The Sustainability Professionals Resilience Group (SPRG) is an innovative, international online community, bringing in-house business sustainability leaders together to discuss challenges, explore solutions and share ideas and expertise.
Want to become part of it?
Why join the Sustainability Professionals Resilience Group?
By becoming part of our online business sustainability community you’ll have the opportunity to meet with other senior sustainability professionals across the corporate and NFP/NGO sectors – once every month, for an hour per session.
If you sometimes feel like an isolated voice in your organisation, or if you’d value other perspectives on the challenges you face, SPRG is a welcoming community that will offer you:
- A mutually supportive collective of sustainability professionals in similar roles
- The chance to focus on the future and achieve your ambitions
- A platform to engage, connect and collaborate with experts from across the world
- A creative community where you can discuss and share challenges and ideas
- The support needed to increase personal and professional resilience
- The motivation to maintain and increase momentum
How does our professional sustainability group work?
An unparalleled opportunity to meet with business sustainability professionals from a breadth of sectors, locations and organisational roles, SPRG works to broaden perspectives and provide community members with insight from other dedicated experts across the globe.
Combining conceptual thought-leadership with practical and pragmatic solutions and applications, the only agenda is open dialogue and sustainability.
Here’s how our business sustainability group works…
A Featured Theme
Each session focuses on a featured sustainability theme, often with a guest contributor sharing an interesting, valuable and stimulating viewpoint.
Group Discussion
Meet other senior sustainability professionals and experts, ask each other questions, share and explore sustainability challenges and opportunities.
Trust & Share
We host small groups (max 15) and abide by the Chatham House Rule. While ideas are shared, personal identities are not and sessions aren’t recorded.
Free to Join
The only cost is your time. We just ask that you make as constructive a contribution as possible and commit to sharing your ideas and feedback.
Who?
Our SPRG meetings are reserved for sustainability professionals working in companies and charities – so if this is you, please join us !
When?
SPRG meetings are held remotely on the second Thursday of each month at 2pm (BST) and last for approximately 1 hour.
Want to join us at our next business sustainability group meeting?
What's up next?
If you’re interested in joining our business sustainability group, you’ll probably be interested to know what’s up for discussion in our next session ...
Ethics - What’s the moral dimension of your business case? | 15th April 2021
Dominic & Joss | Terrafiniti, UK
There’s an ethical vacuum within the sustainability landscape primed for businesses to occupy. With this in mind, is it time to look a little deeper at the moral aspects behind your activities?
We’ve seen corporate sustainability evolve and mature over the past two decades. Where there was once just a loose focus on ‘doing the right thing’, we’ve now moved towards a more concrete business case, with activities that relate to measurable, instrumental aspects, such as reduced waste, efficiencies, added value, reduced risks and financial out-performance.
But what about ethics?
Of course sustainability has always had a strong ethical dimension at heart, including legacy, equity and equality – but we’re still facing an environmental crisis, along with a crisis in trust towards businesses.
We’ll be opening our next meeting with some thoughts and context around this interesting and important subject, before opening the floor to discussion. We’d love for you to join in the conversation and share your ideas on:
- How we can fill this ethical vacuum
- Whether we should be aiming to do so
- How we could/should approach moral challenges
What have people said about the group?
“A sense of loneliness remains among sustainability experts - the resilience group addresses a serious need."
“Everyone was involved in the conversation and had the opportunity to contribute to the group dynamic.”
“Excellent size of group offering everyone the opportunity to reflect on the current situation. This made the group dynamic and incredibly insightful.”
“Your approach is the best way to shape a network of experts ready to help each other. This is invaluable!
What have we covered?
For the first meeting we were delighted to welcome Virginie Coulloudon, Executive Director at Your Public Value. She kicked off a fascinating and lively discussion among professionals from different sectors and ranging from Norway to the US and Australia.
In subsequent sessions we've explored Resilience and what that means for sustainability professionals and their businesses, Engaging with People in different roles on sustainability and Trust in business.
Virginie Coulloudon
Executive Director | Your Public Value, Berlin
On how Public Value is emerging as a driving force in corporate purpose across Europe and beyond.
Emma Burlow
Director & Head of Circular Economy | Resource Futures, Bristol
On the challenges of developing the Circular Economy and practical examples of the approach in action.
Roisin Reynolds
Managing Director | Ivydale Coaching, Singapore
On Moral Hazard in the Time of Coronavirus - why mitigating the impact of the pandemic in developing countries should be a priority.
Sustainability and business value | 11th March 2021
Dominic & Joss | Terrafiniti, UK
It’s 2021 are people still looking at the business case for sustainability?
There is no single business case. But there will be one for every business.
It’s a key component for moving forward in some form, whether it’s explicitly formalised or takes the form of persuading key decision makers to engage with the agenda.
Sustainability is an increasingly explicit element of how people judge and define their relationships towards companies, notably through perceptions of risk.
In many sectors it’s also clear that more sustainable companies are financially outperforming others.
You might not need a formal business case, but you need clarity on how sustainability contributes to business value to align action and strength-en strategy.
Join Dominic and Joss from Terrafiniti and other sustainability professionals from different companies and background to explore value and understand the place of the business case today.
