2000 virksomheder har særlig stor indflydelse på Verdensmålene

En bæredygtig omstilling af og systemiske forandringer i vores samfund er afgørende for at vi kan indfri Verdensmålene. Det drejer sig bl.a. om det finansielle system, fødevarer og landbrug, digitalisering, klima og energi og store virksomheder har en afgørende at spille i realiseringen af den bæredygtige omstilling. Inden for syv udvalgte områder forsøger World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA) at skabe øget transparens og sammenlignelighed ved hjælp af benchmarking mellem de 2000 globale virksomheder (SDG 2000), der vurderes at have størst indflydelse. Blandt de 20 danske virksomheder der figurerer på listen, finder man bl.a. Ørsted, Novozymes, Novo Nordisk, BESTSELLER, DSV Panalpina og Salling Group.

På årets CSR-konference på Børsen i København har vi inviteret Gerbrand Haverkamp, som er Executive Director for WBA, der står bag SDG 2000, til at diskutere, hvordan man mest meningsfyldt kan måle hvem, der gør det bedst indenfor bæredygtighed. Som optakt til konferencen har vi stillet Gerbrand Haverkamp et par spørgsmål om bæredygtighed, indflydelse og ansvar.

What does ’best in sustainability’ look like in your eyes – and how do you measure it? 
At WBA we are benchmarking the 2000 most influential companies in the world on their contribution to the UN’s SDGs for a more sustainable future for all. The 20 Danish companies in the SDG 2000 can and should step in and take accountability for the social and environmental future of the planet. Companies like Ørsted and Schouw & Co/BioMar perform well in our rankings. Ørsted is first place in our electric utilities ranking. Ørsted is one of only four of the most influential global utilities’ companies to be aligned to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. It not only sets targets but delivers on them through milestone creation to transform to low carbon.  

When it comes to the seafood industry, Schouw & Co/BioMar has a robust sustainability strategy, demonstrates good stewardship of its supply chain and works to limit its impact on the ecosystem. 

Referring to the question, ‘best’ is the change the world needs to see and there is not much room to get it wrong. I believe in ‘better’ and from the above examples, what we see is, that this often starts with disclosure, sees value in the value chain and involves companies that understand their influence in the world and its impact. These companies can then look at embedding sustainability into their core business. The transformative change we need to see in the next decade is going to take the best of all of us.

Why is benchmarking the best way to measure/compare sustainability?
Because it creates insight, not just information. Our mission is benchmarking for a better world. We need to be able to compare, relative and absolute where we can, in a way that is free and publicly available. This allows stakeholders to work, invest and partner with those that lead or are willing to change while holding those that lag to account. 

Every company we have benchmarked can learn something from the other. Equally, stakeholders can learn something from it in their role as an investor, regulator, consumer, employee or as a part of civil society. 

The systemic change we need to see relies on partnerships, collaboration and accountability. Through our alliance we hope to drive this transformation at pace and scale.

What is your advice to the Danish companies figuring in your SDG2000 benchmark, what is the opportunity here? 
Be the change you want to see in the world and bring others along. Overall, we have 20 Danish companies across banking, food and agriculture, logistics, pharma, energy and climate. Let’s assume for now that many Danish companies will be among the leaders in their industry. This would be a great motivator but carries the risk of making companies complacent. 

Benchmarks keep pushing the bar for individual companies on where they can improve as a company but also show others in the industry where they need to step up their game. If we go back to the example of Ørsted, they have aligned with the Paris Agreement but if the rest of the industry doesn’t follow suite, we will still have the risk of runaway climate change. We need more than a few leaders, we need industries to transform.

We look into a lot of new regulation from the EU, among others in the financial system, green finance and corporate non-financial reporting – do benchmarking analysis as a tool of transparency fit with this, and is regulation taking over the transparency agenda?
We strongly support the European Commission in its efforts to come out strong on these issues. Europe in many respects will need to lead on this agenda globally. Building on existing international standards is therefore key to help support how we all move forward, not just in Europe. 

We expect regulation to really lift the floor. This is urgently needed as so many companies still fail to disclose the basics. At the same time, we are talking about a fundamentally dynamic agenda. Society and science keep pushing the ceiling as the expectations we have of companies’ progress. Just look at this year and the alarming research on biodiversity loss we have seen, the effects of COVID-19 and the way Black Lives Matter has brought injustice to the forefront. 

Ultimately, these shifts in expectations towards companies are what is driving the transparency agenda. But a lot swifter than in the past, these issue move from voluntary to mandatory disclosure. Our benchmark methodologies will therefore keep building on existing standards as well as keeping up with science and societal expectations.

Mandag d. 26. oktober 2020, sætter Dansk Erhverv, Erhvervsstyrelsen og FSR – danske revisorer virksomheder, politikere og organisationer i stævne i den gamle Børssal til debat om ’best-in-class’, og hvad der er den bedste opskrift på bæredygtighed og ansvarlighed i en ekstraordinær tid. Du kan møde Gerbrand Haverkamp i session 1, og du kan følge med via live stream.

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