Purpose Led Business

Sustainable and Purpose Led Business

Triple Bottom Line Accounting’s Environmental and Social Impact Measurement and Narratives team was invited by Andy Gray, NatWest Business Growth Enabler, Midlands & East of England to talk about Sustainable and Purpose Led Business.

The overall message of this presentation is that time is running out! Succinctly expressed in David Attenborough’s summary of The Final Report of the Independent Review on the Economics of Biodiversity(Feb 2021):

“We are facing a global crisis. The Dasgupta Review brings economics and ecology together, to help save the natural world at what may be the last minute – and in doing so, save ourselves”.

Watch and listen below to find out more.

Dr Peter Ellington, Triple Bottom Line Accounting founder and associate professor at the UEA Norwich Business School discussed the most recent academic research on climate change and the role of business. He stressed that while we are fighting all the little fires in front of us the fire we should be fighting is ignored at our peril.

 

 

where are we on the S curve

 

Charlie Flanagan, UEA Business School graduate and trainee accountant reiterated this message with the analogy of the frog in the boiling pot, not noticing the rising temperature that will surely kill it. He spoke about how the theory on measuring impact is gradually being adopted in practice. He used examples from the energy industry making significant changes to mitigate climate change on a big scale (Orsted) and George Serafeim’s research on Impact Weighted Accounting to “drive the creation of financial accounts that reflect a company’s financial, social and environmental performance. The idea is to create accounting statements that capture external impacts such that they drive investor and managerial decision-making. It is all about measuring and comparing impact, and about reimagining capitalism.”[1]

 

How is the Accountancy Industry Adapting

 

Alasdair Wilcock, the owner of Maple Cone, decarbonisation and ESG consultant working with TBLA, demonstrated what this means for business updating Porter’s Five Competitive Forces to include environmental regulation and looking at these forces through an environmental performance lens. His advice on getting started with impact measurement, with busy SMEs in mind, makes the apparently impossible very achievable in a few short stages. The TBLA impact narratives consultancy will help you get started, affordable prices working at your own pace.

 

What does this mean for our businesses

 

Finally, Fran Ellington, Triple Bottom Line Accounting ESG lead spoke about the need for authenticity when declaring the various ESG measurements, accreditations, certifications and “badges” that many businesses like to collect. She uses illustrations from her experience of improving TBLA’s own ESG performance to date. Fran discusses some great ways to start from inputting data into simple business carbon calculators before working towards making the SME Climate Commitment. She covers the Social and Governance parts for ESG with advice on how to meet the 10 key principles of the Good Business Charter, adopting the four essential values required of all business by the Economy for the Common Good and the importance of an authentic yet compelling impact narrative.

 

The Good Business Charter and the Living Wage Foundation

 

Our host, Andy Gray talked about what NatWest is doing to support the bank’s customers and new businesses. This included the Sustainability and Climate accelerator, which will help entrepreneurs who might want to achieve B Corps in the future. To find out more see Andy’s slides starting around 54 minutes into the presentation.

 

[1] George Serafeim interviewed by the ICAEW for their article: People and Planet in the Accounts: impact-weighted accounts – facilitating a race to the top https://www.icaew.com/insights/viewpoints-on-the-news/2020/nov-2020/people-and-planet-in-the-accounts-impactweighted-accounts-facilitating-a-race-to-the-top accessed 18/6/2021.

 

Now Booking: Net Zero – what does it mean for SME business? 15 July 2021 12 noon – 1pm

https://www.norfolknetwork.com/events/net-zero-what-does-it-mean-for-sme-business/

The clock is ticking for all businesses to meet the Paris Agreement Targets.

We need to halve global greenhouse gas emissions BEFORE 2030 and reach net zero by 2050 at the latest (even this is arguably too late).

This interactive webinar will introduce you to some startling facts but more importantly what we can all do – starting small but together making a big difference. Some definitions, easy-to-use tools, methods, and explanations such as scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions and why they are all important to measure.

It’s a must-attend session if you want to understand more about climate change and the accompanying ecological emergency and how you as an individual, business owner, or employee can help the UK in the Race to Zero.

The webinar will be led by Fran Ellington, Business Development and ESG Director at Triple Bottom Line Accountants.

Fran will cover:

  • what is meant by terms such as Net Zero, Zero emissions, Carbon Neutral, CO2 and CO2e
  • which greenhouse gases are the worst for global warming and why.
  • how to measure your own emissions or seek help from a growing number of CO2e emission consultants.
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