How to get smart on the four biggest sustainability trends of 2020

Happy end of 2020!  This year sure has been one for the books, and I know many of us are glad to see it in the rearview mirror.  But despite a global pandemic, a deeply divisive political atmosphere, and the widely publicized threat of attack from murder hornets, there is progress to celebrate.  Why?  Because sustainability professionals around the world have been spending the year doing what we do best, getting things done under seemingly impossible circumstances.  

Here are four of 2020’s biggest trends in sustainability, along with some great training and resources to help get you up to speed on them.  You know, in case you were too busy just trying to survive 2020 to keep up with the news:

1. ESG jobs are on fire!  (don’t worry, not literally)
2. It’s easier than ever to advance the UN Sustainable Development Goals
3. Science Based Targets hit a new record
4. Companies are adopting science-based climate policy agendas

ESG jobs are on fire!

The covid-19 crisis has been considered by many to be a stress test of how committed investors truly are to ESG investing, and it seems the pandemic has only enhanced ESG’s investment appeal and the hiring trends in ESG have supported that. 

As I mentioned back in April, even during the early days of the pandemic, recruiters saw a significant increase in the number of banking and finance roles related to ESG, risk management, and climate change.  A quick look at Katie Kross’s twitter feed, the Responsible Investor’s jobs board and the LinkedIn ESG Jobs site still shows plenty of open opportunities.   

That’s fantastic news if you’ve already got ESG experience.  If you’re a little newer to the ESG space, here are some resources that can help you catch up:

• Read my interview with Devin Taylor, Investment Strategist at Bank of America Private Bank and Merrill to learn what careers in ESG are really like and how Devin got his start
• US SIF Foundation offers both free and paid courses for individual investors and professionals.  If you’re brand new to ESG issues, start with the free investor course as an intro
• The PRI Academy offers paid online courses ranging from getting started to advanced responsible investment analysis
• The Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) offers a free online, self-guided course for fund managers on developing a fund that can effectively deliver on impact and financial goals
• SASB offers a paid Fundamentals of Sustainability Accounting certificate
• The Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP) has a paid Sustainability and Climate Risk (SCR) certificate
• NYU Stern’s Tensie Whelan offers a very popular executive education course on Sustainable Finance and ESG Investing

It’s easier than ever to advance the UN Sustainable Development Goals

The United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) and Global Compact Network USA have developed some amazingly impressive resources to help individuals and companies better understand and advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

Earlier this year, I interviewed Adam Gordon from Global Compact Network USA who provided me with a wonderful overview of the UNGC’s work along with an incredible list of links to tools and training covering everything from climate to women’s empowerment to water and decent work.  I won’t replicate that list here, but these are some of my favorites:  

• The SDG Academy offers free graduate-level courses on sustainable development for learners around the world and has educated more than half a million people on the SDGs  
• The SDG Action Manager is a free tool that walks you through the process of conducting your own materiality assessment for the SDGs, identifies gaps in your performance, offers suggestions for improvement, and allows you to track your progress internally
• The UNGC has an extensive list of global tools for advancing the SDGs and Network USA has curated a list of the most popular resources
• The Young SDG Innovators Program is an exceptional development opportunity for young professionals under 35 working at companies participating in the UN Global Compact.  Corporate teams of 3 people are provided with 10 months of free sustainability, SDG, and innovation mentorship to help them develop an internal, proprietary solution for their company 
• the SDG Ambition Program is a six-month accelerator for more senior employees of participating Global Compact companies.  3M, Accenture, and other sponsors help participants develop a deeper understanding of how to operationalize the SDGs, set meaningful goals, raise their ambitions, and step up
• Adam hosted a webinar series called SDG Leadership throughout 2020 that took a deeper dive into the SDGs and how to operationalize them.  The series has concluded but you can still access the recordings on the website

Science Based Targets hit a new record

The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) is a partnership established in 2015 by World Wildlife Fund (WWF), CDP, the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), and World Resources Institute (WRI).  The initiative was launched in the lead up to COP21 in Paris in an effort to inspire countries to action by demonstrating the willingness of companies to set greenhouse gas emission reductions targets in line with leading climate science from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). 

This year SBTi celebrated the 1,000th company formally taking action by either setting an SBT or committing to develop one over the next two years.  These companies represent a combined market capitalization of over $10.8 trillion USD and together account for more operational emissions than the annual emissions of France and Spain combined.

The SBTi website includes some great information on how it all works including informative videos (hint: the process of target setting is easier than you might think!)  Be sure to also keep an eye out for our upcoming early 2021 interview with an SBTi team member who is helping companies to set and achieve SBTs.  He does an amazing job of laying out the different approaches to target setting and the new tools that are making SBTs even more accessible.  

Companies are adopting science-based climate policy agendas

The next level of responsible corporate leadership is here: complimenting your science-based emissions target with a science-based policy agenda.  

In the Fall of 2019, a group of 200 institutional investors and a group of leading sustainable business organizations both published open letters to American CEOs making the business case for climate policy action and citing the investment risks associated with misaligned lobbying activities. 

The goal of these announcements was to drive businesses to use their voices to advance policies that will reduce emissions at the speed and scale necessary to get to net-zero by 2050, which is the target that the IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C indicates we must achieve in order to limit the worst impacts of climate change. 

EDF, BSR, CDP, WWF, Ceres, WRI and other organizations have worked together to develop the AAA Framework for Climate Policy Leadership which includes three essential actions for businesses that want to execute a science-based climate policy agenda:

1. Advocate for policies consistent with achieving net-zero emissions by 2050
2. Align your trade associations’ climate policy advocacy with the goal of net-zero emissions by 2050
3. Allocate advocacy spending to advance climate policies, not obstruct them

The framework includes detailed steps for both companies looking to lead and companies who are just getting started. 

While there’s no formal training available on corporate climate advocacy that I’ve been able to find yet, you can get yourself up to speed on this topic by reading more from these thought leaders:

• The AAA Framework Guide for Companies
• A fantastic interview with EDF’s Victoria Mills discussing the AAA Framework at the Climate Leadership Conference in 2020
• The Guiding Principles for Federal Action on Climate from the CEO Climate Dialogue
• EDF+Business Vice President Tom Murray’s resource-packed article on major trends in corporate climate action
• GreenBiz contributor Mike Hower’s article on What it Takes to be a Corporate Climate Leader
• There’s even a Climate Authenticity Meter that assesses how specific actions by companies and industry groups support or obstruct progress on climate policy that can help you get a feel for what authenticity looks like

Looking for more sustainability related training?  Check out our Education page. Podcasts or newsletters more your thing?  Head on over to our Recommended Resources page.

Interested in a career in sustainability but really sure where to start?  Read our 4-Step Guide to Starting a Career in Sustainability for Undergraduates or the many interviews with real sustainability professionals to see how they did it and if their track might be a good fit for you.  Good luck out there, and happy new year!