Sustainability: Can Businesses Rise to the Challenge?

*** Come and debate this as LSE, 6.30pm, 25 February 2020 ***

Almost a third of the way into the fifteen-year trek towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the role of business in delivering social and environmental outcomes is squarely in the spotlight. The convening objective of the World Economic Forum this year is to give concrete meaning to “stakeholder capitalism”. In August 2019, the Business Roundtable whose members are chief executives of major US companies issued a path-breaking declaration on the purpose of a corporation: to serve all stakeholders, moving away from shareholder primacy. A month later, the UN Global Compact and Accenture Strategy unveiled the world’s largest CEO study, across countries and sectors, to assess business execution towards the SDGs.

So, what is the state of play? Are businesses on track to deliver on their side of the bargain? What are the best practices? What are the shortcomings and pitfalls to watch out for? What steps are required, by whom and in what sequence, to ramp up private sector contribution to the SDGs?  Can businesses really rise to the challenge?

To kick off the discussion, we will hear from Peter Lacy, Senior Managing Director and European Lead for Accenture Strategy. As Global Lead for their sustainability practice, Peter presided over the CEO Study.

On the panel, Peter will be joined by Dr. Mary Martin. Dr. Martin is Director of the UN Business and Human Security Initiative at LSE. Looking at economic development through the lens of rights and security, her project throws up recommendations for the role of business.

We will also be joined by Julie Hudson, Head of Research for Sustainability and ESG at UBS Investment bank, and co-author of the book “From Red to Green?”. What is the perspective of the institutional investor? Has the investing context in the aftermath of the global financial crisis worsened or improved the “environmental credit crunch”?

Our final panelist will be Catherine Howarth, CEO of ShareAction. ShareAction coordinates civil society activism to promote responsible investment across Europe. Amongst their achivements is the adoption of the Workforce Disclosure Initiative (WDI) by 120 investors representing 13 trillion dollars in assets. Very recently, they coordinated a shareholder resolution to formally ask Barclays bank to phase out its financing of fossil fuel companies. What is the role of shareholders in leading their investees towards stakeholder capitalism?

The panel will be moderated by Lutfey Siddiqi.  Lutfey is Visiting Professor-in-Practice at LSE IDEAS and Advisory Board member at LSE Systemic Risk Centre.