“The impact of the measurement and reporting movement has been oversold. During this same 20-year period of increased reporting and sustainable investing, carbon emissions have continued to rise, and environmental damage has accelerated. Social inequity, too, is increasing. It turns out that reporting is not a proxy for progress.”

So argues Kenneth P Pucker, former COO at Timberland in a Harvard Business Review article.

In this online event organised in collaboration with the Radix Centre for Business, Politics and Society, Ken will share his views on the state of play and what might be needed for real ‘progress’ to happen. We will explore whether pressure from the investor community provides a credible route to change in a low return environment. Does public policy need to go further and is there any evidence that there is any appetite for that at the European level?

Panel

Kenneth P. Pucker is a senior lecturer at the Fletcher School at Tufts University and a lecturer at Boston University’s Questrom School of Business. He is an advisory director at Berkshire Partners and was formerly the chief operating officer of Timberland.

Joanne Kellermann is the chair of Pension Fund Zorg & Welzijn, the pension fund for the care and welfare sectors of The Netherlands. She currently also chairs the board of supervisory directors of NWB Bank NV, the board of the University of Utrecht and Aflatoun International, an NGO that empowers 10 million children annually worldwide through social and financial education.

Willem Vriesendorp is the founder of Brussels-based #SustainablePublicAffairs, the first Public Affairs firm to only take on cases that have a positive impact on the environment. Qualified as a lawyer he moved into public affairs, specialising in competition and environmental issues. Previously, Willem was a partner with FIPRA International as co-head of the competition practice and head of the environment practice.

Moderator

Fritz Lietsch is the founder of the sustainability portal www.forum-csr.net. As editor-in-chief of the decisionmaking magazine “Forum Nachhaltig Wirtschaften” he is a co-designer of the transformation of economy and society. Fritz Lietsch is author of numerous books and magazine contributions, moderator and speaker in matters, CSR, shaping the future and sustainability. In 2010 he was awarded the prestigious B.A.U.M. Environmental Prize.

“Measurement is not a proxy for progress”, 6 July 2021