easy-to-find sustainability section. There is also a Sustainability Plan, however, it’s a pretty dense read!

I do question whether the emphasis on delivering a ‘model sustainable event’ would have been quite so strong had the competition not taken place in a ‘world-leading sustainable city’. Motivations aside, it is refreshing to see a sporting event the size and scale of the America’s Cup, taking sustainability seriously, and using its brand influence to raise awareness about important global issues. It’s not the overriding message – nor should it be – but, it’s a start and maybe it will grow into something bigger over time.

We need a Captain Planet to get rid of our Eco-Villans once and for all!

I went to my first Green Drinks Happy Hour the other week… no, not an event for people that like green cocktails, although that could be fun! It’s a monthly event that brings together sustainability professionals in the Boston area. It was fun evening and great to meet some fellow sustainability enthusiasts; however I had two conversations that really stood out and, if I'm honest, despair of humanity.

Number 1: it didn't take me long to track down the fellow Brit in the room, who was an academic from the UK, currently doing research at Harvard University. He is looking at the public policy implications and barriers linked to the climate change mitigation strategy of blocking the sun. My initial reaction was a mixture of incredulity and horror; for starters, ‘blocking the sun’ sounds like a plan from Captain Planet and, secondly, why would anyone want to make the world colder and darker? But immediate reactions aside, it is actually a very interesting idea. Some advocate the use of a giant mirror positioned hundred of km above the Earth’s surface to deflect some of the sun’s rays away from the Earth. However, the same effect could be achieved by shooting sun-reflecting sulfates into the lower stratosphere to create a barrier, which is, apparently, not very costly or difficult to do. Temperatures would be reduced by 1-2 degrees so we wouldn't be walking around in the cold and dark (or so I am led to believe) and, in only a couple of years, it could significantly slow down the rate of climate change.

The real barrier is not the science or individuals, like me, who like the sunshine; it is getting global consensus. In order to go ahead, the plan would need to be agreed by leaders all around the world, which is the final nail in the coffin as that is unlikely to happen. This is nothing new – Climate Change would have been addressed long ago if we weren't all so busy protecting our own interests. Maybe blocking the sun is not the answer but it still makes me sad that, in an ever more global world, we are still so far from being able to make rational, considered decisions for the greater good.

Number 2: I got talking to a lawyer, who had come to the event to find out more about ‘this sustainability stuff’ and, particularly, the business case as it relates to shareholders. I began my usual spiel about how, if done strategically, corporate responsibility is good for business and benefits all stakeholders. However, he stopped me and pointed out that many shareholders still think in the short term. If, as a result of running the business in a more sustainable way, there was any affect on the dividends they would receive for that year, even if the longer-term profit forecasts were bright, they would never agree and may even sue the company. Again, this is not news. I am aware of huge mindset shift that needs to happen worldwide to get more companies to adopt a more sustainable approach to business. Nevertheless, it still astounds me at the ability of people in the world to blindly act according to their own interests rather the interests of their communities, countries, or even the planet.

Maybe we need Captain Planet after all!

Completing the circle: a new vision for the economy

It's a hard life!

I recently spent 3 months travelling round South America and, whilst on a pretty tight budget, there was always just enough in the kitty for a beer at the end of the day. However, when we got to Argentina, it wasn't a lack of funds that was the problem – it was their bottle collection schemes that put a spanner in the works. We first encountered this in Cafayate, a small town just south of Salta – having found a hostel we went off in search of groceries and, of course, some beer. However, for every beer you buy, you have to bring back an empty beer bottle – slightly tricky if you've just arrived and don’t have any empties. Frustrating on the one hand but very advanced on the other…

Last Friday, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation launched its second report Towards the Circular Economy Vol.2: opportunities for the consumer goods sector, at the World Economic Forum in Davos. According to the report, “a cost reduction of 20 per cent from USD 29 to USD 24 per hectolitre of beer consumed would be possible in the U.K. by shifting from disposable to reusable glass beer bottles”. The report points out that there would be an additional cost due to the additional material required to create more durable bottles (“34% increase in the amount of glass used per bottle); however, the cost savings from reusing bottles would far outweigh this.

Reusing beer bottles is just one of a number of examples in the report of how the consumer goods sector can benefit from making the shift to a more circular business model. Through its research, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimates “the full potential of the circular economy to be as much as USD 700 billion in global consumer goods materials savings alone”.

Theoretically it makes perfect sense; however, the tricky bit is getting businesses to make the shift and providing the right support and incentives to help them through the transition. To support this, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation is launching the Circular Economy 100, a alliance of 100 pioneering businesses to accelerate the transition to a circular economy. But it’s going to take a lot more innovation and collaboration to make this fly.

The encouraging news is that we’re not starting from scratch. Companies have already started to embrace the principles of the circular economy. Just yesterday, CSR Wire, as part of its Noble Profit series, posted an interview with Ford’s Global Director of Sustainability, John Viera, in which he talks about how Ford is re-using waste materials – from old carpet to unwanted jeans – in the production of its cars. 

Now the challenge is to take these ideas to scale. Watch this space...

Coffee Cups Galore

I love my caffeine and one of the first things to do in the US was to find some good coffee spots to get my fix. Moving from an office in Soho London where you can't walk 5 minutes without finding a great coffee house serving up creamy flat whites or knock-out espressos, Boston was always going to have a tough act to follow. But, so far it's not doing too badly! However, what I have noticed is the dominance of take-away coffee cups - whether you're drinking in or taking away, the coffee comes in cardboard. Don't get me wrong, you can't beat a coffee to go, especially when there's a nip in the air, but what's wrong with a mug when you're staying in?