Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO)

DAY I
SUSTAINABILITY – DRIVERS AND RELEVANCE

Setting the Scene

• Brundtland report; People, Planet, Profit (PPP); Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR); Integrated Thinking; creating shared value
• Voluntary initiatives/International Corporate Social Responsibility (ICSR) covenants
• Integration of existing (voluntary) initiatives such as Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), etc.
• LegislationEU Green Deal
• EU Taxonomy
• SDFR (Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation)
• CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive)
• Translation into international agreements (Paris Climate Agreement)
• CSDDD (Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive)
• Climate and energy transition and the importance of circularity
• Imminent risks (dual materiality): impacts of climate change (for business)
• Reporting
• Market dynamics (innovation, taxes, consumer preference)
• Where does your influence lie as Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO)?

Drivers and relevance of sustainability for the business and financial sector

• Where are your limits?
• Business reputation (specific examples); Greenwashing
• Market opportunities
• Risks: difference B2B and consumer market
• Cost and profit potential
• Legislation (EU); CO2 tax; subsidies
• ISO 26000 (Corporate Social Responsibility/CSR)
• ISO 14091 (Climate Change Risk Assessment)
• Customers
• What is your position in the chain?

Business principles, corporate values, ethics and culture

• Corporate values
• Leadership
• Responsibility of 'the top'
• Culture and 'tone at the top'
• Ethics and business
• Discussion: 'the business of business is doing business'

DAY II
SUSTAINABLE (BUSINESS) STRATEGY: REALIZATION AND IMPLEMENTATION

Sustainability in the strategy

• The management process throughout the organization (from purchasing, HR, the customer, reporting, etc.)
• Where is your impact as a company?
• How do you behave?
• Are you going too fast or are you going too far?
• Company culture
• Urgency: investment cycle (years)
• The role of the Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO): various perspectives and studies

From policy to implementation

• Formulate objectives
• Setting priorities (materiality analysis)
• Involving formal and informal leaders (incl. Supervisory Board and other advisory boards)
• Involve relevant stakeholders
• Adapting processes and procedures: using international standards and methods, from ISO and OECD to UNGP (United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights) and SBT (Science-Based Targets)
• Internal and external communication
• Measuring the results
• Data is crucial for sustainability!
• Transparency about success and setbacks
• Insights from (formal) reporting: various standards such as GRI (Global Reporting Initiative), SASB (Sustainability Accounting Standards Board), etc.
• Review remuneration policy

DAY III
SUSTAINABILITY LEGISLATION, SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING, COMPLIANCE, AND AUDIT

Legislation (from Europe)

• EU Green Deal
• EU Taxonomy
• Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR): successful implementation partly dependent on Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)
• Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD): data!
• Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD)
• Centrally address negative impacts on human rights and the environment in value chains
• Link variable remuneration of directors to the sustainability objectives of the company
• Translation of international agreements
• Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and Task Force on Nature-Related Financial Disclosures (TNFD)
• Staying ahead of the benefits of the legislation

Climate agreement

• No legislation, but still...

Developments with regard to reporting

• Explanation of the various reporting systems and methodologies such as SASB, GRI, Integrated Reporting, ...

Compliance

• Incorporating knowledge about sustainability into existing processes

Audit

• 3 Lines of Defense (3LoD)
• Assurance
• The role of audit and the role of the Audit Committee

DAY IV
SUSTAINABLE FINANCE – RISK MANAGEMENT

What do investors pay attention to and what should they take into account?

• Return and risk
• Reputation
• Followers
• Whether or not exclude business activities
• Willingness to reduce negative consequences for society and the environment
• Willingness to compensate damage (Remedy – United Nations Guiding Principles)
• Contributing to solutions (real world impacts): per investment but also at portfolio level
• Using 'Green Bonds'
• Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and their impact on stock markets
• Regulators demand insight into sustainability risks

What do banks (and other financiers) pay attention to?

• Reputational damage and financial damage
• Example: Equator Principles
• 'Tailored influence'
• More and more sector policy
• From large companies to increasingly smaller companies (sustainability requirements also in the chain)

What do insurers look for?

• Climate change in particular leads to changes in risk estimates

Risk management

• Case
• Risk management policy in conjunction with risk 'appetite'
• Reputation risks
• Financial risk
• Indirect damage

DAY V
MARKET CHANGES, INNOVATION, AND INSIGHT IN THE CHAIN

Market changes and innovation

• Changes in markets
• Innovation: consequences of existing 'business models'
• Possibilities to change
• From strategy to a sustainable profitable (renewed?) business model

Insight into the chain

• Operate in conjunction

The outside world

• Stakeholder management
• How to deal with the media and NGOs?
• How do you influence suppliers and customers?