Does your company help make the world a better place? | 25th February 2021
Dominic & Joss | Terrafiniti, UK
Simply making money is no longer seen as sufficient by many - demonstrating purpose and social value is increasingly important
The World Economic Forum, among others, is promoting “Stakeholder Capitalism”, with a focus on companies playing a positive role in solving global challenges and reducing inequality.
BlackRock’s (the world’s largest asset manager) Larry Fink, in his latest letter to CEOs, noted:
“The more your company can show its purpose in delivering value to its customers, its employees, and its communities, the better able you will be to compete and deliver long-term, durable profits for shareholders.”
Demonstrating purpose beyond profit is gathering momentum through concrete approaches to measuring social impact, and more significantly companies starting to put responsiveness and social duty into their legal responsibilities through initiatives such as B-Corp.
For example, Danone has recently achieved B-Corp certification of twenty-eight of its entities representing over 45% of Danone’s global sales.
But what’s at the heart of all this?
Below the level of the structured, detailed (and sometimes rather complicated) approaches of Shared Value and B Corps we believe that there is a fundamental and simple question about the social utility of an enterprise:
“Is the world a better place because we exist?”.
Join us on the 11th February to explore this fundamental question, drawing from Terrafiniti’s thinking on the topic (developed with global NGOs and leading companies) and focussed around some simple yet powerful questions.
Towards 9 Billion | 28th January 2021
Dominic & Joss | Terrafiniti, UK
There’s a recognition that a great transition is needed. But what ideas do we need to make it happen?
The seeds of hope and of rejuvenation lie all around us.
Terrafiniti’s Towards 9 Billion is a positive vision for a sustainable future, a future based upon abundance, vitality and balanced economic relationships.
•What if we could welcome rather than fear the arrival of the coming billions of inhabitants to this planet?
•What opportunities would this provide for markets, businesses and citizens?
•What would be the central elements of transformation and how might we build a system that works for all?
Join us on the 28th January to discover more about Towards 9 Billion and explore a positive future for you and your organisation.
Common Good and Profit: Public Value Principles for Sustainable Business | 14th January 2021
Virginie Coulloudon | Executive Director Your Public Value, Berlin
Maria del Peso | Vice-Chair of the Supervisory Board, Your Public Value, Berlin
Join us for the first meeting of 2021.
After nine months of dialogue and co-creation with 124 European experts in sustainability and good governance, the Berlin-based NGO Your Public Value has launched nine Public Value Principles© for Sustainable Business.
This initiative is an attempt to shape consensus around agreed principles -not KPIs or standards! - to define modern accountability and place sustainability at the core of business strategies. Virginie and Maria will present these principles before we open for a discussion on sustainability and modern governance.
Who chooses sustainability? | 10th December 2020
Ben Jeffery | Refresco Beverages UK
Sustainability is about doing things differently or doing very different things. And that means making choices, often different choices to those made in the past. But who should be making them?
Where should the buck stop and how do we deliver sustainable outcomes?
Drawing upon his experience working on the front line in different companies, Ben talked about the role of consumer freedom, choices and environmental impact.
Strategy Development | 26th November 2020
Jono Ayton | Willmott Dixon, UK
Jono talked us through Willmott Dixon’s ambitious new sustainability strategy - 'Now or Never' - focusing on driving fundamental business transformation in the context of sustainability challenges.
Next Big Risks? | 12th November 2020
Dominic & Joss | Terrafiniti, UK
What are the next big risks with sustainability aspects?
In this session we'll look at how we assess what's important and explore:
- What risks are on your mind?
- Is there a gap between perception & ‘reality’?
- How much ‘data’ are needed to drive risk assessments?
Riding the Tiger | 22nd October 2020
Dominic & Joss | Terrafiniti, UK
How do sustainability professionals use public opinion?
Those of us who have been working in sustainability for longer than we may wish to dwell upon will be familiar with operating against the tide. Sustainability was a minority activity without broad popular support.
This is now very much changed and now supports arguments relating to market values and building a commercial business case.
As sustainability practitioners how do we navigate these turbulent waters, how do we ride the tiger of public sentiment – and what if we need to get off?
Sustainability Myths | 8th October 2020
Dominic & Joss | Terrafiniti, UK
Every industry has its myths. Sometimes these are harmless, but more often they can undermine understanding and slow progress...
- Which are the myths you come across most often?
- To what extent do they hold back efforts in sustainability?
- What are the most appropriate and effective ways to dispel them in a world of fake news?
Social Audit in the time of Pandemic | 24th September 2020
DARIA TOSCHI | Sustainable Procurement Expert | Baltixx Consulting, Brisbane
While not a perfect tool, social audits can provide a meaningful role in protecting workers' rights. The pandemic has had a dramatic impact on social auditing and the visibility of workers and working conditions has plummeted as audits have become impossible. How have companies, NGOs and service providers responded and where should we go next?
Greenwashing | 10th September 2020
Dominic & Joss | Terrafiniti, UK
With an increased focus on social and environmental issues making misleading claims about sustainability performance has become commonplace. While reputable organisations work to avoid this it can be useful and interesting to explore the different shades of greenwash, how they arise and how to best avoid them.
Implementation Challenges | 27th August 2020
Dominic & Joss | Terrafiniti, UK
Implementing strategy presents a different set of challenges to developing one and there are several traps you’ll want to avoid …