Harnessing Olympic Inspiration for SDG Excellence
The first in a series of blogs from Belissa Rojas, ESG and Impact Chief at FAM & Gemma Roex, IMM Lead at Phenix Capital Group
Every four years, the world comes together to witness the pinnacle of human potential at the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Athletes from all corners of the globe showcase extraordinary feats, breaking records and pushing the boundaries of what we believe possible. Seeing athletes from all over the world come together shows us what human beings are capable of, and how far we can go with effort, passion, hard work, and perseverance. Every day, Olympic records are smashed, and personal bests are achieved, with scores or times that would have previously been unthinkable. In short, the Olympics show us what we are capable of achieving as humanity, when we work together, and when we are given the right tools to succeed.
Belissa: “On Saturday I went to the Defense Arena to watch the swimming competition, and I was able to see two world records broken and Katie Ledecky win her fourteenth Olympic medal and ninth gold. The feeling is indescribable, as if each athlete’s personal triumph is a showcase of this incredible ability of human outperformance. It was inspiring. “
Outperformance, always?
Yet, outside the stadiums and beyond the finish lines, humanity is falling short in another crucial arena: tackling social and environmental challenges and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Unlike our Olympic athletes, we are not outperforming in these critical areas, and our collective future depends on addressing this disparity. Last year FAM made the commitment to build a state of the art Impact Measurement and Management (IMM) framework to support their impact investing strategy. In order to realise this ambition, FAM sought the support and services of specialised impact investing consulting firm, Phenix Capital Group.
There are many different roles or approaches that a company or stakeholder can take in relation to their sustainability practices. On the spectrum of possibilities, we find companies that maintain the status quo, particularly if their practices may or do harm people and planet – “do nothing”. As changing regulation force companies to take into account their negative environmental and social impacts, we see more and more stakeholders “do the obvious”, which refers to managing ESG risks or factors that can negatively affect the company’s financial value or investments. The next step is to do something “good” which can range from mitigating negative impacts to pursuing ESG opportunities that benefiting stakeholders or the planet. The final option is to for a company to use its resources and position to contribute to addressing “the world’s most pressing challenges”. This is what leads to that elusive gold medal: achieving the SDGs. For FAM it was clear that this final option is where the company wanted to have its impact and this became the basis of its ambition.
Making a start
It is true that not all sportsmen and women are professional athletes, that professionals are not Olympians, Olympians are not medallists, and there is only one gold medal. What they all have in common, however, is that they strive to push their personal limits, and to be the best version of themselves. So why is it that this drive for out-performance is missing in our sustainability efforts as humanity? How can we get more people and companies to move from “doing nothing” to “going above and beyond”? It may sound simple but even Olympic athletes started somewhere. Perhaps it was a school sports day, or an introduction to swimming class. The key is to take a first step.
As leaders of our organisations, in every decision, there are three key questions to reflect on and bring to the table of any decision, action, initiative, project, product, or service. These questions may seem simple but are at the core of understanding your impacts, both positive and negative:
- What good is this decision doing for the planet and people (what is the positive E+S impact)?
- What is the cost to the planet and people (what is the negative environmental and social impact)?
- What can affect my business from an environmental, social and governance point of view? What risks do I face?
Answer these questions, and do your best to:
- Maximise the positive
- Minimise the negative
- Ensure that the business can be resilient to achieve #1 and #2 in the long term
Indeed these questions are just a first start. By applying them systematically and with confidence, leaders should start to uncover the follow-up questions, using the same logic and intuition that have made the private sector so successful. For example, once a specific positive outcome has been identified, one might ask;
- How much good will this project do for people and planet?
- Who will this positive outcome affect?
- How do we know that this data or forecast is accurate?
- What might stand in the way of this positive outcome being reached?
This approach is not so different to making any usual business decisions. Instead putting impact at the heart of a company’s mission is adding an additional lens with which to make decisions. This is at the core of what FAM is trying to achieve with the support of Phenix. Empowering FAM’s teams to make decisions with an ESG and impact lens. By training these skills and integrating them into their day to day business, it helps FAM’s teams to go above and beyond and reach for that gold medal.
– Please follow along for more insights in the next blog in the series –
