New SustainAbility column on GreenBiz

Our new GreenBiz column, Changing Tack, will explore the evolution of knowledge and skills needed to accelerate our progress towards sustainability, as well as the constant shifts in direction necessary to reach a destination when conditions are continually changing. Mark Lee, in the first formal post under the Changing Tack banner, reflects on the power of leading from the middle – how leadership from those companies that sit between sourcing origins and top consumer brands is essential to advance progress across the value chain as a whole.

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What’s Next in Corporate Accountability?

This week sees representatives from more than twenty global companies – each a member of our Engaging Stakeholders Network – descend on the Disneyland resort in Anaheim to learn about and debate emerging trends and future best practice in corporate accountability and engagement. We’ll be exploring issues as diverse as the true value of social media, and how to move past traditional – and largely inadequate – measures of social impact.  If you’re interested in joining the network please, get in touch  And stay tuned, as we’ll be reporting on some of the insights from this year’s workshop on our blog.

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What is your Future Quotient?

The uncomfortable truth is that much of what currently passes for sustainability strategy in business almost completely ignores the interests and needs of future generations.  In wrestling with this issue, our friends at Volans came up with the concept of “Future Quotient” – or “FQ” – as a way to measure the ability of organisations to think and act along intergenerational timescales.

Last week we joined Volans and co-authors JWT at the launch of The Future Quotient: 50 Stars in Seriously Long-Term Innovation, where we heard SustainAbility co-founder John Elkington set out the case for FQ.  This report doesn’t claim to have all the answers, but it is definitely recommended reading for any leaders trying to understand what steps they can take to ‘think long’.  Visit futurequotient.com to watch the launch event and download the report.

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Other News & Updates

• SustainAbility seeking new manager in London office
• SustainAbility team members to moderate panels on agrictultural intensification and social media at Net Impact conference
• Koann Skrzyniarz writes on our blog on the need for new measures of value (join SLM at Wharton on 24th October to discuss new metrics for sustainable business)