全球视野 | 2024年企业可持续发展和社会影响力会是什么样的？

全球视野

每周从全球各大与公益慈善或社会创新领域相关的媒体或专业网站，去浏览发现当下正在发生的案例和正在思考的观点，然后翻译整理成篇，传达第一手的新鲜资讯。栏目希望可以通过文章的视角或者表述，为会员伙伴们提供启发、打开视野。

文章《What to expect from sustainability and social impact in 2024/2024年可持续发展和社会影响力的展望》发布在FastCompany上，作者是Susan McPherson。文章指出，当今企业责任的格局已与十年前截然不同。在面临行业不断演变、政治压力的加剧以及更为复杂的商业和社会问题时，文章询问了相关领域的几位专家，以收集他们对可持续发展如何在2024年继续发展和演变的见解。其中包括：企业需在动态变化的环境中灵活调整责任战略，需要关注 ESG 中的“S”， 强调合作取代竞争等7点看法。

The landscape of corporate responsibility today looks substantially different than 10 years ago. As the industry continues to evolve, face political backlash, and deal with more complex business and societal issues, we’re beginning to see an increased focus on companies’ most valuable asset, their employees and workers. According to JUST Capital’s 2023 rankings of America’s most “just” companies, the top three companies share a clear commitment to addressing worker issues and investing in employees. 

如今，企业责任领域与十年前相比发生了很大变化。随着行业不断发展，面临着的政治阻力，以及需要处理更复杂的商业和社会问题，我们开始看到人们越来越关注公司最宝贵的资产——他们的员工和劳动者。根据JUST Capital的2023年美国最“正义”公司的排名，前三名公司都明确承诺要解决员工问题，并对员工进行投资。 

Businesses are catching on and turning their attention to how they can better support their people—including contingent employees such as freelancers, contractors, consultants, and vendors—as well as investors, customers, and communities at large. 

企业正在意识到这一点，并聚焦于如何更好地支持员工，其中包括自由职业者、承包商、顾问和供应商等临时雇员，也包括投资者、客户和整个社区。 

We’re seeing more initiatives than ever being created to guarantee that not only products and services but also policies and procedures are adopted to better ensure that workers can thrive in all aspects of their lives. For example, many companies have prioritized offering benefits that address specific midlife health and lifestyle concerns, while research suggests that benefits tailored to employees’ needs can have an impact on retention and performance.

我们看到，为确保员工能够在生活的各个方面都蓬勃发展，不仅仅是在产品和服务方面，人们也在政策和程序方面采取了前所未有的举措。例如，许多公司优先提供针对中年人健康和生活方式问题的福利；而研究表明，根据员工需求量身定制的福利，可以对留住人才和绩效产生影响。

I asked several experts in the field to gather insights on how sustainability will continue to grow and evolve in 2024. Here’s what they had to say: 

我询问了该领域的几位专家，以收集他们对可持续发展如何在2024年继续发展和演变的见解。以下是他们所说的：

This year, experts believe that people will take center stage with businesses making greater commitments to prioritize, measure, and improve quality of life. According to Jennifer Fisher, human sustainability leader at Deloitte: “The “S” in “ESG” has been living in the shadow of “E.” However, leaders and organizations are increasingly realizing that our biggest societal and environmental challenges can’t be solved if people aren’t thriving. In the next few years, I think the “S” will become a bigger focus on the C-suite agenda and leaders will be investing more in human sustainability, which refers to the degree to which an organization creates value for people as human beings. It considers all people in contact with the organization: not just current workers, but also future workers, extended (contingent, gig, or external supply chain) workers, customers, investors, communities where the organization operates, and society broadly. I predict that leaders and organizations will not only reflect, but also act on the role they play as stewards of human thriving, making greater commitments to prioritize, measure, and improve human outcomes within their spheres of influence.” 

今年，专家们认为，随着企业在优先考虑、衡量和提高生活质量方面做出更大的承诺，人将成为舞台的中心。德勤的人类可持续性方面负责人詹妮弗·费舍尔认为：“ESG中的‘S’一直生活在‘E’的阴影之下。然而，领导者和组织正在逐渐意识到：如果人不能茁壮成长，我们所面临的最大的社会和环境挑战就无法解决。在接下来的几年里，我认为‘S’将成为高层领导议程上更大的焦点，领导者将更多地投资于人类的可持续发展，这指的是一个组织为人类创造价值的程度。它考虑的是与组织有接触的所有人：不仅是现有员工，还包括未来员工、外部（临时、零工或外部供应链）员工、客户、投资者、组织所在社区以及整个社会。我预测，领导者和组织不仅会反思，还会采取行动，发挥他们作为人类繁荣管理者的作用，投入更多，在他们的影响范围内优先考虑、衡量和改善人类成果。” 

Alison Taylor, executive, NYU Stern School of Business associate professor, and author of the forthcoming book, Higher Ground, added the importance of worker voice as it relates to ongoing conflict: “The focus on worker rights and voice will continue to escalate. Hopefully, we will have a more realistic and sober conversation about how and when corporations seek to advocate for or represent their employees, especially given the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.” 

纽约大学斯特恩商学院副教授、即将出版的新书《Higher Ground》的作者艾莉森·泰勒补充道，员工的声音与持续不断的冲突有关，因此这非常重要：“对员工权利和声音的关注将继续升级。对于企业如何以及何时，寻求为员工发声或代表员工，希望我们能够就此展开更为现实和清醒的对话，特别是考虑到中东地区的持续冲突。”

This year will be a pivotal one in global politics. Taylor believes that corporate political spending and influence will face more scrutiny than ever this year: “I’d say there will be two big themes for 2024. The most obvious one is corporate political responsibility, both domestic and international. With a fraught and turbulent election year, we can expect renewed scrutiny over political spending and influence and the revival of questions on what corporations should and shouldn’t be doing to protect democracy.” Organizations such as Leadership Now Project and Business for America are actively engaging with private sector leaders to ensure the United States has both a strong democracy and economy. Each organization regularly shares insightful research and educational materials that business leaders can turn to throughout the year. 

今年将是全球政治的关键一年。艾莉森·泰勒认为，企业的政治支出与影响力，在今年将面临比以往更严格的审查：“我认为2024年将有两大主题。最明显的是企业的政治责任，无论是在国内还是国际上。在充满焦虑和动荡的选举年，我们可以预计到，对于政治支出与影响力的的重新审视，以及有关企业应该和不应该为保护民主而采取何种行动的问题会被再次提及。”Leadership Now项目和美国商业促进会等组织正积极与私营部门的领导者合作，以确保美国既拥有强大的民主制度，又有强劲的经济。每个组织都定期分享有见地的研究和教育材料，供商界领袖全年参考。

As corporate responsibility continues to mature in 2024, businesses are moving away from operating in silos towards a more collaborative, mutually beneficial environment. Jeannette Ferran Astorga, executive vice president of corporate affairs, communications, and chief sustainability officer at Zoetis, shared: “In 2024, we expect to see more collaboration versus competitiveness, as companies seek to achieve common goals such as emissions reductions across the value chain. As an example, agriculture, food, and livestock received significant interest at COP28, and improved animal health emerged as a clear climate solution.” 

随着企业责任在2024年不断成熟，企业正在摆脱孤立的运营方式，转向更具合作性和互利性的环境。Zoetis公司的企业事务、传播执行副总裁兼首席可持续发展官珍妮特·费兰·阿斯托加分享道：“在2024年，我们预计会看到更多的合作，而非竞争，因为各公司都在寻求实现共同的目标，比如在价值链上实现减排。举个例子，农业、食品和畜牧业在第二十八届联合国气候变化大会上受到了极大关注，改善动物健康成为了一个明确的气候解决方案。“

When thinking about the workforce that will support business collaboration, Dave Stangis, partner and chief sustainability officer at Apollo, believes sustainability skills will become even more important to various roles within a company. He added: “Despite a fluid global geopolitical landscape, I see sustainability taking a more interconnected higher ground in 2024. With increased global attention, I think we will see greater focus on value creation—both for businesses and society. We’ll see growing attention to adaptation and resilience as more people see the connection between our oceans and severe weather around the world. The sustainability profession has grown immensely over the past decade. This year will continue the expansion and integration of sustainability skills into other corporate roles—especially finance, legal, and strategy.” 

Apollo公司合伙人兼首席可持续发展官戴夫·斯坦吉斯认为，在考虑支持业务合作的员工队伍时，可持续发展技能对于公司内部的各种角色将变得更加重要。他补充说：“尽管全球地缘政治格局瞬息万变，但我认为2024年可持续性将占据一个更加互联的制高点。随着全球关注度的提高，我认为我们将看到企业和社会更加关注价值创造。随着越来越多的人认识到海洋与全球恶劣天气之间的联系，适应性和复原力也会越来越受到关注。在过去十年中，可持续发展专业得到了巨大发展。今年，可持续发展技能将继续扩展并融入其他企业角色，尤其是财务、法律和战略方面。”

Comprehensive financial data and reporting have long been available. According to Pamela Gill-Alabaster, global head of ESG & sustainability at Kenvue, ESG data and reporting should be based on the same rigor and assurance. “I believe among the greatest challenges, beyond decarbonizing everything we do, will be addressing the mounting global regulatory requirements for enhanced disclosure of ESG-related impacts, risks, and opportunities. It will become increasingly important to have access to upstream and downstream value chain primary data and the ability to report that data with the same rigor and assurance used for financial reporting. These pressures will likely foster greater collaboration between the ESG function and the financial comptroller’s office and drive demand for better tools for data collection, governance, measurement, auditability, and reporting.” 

长期以来，人们可以获得全面的财务数据和报告。根据Kenvue公司的ESG和可持续发展全球负责人帕梅拉·吉尔-阿拉巴斯特的说法，ESG数据和报告应该具备与财务数据和报告相同的严谨性和保证性。她说：“我认为，除了实现一切活动的脱碳化之外，我们面临的最大挑战之一是要应对日益增长的全球监管要求，即加强ESG相关的影响、风险和机遇的披露。获得上游和下游价值链原始数据，并能够以与财务报告相同的严谨性和保证性来报告这些数据，这会变得越来越重要。这些压力可能会促进ESG职能部门与财务审计办公室之间的更多合作，并推动对更好的数据收集、治理、测量、可审计性和报告工具的需求。”

Although December’s COP28 didn’t explicitly endorse a “phase out” of coal, oil, and gas as many hoped, it did address the concept of “transitioning away” from fossil fuels in power systems. According to Anisa Kamadoli Costa, chief sustainability officer at Rivian, this year will be critical in the continued transition to renewable energy: “I can’t help but see 2024 as a critical year in the transformation of our transportation and energy system from internal combustion engines powered by fossil fuels to electric vehicles powered increasingly by renewable energy. Critical because the pace of this shift needs to accelerate significantly across three levers simultaneously, as laid out in The Pathway Report, which we commissioned together with Polestar: faster electrification; more renewable energy for charging; and decarbonizing our supply chains. We need to move further faster in transitioning away from fossil fuels and I hope that 2024 will be a year of action on this front—it needs to be.” 

尽管去年12月的第28届联合国气候变化大会，没有像许多人希望的那样明确支持“逐步淘汰”煤炭、石油和天然气，但它确实提到了在电力系统中“转型脱离”化石燃料的概念。Rivian公司首席可持续发展官阿尼萨·卡马多利·科斯塔认为，今年将是向可再生能源持续转型的关键一年：“我不禁将2024年视为我们的交通和能源系统，从化石燃料驱动的内燃机，转向由可再生能源驱动的电动汽车的关键一年。正如我们与Polestar共同委托编写的《The Pathway Report》报告中所述，这一转变的步伐需要同时在三个方面显著加速：更快的电气化进程；充电基础设施的扩张；以及供应链的脱碳化。我们需要更快地摆脱化石燃料，我希望2024年将是在这方面采取行动的一年，这是必要的。”

Kristen Titus, founder and CEO of Titus Group, believes that corporate responsibility strategies will continue to evolve in 2024, often shifting in real time given the various issues businesses navigate daily. She shared: “The next 12 months promise to challenge the standards and norms that have guided corporate responsibility efforts over the past decade. Corporations and executives are facing consequential decisions as they navigate economic uncertainties, global conflict, and the impacts of AI on society—all this in a year in which two billion people across more than 40 countries will be headed to the polls. We’re seeing strategies shift in real time, with the public’s trust in executives waning. Expect renewed calls for commitments to economic mobility, responsible AI, education and workforce investments, and time off to vote. Perhaps most notably, AI will be top of mind—for executives, policymakers, for voters and consumers alike.” 

Titus Group的创始人兼首席执行官克里斯汀·提图斯认为，2024年，企业责任战略将继续演变，并且由于企业每天都会遇到的各种问题，这些战略往往会实时调整。她分享道：“未来的12个月，将挑战过去十年来指导企业责任工作的标准和规范。在应对经济不确定性、全球冲突以及人工智能对社会的影响时，企业和高管正面临着重大决策。这一切都将发生在40多个国家的20亿人将参加投票的这一年里。随着公众对高管的信任度不断降低，我们看到战略正在实时转变。人们将再次呼吁对经济流动性、负责任的人工智能、对教育和劳动力的投资以及投票假期做出承诺。也许最值得注意的是，人工智能将成为高管、政策制定者、选民和消费者最关心的问题。” 

In closing, expect much more change ahead. