LIVE from New York Climate Week: Finding the Actionable Edge

Purposing

Recorded live from New York Climate Week, this episode explores the transition of sustainability from a moral obligation to a core driver of

Key takeaways

• Marissa Saretsky (Opella) highlights the shift from carbon accounting to 'turning carbon into capital' using B Corp frameworks.
• Kevin Eckerle (Bayer Consumer Health) notes the industry is moving from simple transparency and data collection toward more mature, evidence-based sustainability.
• Eric Johnston (Nestlé) discusses how packaging circularity has shifted from an existential crisis to a fundamental business imperative.
• April LaCroix (Anthesis) introduces 'ROI squared' and the 'actionable edge' as frameworks for connecting sustainability to growth and margin.
• The panel suggests using 'pilots' as a low-commitment way to prove concepts and build belief among skeptical stakeholders.

Main topics

• New York Climate Week
• Sustainability as Business Value
• Carbon into Capital

Notable quotes

The conversation is no longer about why sustainability matters. It's about how it creates value.

Conclusion

To drive real impact, sustainability professionals must move away from

Transcript preview

Speaker 6 (0:01) From Given, this is Purposing, the podcast that lifts the lid on how to run a truly purpose-driven business. I'm Becky Willan, and with the help of leaders at some of the world's most recognized brands, I'll be demystifying this often misunderstood topic into clear, actionable advice you can use in your own business. Speaker 6 (0:30) We're kicking off this series with a special episode. Today I'm on the ground in downtown New York for Climate Week, where thousands of business leaders, sustainability professionals and changemakers have come together to discuss what's next. Across all the sessions I've attended here, one message is coming through loud and clear. The conversation is no longer about why sustainability matters. It's about how it creates value. But when so many of the quick wins have been won, how do organisations identify new opportunities that are significant enough to matter, practical enough to deliver, and compelling enough to secure funding? In this special episode of Purposing, we're taking you inside New York Climate Week for our first ever live recording. You'll hear from leaders who are dealing with these challenges every day, alongside questions from the audience. as we explore where sustainability is today and how organizations can uncover hidden value that delivers both business performance and positive impact. Welcome to Purposing live from New York Climate Week. We're here to discuss the week's biggest themes, the relationship between business and sustainability, and what brilliant leadership looks like in the current environment. And I am delighted to introduce my guests. Kevin Eckley, Head of Environmental Affairs at BEAR. Kevin's background is amazing. It spans science, academia, consulting, and now business. And that gives you such an interesting perspective to bring to this conversation. Marisa Soretzky, Chief Sustainability Officer at Appella. They're the first B Corp certified global consumer health care business. But Marisa's background is also incredible, working with consumer brands such as Pandora and Gap. I think your career really spans that intersection of sustainability, business and consumers. So again, another super important perspective to bring to the conversation. Eric Johnston, Head of Corporate Affairs and Sustainability at Nestlé Waters and Premium Beverages. Again, like a super different perspective. You've spent time both in industry and in Washington. And so bringing that policy perspective, I think it's going to be fantastic. And I guess between the three of you, you lead sustainability in businesses that touch the lives of millions of people. People with... different expectations of businesses, whether that's consumers, employees, investors, huge shifts we're seeing there, questions of trust, transparency, value creation. So you're really navigating many of the forces that are shaping businesses Speaker 4 (3:12) today. Speaker 1 (3:13) And Speaker 6 (3:13) alongside them, we're joined by my wonderful colleague, April LeCroy, 20 years of sustainability experience, Global Head of Strategy here at Anthesis, and has been leading some fantastic work that we're going to dig into a little bit today. So let's get into it. Well, Climate Week New York brings together people from sustainability, from business, from policy. The overall theme this year is organized around energy, impact and action. And I guess within that, there's this really explicit shift from ambition into implementation. Speaker 6 (3:49) I think we can all agree that we're operating in a fairly dynamic, challenging environment. Although this is my first time at New York Climate Week as well, and I've heard that actually, compared to last year, perhaps more optimism, more pragmatism, more realism. So let's start by leaning into that change. And Marissa, I was going to come to you first for that question. When it comes to the role of sustainability in business, what's shifting? And what does that mean for, you know, someone like you who's leading that role within a business. Speaker 3 (4:22) Yeah, absolutely. And I'd be happy to answer your question. I first just wanted to do a little check in the room because you may not know the Opelinae, but I bet all of you have at least one of our products in your medicine cabinet. So who has Allegra for their allergies? Anyone in the room? A few hands. Yeah. Or Icy Hot for your muscle aches. Ooh, a lot of hands there. You Speaker 2 (4:47) realize, of course, that I can't raise my hand for any of them. Speaker 3 (4:52) Or Speaker 4 (4:52) Cortisone 10 for any inflammation. Speaker 1 (4:55) So those are Speaker 3 (4:56) all brands among our 100 brands that we make at Opella. And my job is to actually make sustainability a part of each and every product that gets put on the shelf so that people can focus on their health. So that's the first thing. When it comes to shifts I've seen in sustainability, you're absolutely right. Right now we're in a phase of not just talking about carbon accounting, we're talking about turning carbon into capital. We're not just talking about risk assessments and the risk of inaction, we're talking about risks. being turned into roadmaps Speaker 4 (5:32) and Speaker 3 (5:33) and those are the conversations i'm having with leadership and those are the conversations that i'm having with the different functions of the business my team and sustainability we set the ambition but functions like procurement they actually hold the pin and sign the papers yeah Speaker 6 (5:48) so Speaker 3 (5:48) setting that accountability out into the business That is what we're seeing each and every day. And our B Corp certification that we achieved on day one as an independent company a year and a half ago. And just recertified, right? And just recertified under their new standards. Speaker 3 (6:07) That has provided an enormously helpful framework for the business to embed sustainability and to interconnect some of these topics that otherwise might be treated in a siloed way. And it's through that framework that we can actually get the exponential impact that we're looking for. Speaker 6 (6:23) Great. And so, Kevin, similar industry, do you recognize that shift? Do you see things differently? Speaker 2 (6:31) No, I see the shift. I've got to introduce Bayer Consumer Health now, first and foremost. Bayer Consumer Health, I'm the head of environmental affairs for the Bayer's Consumer Health Division. So much like Opella, our products are found inside retail pharmacies like the Duane Reade's and the CVS's and the Walgreens across the United States, or Boots and Tesco over in the UK. I see multiple things shifting. But I think it's generally the evolution or maturity. I would like to think it's maturity. Not that I know anything about that. But I would like to think that the way we're operating and what we're operating to is an evidence of the industry and profession as a whole evolving. So we've gone from first sustainability programs and things like goals were set. mostly with a finger raised in the air and it's like, how far do we think we can get? And the push was for transparency. Collect numbers and make them seen. Didn't make any difference exactly what you collected, but collect numbers, make them seen, be transparent. Speaker 6 (7:42) Now, Eric, I'm keen to come to you because you've actually been out of the sustainability space for a little while. That's Speaker 1 (7:48) right. Speaker 6 (7:49) Focus more on public affairs and policy roles. Now coming back into sustainability. How have things changed? I guess I'm really curious about what surprised you and what are the conversations that are still happening where you thought, are we really still talking about this? Speaker 1 (8:04) It's funny, I was listening to the conversations last night, right? And during one of the panels that was going on, Annabelle mentioned like 20 years ago, this is what we were doing. And 10 years ago, this is what we were doing, et cetera. And I was thinking to myself, man, 10 years ago, when I was in the beverage industry with sustainability as part of my remit I would not be invited to this conference I would not be invited to speak on this issue because our industry was actively pushing against EPR DRS things that were you know at that time thought existential crisis right and now looking at that you know it is a business imperative that we have you know package circularity um that we're investing in epr programs that are well run drs programs that are well run like we can't run our business without that kind of implementation so i think that's a big shift right from my perspective and especially from a policy perspective but then something that hasn't changed and I'd love to challenge everyone in this room, I noticed these spaces before, they were very white and they still are very white. Speaker 3 (9:18) And Speaker 1 (9:18) that is a big problem. If we're going to be about, you know, this sustainability is based in this idea and this concept and this thought process of equity, if we're going to be about that, then let's actually be about that, right? We have opportunities to diversify these spaces in real ways. So I challenge everyone to think about that. It is with intentionality that we have to do that. And I just wanted to... talk about a little bit what I have noticed that hasn't changed from the last time that I was here. Speaker 6 (9:52) Yeah, no, well, thank you for raising that. I think it also brings up the question of the connectedness between the different elements of the sustainability agenda. This is not only about climate. That's right. It's about humanity. It's about equity. And we've got to keep joining those dots. Speaker 3 (10:09) Yes. So Speaker 6 (10:10) thank you. April, coming to you, how does this resonate with the conversations that you're having with clients at the moment? Speaker 5 (10:16) Yeah, I think it really resonates and there's been just such a big focus on, you know, it's been a really difficult few years, but how can we use that to our advantage? And I know that sounds strange, but the impacts of climate change are so visible, they're personally affecting us. And the macroeconomic context is changing. And many things that seemed out of reach or unrealistic a few years ago, I'm telling everybody, recheck the math on that circular business model. Recheck the math on that process you were going to redesign because the context is changing so rapidly. And there's even more opportunities to more closely connect sustainability to business value. sustainability leaders are some of the only leaders that look across those longer timelines and can help shine a spotlight on those opportunities in the business. Yeah, Speaker 6 (11:16) and not just the longer timelines, but also the 360 view of the entire company often as well. Yeah. So what does it really look like to embed and integrate sustainability into our businesses? First off, though, I just want to do a quick audience poll. So we're all working in sustainability. We're either working as a consultant or we're working within a probably a large corporate. I want to know how good we're feeling about whether sustainability is influencing the big decisions that are being made within the businesses that we work in or with at the moment. So I'm going to ask the audience to cheer if. Sustainability is genuinely helping to shape the biggest decisions in the organization that you work in or with. And then we're going to boo for we believe that actually sustainability just isn't having the influence in the way that it could or should. You Speaker 2 (12:15) did say this was not being videotaped, right? This is not being videotaped. Good deal. Speaker 6 (12:21) You have got quite a deep voice.