Sustainability, what’s sport got to do with it?
Visitors to QFVG’s booth at Hort Connections this week got a preview of our latest innovation – Hort360 ESG. For those who couldn't join us in chilly Melbourne, here's five things you need to know.
ESG is an acronym. It stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance. The E: encompasses your business's impact on nature, S: your business’s impact on people and G: your internal management of your business/your decisions.
ESG and sustainability are words which are often used interchangeably. Both reflect the numerous global sustainability goals which have been adopted by governments and large corporations. Australians alone are committed to 169 targets and 7850 actions under the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Businesses are also held to account with state and territory goals along with corporates (such as retailers) interpretation of these.
ESG is a team sport. Think of sustainability as a global team effort – everyone shares common environmental and social goals and contributes to achieving them within their own ability. These goals are especially relevant to horticulture, given our global supply chain, intensive workforce, and reliance on natural resources.
Hort360 ESG gives growers a way to align their daily actions on farm to these global goals and then document their own decisions as to the role they would play in the team. We believe it is equally important to understand why businesses choose to participate in sustainability initiatives, as well as the reasons they may be unable to do so. Being a team sport, every entity's ability to participate will be highly customised and varied.
The ESG/sustainability space is changing almost daily. Investors now want a sustainability report before sales negotiations, financial institutions are asking for reports before lending money, corporates such as retailers are pushing down their own sustainability targets onto growers, well-known food brands have written goals into their procurement processes and international markets are now demanding our growers document and align their actions to global goals.
In summary, sustainability is a global team sport growers have been signed up to play. The goal posts are moving almost daily. QFVG has built a platform to help growers navigate the field, and kick goals in their own way.
