RSA-US June Salon | Taking Ownership of a Sustainable Future (0900 PDT | 1200 EDT | 1700 BST)

The UN SDGs have been upended by the pandemic. Join Prof. CB Bhattacharya FRSA to discuss why businesses should remain committed to them.

This is the decade of action on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that purport to improve the health and wellbeing of our planet and its people. Companies around the world pledged to integrate the SDGs and progress on a range of targets from ending poverty to building global partnerships for sustainable development. In line with these sentiments, CEOs from 180+ companies operating in the US issued a recent statement affirming the role of corporations in improving societal outcomes through long-term value creation for all stakeholders (and not only shareholders).

Then, a pandemic struck.

As communities around the world work to stabilize the situation and start to look towards the future, COVID-19 has peeled back the wrapping of rhetoric and revealed which companies are walking the talk to act on those commitments to societal well-being. The good news is that companies who have better integrated socio-environmental concerns into their business models are more resilient and being rewarded by better financial performance during the global pandemic. Will the majority of companies out there take note and use this opportunity to radically rethink their business strategy?

It is neither easy nor quick to transition to a more sustainable business model, but the pandemic has made it abundantly clear that the costs of inaction are higher than the costs of action. So, all of us must take ownership of sustainability and do our part to secure the future. Businesses must address the all-important question of purpose or “why do we do what we do” – that undergirds the strategy to long-run sustainability. As well, businesses must realize that the ability to cooperate and collaborate with other actors determines our success with “commons” problems such as climate change.

How can we encourage companies to view the pandemic as a catalyst to build a more sustainable economy rather than return to the status quo of maximizing short-term profits?

Join us to discuss:

• What corporate sustainability is and the challenges of transitioning to sustainable business models.
• Why keeping the focus on sustainability is critical for recovery and rebuilding efforts.
• How a clear sense of corporate purpose can guide strategies more effectively.
• When and how to collaborate and put sustainability in the pre-competitive space.

This event is taking place on Thursday, June 18th 2020 between:

• 9 - 10am PDT
• Noon - 1pm EDT
• 5 - 6pm BST