SustainAbility FAQs
Who are you?
SustainAbility advises clients on the risks and opportunities associated with corporate responsibility and sustainable development. Working at the interface between market forces and societal expectations, we seek solutions to social and environmental challenges that deliver long term value.
How are you funded?
Our consultancy work attracts paying clients, and our research is
supported by both institutional and corporate sponsors. For instance,
organisations like Insight Investment, Foley Hoag Attorneys
at Law, the UN Global Compact, Swiss Re, Standard and Poor's and others have supported our
research reports. A full list of publications and sponsors is
available. Our editorial independence is safeguarded in all sponsor
agreements.
What does your consulting work involve?
We work with a variety of mainly multinational companies seeking to
better understand and engage with the the corporate responsibility and
sustainable development agendas. Our work ranges from advice on
particular issues and stakeholder engagement, through to consulting on
governance, risk management and reporting.
We have ‘Rules for Engagement’ which frame all our consulting work, and aim to ensure all our clients are constructively seeking to work towards sustainable development.
Where do you work?
We work with businesses around the world on a variety of national,
global and regional issues and challenges. Many of our clients are
headquartered in America and Europe, although increasingly in Japan and
beyond. We have an Emerging Economies program, which looks at the
implications of corporate responsibility and sustainable development in
South Africa, China, India and Brazil.
What do you mean by sustainable development and corporate responsibility?
We take the Brundtland definition as our starting point, that
sustainable development is about safeguarding the world for future
generations. We work with business to deliver sustainability by helping
them manage and measure their success not just on the basis of profit,
but across what we’ve termed the ‘triple bottom line’ of economic,
social and environmental performance.
Our view is that for a business to be profitable and deliver long-term shareholder value it must manage across – and increasingly blend - all three of these dimensions. To do this, a business must engage with key stakeholders and innovate sustainable solutions – not just manage risks. Transparency and integrity are central, comprising key elements of corporate responsibility.
What do you see as key trends for the future?
The triple bottom line is just the beginning – the first step in
getting traditional business to engage with environment and society
with as much rigor as with their profit-and-loss accounts. At the
moment we still see most businesses managing problematic environmental
and social risks from their business ventures.
In future, we would like to see business innovating market-type solutions to some of the world’s most pressing social and environmental challenges. It’s early days, but it’s what we’re beginning to think of as ‘blended value’ . A critical next step is for the market to value and reward this type of business, and while socially responsible investment (SRI) funds are a first step, we need mainstream players to get involved to ensure solutions can be appropriately scaled.
What are some of your most recent research publications?
Recent publications have:
Developing Value sets out our thinking with regard to Emerging Economies.
We have a portfolio of Issue Briefs which provide succinct summary
and insight into some key issues impacting business. These look at
issues such as Assurance, Materiality, Human Rights and Access to
Water.
