Corporate Sustainability
How great it was to read this announcement in the Outsell Doorway a couple of weeks ago: Questex Launches Corporate Sustainability Strategic Initiatives to Help People Live Better and Longer, Signs Pledge for “Net Zero Carbon Events”:
Questex, a leading information services company, today announces it has launched a corporate sustainability initiative focused on a renewed environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy. … Questex has signed the “Net Zero Carbon Events” pledge, a joint commitment across the events and meetings industry to achieve the targets laid out in the Paris Climate Accord.
Wisely, this company is taking the high road to address critical issues that are important to customers and team members today. Being a steward of the planet is not only good for business, it’s good for the talent crunch. I’d say it’s also good for competitive advantage because it allows companies to point to purpose and passion in what they do — and environmental stewardship is ever more important these days.
At the start of the pandemic, I blogged that events were getting long in the tooth. I said that it was a matter of time before Extinction Rebellion showed up at exhibit halls and also that next-generation workers, raised on social, would eschew traditional shows as being “so yesterday.” Bring on experiences — bring on Little Nas X and change the model. Our own data showed that it was older workers who wanted to attend big events. It was a matter of time before it all changed.
Sure, shows are coming back, but we believe it will be a long haul in recovery, especially for advanced economies. We have four converging factors:
- Changing workforce demographics
- A pandemic that has raised our threshold for travel and when it’s really necessary
- Lower travel budgets that are going to take time to grow back, if they ever do — we love those margins and improved savings!?
- Climate goals and sustainability
We’ve also been hearing that more pressure about ESG is coming from limited partners, who put pressure on GPs (funds), who are asking portfolio companies to implement. This is happening across PE and, as a result, more of it is happening in our industry as well.
Indeed, the Questex move and the leadership of the CEO behind it speak volumes for the other CEOs I speak with who have decided to reduce travel to almost 50% of 2019 levels — sometimes 60%, but the average is lower. At the same time, they are standing up and saying they are flying less and lowering travel to make a statement about their firms’ climate footprints. One told me his employees asked at a townhall meeting what they were doing to reduce footprint and whether travel would remain cut as a result. Another told me she is reducing travel to meet corporate sustainability goals. Indeed, climate goals and the pressure on all of us to be good stewards have suddenly risen and are higher on the agenda.
We used to worry about financial health, being customer-centric, delivering quality… Today it’s that and sooo much more: social inequality, talent acquisition and retention, corporate citizenship and sustainability, and the health of the planet. The CEO agenda has gotten bigger, and our industry is taking steps to be good stewards. Thank you, Questex, for showing the way.