Climate change, access to education, income inequality, socially responsible investing, resource scarcity, diversity & inclusion, sustainable development goals, reporting standards. These are just a few of the critical challenges society and business will face in the next decade. These challenges are creating trends that are changing the context where organizations operate. Are you ready? In this workshop participants will: be invited to reflect about how these trends will impact their organizations; identify and prioritize trends for a given sector; and develop recommendations for organizations in specific sectors. Speakers: Moderator: Nelmara Arbex, Teaching Fellow, Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship

1. WORKSHOP: Sustainability Trends:
How will they impact your company?
Moderator: Nelmara Arbex, Teaching Fellow, Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship
Hosted by

2. Copyright 2017
Sustainability Trends:
How will they impact your company?
Nelmara Arbex

3. Topics of high concern for business

4. Main problems to be tackled in the next decade
Social
1. World population increase (and aging)
2. Food and water security
3. Wealth inequality and unemployment
4. Human rights protection
5. Promotion of peace , conflicts’
management (including migration)
and security
Environmental
1. Climate change impacts
2. Global and regional management of
natural resources (water, land,
oceans)
3. Ecosystem protection
4. Waste and contamination
management
Technology and efficiency
1. Disruptive technology
development
2. Need to increase efficiency
in the production/distribution
of goods and services
3. Need to create new
models/technology for energy
production and distribution
Governance and development model
1. Loss of trust and legitimacy in institutions
2. Corruption
3. Lack of trust in political leaders
4. New role for business and civil society
leaders, to lead by integrity
4. Need to further develop appropriate
society’s governance structures
5. Need for a new generation of
development models

5. “What is happening” and “what is coming”
Society has many
critical issues to
solve/
The context where
business operate
changes
considerably
Stakeholders
react and
create
“trends”
Company has to
get ready to re-
positioning itself,
manage risks and
create new
business
opportunities
Contextual
Changes Trends
New challenges
and new
opportunities for
business
What is happening What is coming

6. New demands on companies – examples
Will the company be able to
partner with governments
and other players to better
manage resources and
solve social issues?
Which is the
goal/plan to become
“fossil fuel free”?
GHG emission zero?
And zero waste?
Which policies were
set to protect natural
resources ?
And eco-systems?
Also in the supply
chain?
How will the company help
tackling poverty or wealth
distribution?
How is the company dealing
with regional/local conflicts?
And Human Rights’
protection?
Is the company
ready to relate to
stakeholders in a
more interactive
way?
And to share
information about its
impacts almost real
time?
Is the company
disclosing robotics
impact on workers?
Environmental
Social
Governance and development
Technology

7. Society’s reactions
New actors, new emphasis, new alliances, new goals
Photo: The Guardian

8. Society’s reactionAlliances for setting specific goals for concrete challenges

9. Society’s reaction
Governments are setting goals on GHG emissions

10. Society’s reaction
Governments – more regulations on corporate reports
GRI, Carrots & Sticks, 2016

11. OXFORD, England (Thomson
Reuters Foundation) - Growing
global wealth inequality is becoming
a fundamental risk to democracy and
to economies around the world.
"It's very dangerous," said Ngaire
Woods, dean of the Blavatnik School
of Government at the University of
Oxford. "If people can't aspire to
succeed within the system, they will
aspire … outside the system, in
ways that break the system.“
(Jun 2016)
Society’s reaction
Risks perception – inequality as a risk for the economy

12. Society’s reaction - BusinessCompanies go for zero waste campaign

13. Let’s have a closer look at stakeholders’ reaction to:
“Climate Change” factors

14. Companies committing - GHG zero plan and reductions

15. Pension Funds - divesting from non-renewable energy
15

16. 16
Investors
S&P and DJSI launch new “fossil fuel free” indexes

17. Investors – others are following

18. Governments for renewables – US and the world

19. Renewable in developing countries is increasing faster
19

20. Consumers are pro-actively changing

21. Innovators are everywhere

22. Countries committing – Fossil Fuel - Free

23.  Get to your group, read the instructions, choose one participant as the “note taker”
 TASK 1: Get the “issues cards” and prioritize them by high or low influence on the sector
High: this issue will impact the whole business or critical parts of it in the next decade
Low: this issue will not impact OR may impact some but not critical parts of the business
 TASK2: Identify hard trends
From the high priority trends/issues - Which of them are connected to “something that will
happen: a future fact that probably cannot be changed”
 TASK 3:
For each of the high impact trends, describe how this issue/trend will impact companies in
this industry?
Exercise - Instructions
Industries are:
energy (production), agriculture, transportation, food & beverage, chemical

24. On the flip chart
High influence
low

25. On the flip chart
High influence
Supply chain
inputs
Clients/Customers
outputs
Communities
Business’ core
Employees

26.  5 min - get to your group, read the instructions, choose one
participant as the “note taker”
 15 min - do Task 1: prioritize the trends/issues considering your
industry
 10 min – do Task 2: In the “high priority list”, Identify “hard trends”
 10 min – do Task 3: For each “high priority trend/issue”, make a short
list describing how they will impact the company
 15 min – Let’s have a look at the groups results!
Exercise – total 55’

27. Thank you!