Burgess COMMENTARY
Jae ... very much like what you have to say in this post. My feedback is pretty much the same all the time ... that behavior will change when the way we keep score changes. At the moment the only measures that have any traction are those that relate to profit growth, stock market value growth and GDP growth. The fact that growth of these things does not automatically results in growth of all the things that are really important like social cohesion, quality of life, etc, etc, etc and the state of the environment is of no moment. Peter Drucker observed that you manage what you measure. We need to start to measure things that really matter. One last quick thought ... in order to be widely used, measures have to be easy to use and talk about, have to summarize logically and also enable drill down to granular reality.
Peter Burgess

We seem to have many corporate residents but few corporate citizens

It is the vision of the leaders of corporations that creates the world that they inhabit. When those leaders view the places that they operate in merely as a place of residence, then their level of responsibility is diminished. When one is a citizen then additional factors like legacy, history, patriotism, equality and justice begin to feature much more prominently.

There is a powerful need for businesses to go beyond merely operating the way that others do and to see that businesses live and die because of the vision of those at the top. With conformity and short term thinking as the norm, this is an ideal time to lead the way. Visionary corporations rise in times of crisis and surely we are squarely in one of those times right now. Justice and citizenship hardly feature in most leaders thinking and the result is exactly what we have manifested in the world around us.

'If you're honest, you sooner or later have to confront your values. Then you're forced to separate what is right from what is merely legal' –Tom Robbins

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation and McKinsey & Company produced a Circular Economy Report that showed:

This all comes down to levels of responsibility. And responsibility means much more than just the next quarterly results. It has been shown in the Cranfield University 5 stages of corporate responsibility maturity report that companies that have higher levels of Corporate Responsibility decrease their exposure to risk, increase opportunities for growth and sustain their businesses,

“Businesses are running out of road with the existing business models” –Guido Schmidt-Traub

If the corporations of the world work tirelessly for many years on damaging the world that feeds them, then why be surprised at the situation that the world finds itself in? It would seem strange if things were any different!

'If you fail to pilot your own ship, don't be surprised at what inappropriate port you find yourself docked' –Tom Robbins

As civilisation becomes ever more interdependent and connected we must not loose sight of the fact that it is still individuals that make decisions that create the strategies and policies that make up a corporations actions.

“We need to prepare leaders who are resolved to conquer their own integrity. This is mankind’s only hope” –Stefano D’Anna

Have our corporations forgotten how to dream? If this is the case then leaders need to emerge that understand that what is considered normal today is not what has always been normal or what will be normal in the future. It has been estimated that 50% of the things that we use on a day to day basis did not even exist 25 years ago and that pace of change is accelerating. When we look at the top 500 companies in the world 25 years ago and compare them with those today; the vast majority have changed. The role of business is to create wealth, financial wealth definitely, but also wealth of Health, Resources, Solutions, Creativity, Insight, Clarity, Reflection and Wisdom!

We seem to have many corporate residents but few corporate citizens. This is a call to action to the corporate leaders of the world. Humanity is ready for a new kind of leadership.

Jae Mather is a Partner at Responsible Worlds and Head of Sustainability at Minimise Group

Gus Guillen Gus Guillen 2nd Visiting Professor at Ecole Supérieur de Publicité Jae, Still fighting the good fight I see. Keep on shining your light. :) Gus Like(1)Reply2 hours ago Jae Mather Luke D Schuette Luke D Schuette 2nd President, Lamboo, Inc. Engineered Bamboo/Performance Material Technology Mr. Jae Mather, thank you for sharing this inspiring message. I agree that leaders that lead with honesty, ethics, integrity, and as you stated true stewardship, we will create the next generation of truely sustainable business. Like(1)Reply3 hours ago Jae Mather Glenn Fleetwood Glenn Fleetwood 2nd Environment Manager at Houses of Parliament This article rings very true indeed. having been involved in numerous environmental audits and EMS rollouts myself, I've seen numerous examples of certified 'meet standard x', and rather less 'exceed standard x'. Compliance with regulation and utilitarian standards coupled with meeting 'middle of the road' sector benchmarks now seems to trump going the extra mile. Expectation over aspiration seems to be the usual thing, but thankfully, not always. I recently had the opportunity to review in detail the founding principles and history of subsequent environmental excellence practiced by RICOH. I found especially notable the closed loop approach of their 'Comet Cycle' and the significant work to promote and practice sustainability outside of their core business activities. After years of working in the environmental management sector with business and other organisations of all sizes, I would hold RICOH's approach up as a 'high water' benchmark on the kind of corporate citizenship I have had the opportunity to see over the last 15 years. Well worth a closer look if you haven't had the opportunity yet. Like(1)Reply(1)4 hours ago Jae Mather Jae Mather Jae Mather AUTHOR 1st Head of Sustainability | Strategy & Policy | Energy & Resource Efficiency | Sustainable Development | Public Speaker Hi Glenn, I absolutely agree. Ricoh's work in the areas of circular economy and developing new business models is excellent and they have been for the most part doing this great work behind the scene for a very long time. Like4 hours ago Ashish Deo Ashish Deo 2nd Senior Commercial and Sustainability Executive Sometimes choice of words has immense impact. Jae the distinction you have tried to draw between Residency and Citizenship is a key one in shaping attitudes and behaviours. So thanks for raising a brilliant point. I also think that the whole Sustainability and CSR conversation is often too focused on risk management. Not that risk management is not important but it is generally not a motivator unless the risk is seen as imminent or real. So talking more about gains than just prevention of loss is perhaps increasingly necessary. Like(1)Reply6 hours ago Jae Mather MarcoPaulo AbrunhosaCardoso MarcoPaulo AbrunhosaCardoso 2nd Member of the Management Board at Several Investee (in several countries) Important point of view! Well done. Could it be like this, for example? Corporate Residents > Corporate Citizens => Earth Residents > Earth Citizens Like(1)Reply8 hours ago Jae Mather Paul Arnold Paul Arnold 2nd Director Aztec Capital a lot of home truths here, good work! Like(1)Reply15 hours ago Jae Mather Jason Plent Jason Plent 2nd Managing Director at Minimise Solutions Great stuff Mr Mather...a thought for the day that should be recognised as something to inspire for the longer term. Like(1)Reply(1)21 hours ago Jae Mather Jae Mather Jae Mather AUTHOR 1st Head of Sustainability | Strategy & Policy | Energy & Resource Efficiency | Sustainable Development | Public Speaker Thanks Jason. Like20 hours ago