Our latest thought leadership and research aims to inform and equip decision makers across business, finance and policy to lay the foundations for a sustainable economy.
4 July 2017
July 2017 – Many leading food and beverage sector organisations have demonstrated progress in managing natural capital impacts in their direct operations, including greenhouse gas emissions and waste. Many recognise, however, that the largest impacts occur in their upstream value chains, particularly on farms where raw materials are produced. A key natural capital resource is soil, and managing soil health is one way in which businesses may be able to reduce their negative land use impacts.
Global Definitions of Leadership and Theories of Leadership Development: Literature Review
27 June 2017
27 June 2017 – the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) has been working with the British Council to help define what good leadership looks like in a global policy and political context and across different locations and cultures. The study, undertaken by CISL, will inform the design of a new British Council programme to support future global leaders in the UK and overseas.
The commercial logic to measuring natural capital
8 June 2017
June 2017 – The launch of the Natural Capital Protocol has led businesses to become more aware of their impacts and dependencies upon the natural environment. However, a need has been identified to link to commercial drivers to these impacts and dependencies across businesses. Simple metrics and key performance indicators that relate these two could be a next step to embedding natural capital into business operations and strategies. This working paper sets out the outcomes of a small piece of qualitative research. It explores the use of different metrics for standard business processes by sustainability professionals and their relationship to natural capital measures.
Healthy ecosystem metric framework
16 May 2017
May 2017 – Investors and companies want to demonstrate their positive impacts on natural capital and show they are reversing the trend of natural environment degradation. The challenge is to identify metrics that are relevant for businesses’ decision-making processes, whilst being simple and practical for investors to use. This working paper outlines the concept for such metrics as developed by members of the Natural Capital Impact Group. It explores how the metric can be categorised as impacts upon the quality and quantity of soil, water and biodiversity. The paper explains the simple methodology that can be applied for business to calculate their impacts consistently and comparably, focusing particularly on the biodiversity component of this metric (soil and water components will be described in separate papers).
The City Innovation Platform: A guide to multi-sector collaboration on resilience
3 May 2017
May 2017 – This guide looks at the City Innovation Platform (CIP), a two-day workshop in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in 2016. The CIP explored how the public and private sectors can collaborate more effectively to deliver sustainable, financeable and insurable infrastructure projects. The workshop involved the active participation from a city network of senior Dar city officials, the insurance industry, asset managers and the private sector.
How businesses measure their impacts on nature
27 April 2017
May 2017 – Opportunities exist for investors and companies to demonstrate positive impacts and show they are reversing the trend of natural capital degradation. This working paper explores the challenges with identifying metrics that are relevant for businesses’ decision-making processes, whilst being simple and practical for investors to use. It is concluded that there is a lack of comprehensive, commonly accepted metrics that can be used by business and investors to consistently demonstrate their impact upon natural capital. CISL are working with a group of investors and multinational companies to explore and develop these metrics in response to this gap. This working paper represents the first output from CISL led research.
21st century energy: Business reflections on renewables in Europe
25 April 2017
April 2017 – This report brings together business stories and interviews with companies with an interest in renewable energy. It focuses on EU policies on renewable energy and industry’s role in innovating to deliver it.
Resilience in commercial forestry: Doing business with nature
1 March 2017
March 2017 – A new Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership report presents the case for natural resources to be better considered in commercial forestry decision-making processes.
UK Industrial Strategy: Navigating a changing world
19 January 2017
20 January 2017 – This discussion paper has been commissioned by The Prince of Wales’s Corporate Leaders Group to inform the development of an industrial strategy fit for the 21st century.
8 sustainability trends driving business in 2017
19 January 2017
February 2017 – This 2017 trends briefing from the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) highlights the key developments that business leaders need to anticipate and respond to.
