Sustainability Leaders Forum December 2020: How do well-being and long-term thinking enable more resilient organisations?

On 8th December, IEMA Fellows and other senior level sustainability professionals within the membership were invited to participate in the end of year session of the Sustainability Leaders Forum.

The December edition was introduced by Marc Jourdan, IEMA Policy & Engagement Lead who oversees the strategic programme of work of the IEMA Fellows network and provided a summary of engagement by the network over 2020, including the recent launch of the IEMA Thought Piece on the Value of Collaboration for Corporate Sustainability Outcomes.

Sarah Mukherjee, IEMA’s Chief Executive, moderated a panel discussion focusing on how sustainability leaders can translate the principles of well-being and long term thinking into different settings such as cities, universities, and businesses, to help their organisations become more resilient to change.

The panelists included three sustainability thought-leaders:

• Jane Davidson, presented some of the findings in her new book #Futuregen in which she explains how, as Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing in Wales, she proposed what became the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 – the first piece of legislation in history to place regenerative and sustainable practice at the heart of government.

• Mike Barry, Founder of Mikebarryeco Limited, former Head of Sustainable Business at Marks and Spencer where he helped to develop, launch and implement its ground-breaking Plan A programme. Mike focused his remarks on the topic of well-being and how Covid-19 has changed the role of sustainability for organisations and business leaders as we approach 2021.

• Inder Poonaji, Founder of Six Butterflies, Former Head of Sustainability for Nestlé, international sustainability strategist and expert on well-being. Inder commented on the culture shift and the values framework that organisations need to embed in their operations to ensure greater ethical resilience and bring about transformative change for sustainability.

Following the panel discussion, Sarah Mukherjee moderated an interactive Q&A discussion between the speakers and the audience, before Marc Jourdan concluded the activity with a networking segment reflecting on the findings of each presentation and horizon planning for 2021.

Presentations

Sustainability Leaders Forum December 2020, presentation slides - CLICK HERE

How the principles of well-being, ethical resilience and long-term thinking can translate into other settings - I, Poonaji, Six Butterflies - CLICK HERE

Well-being of Future Generations Act 2015: 4 pillars - J, Davidson - CLICK HERE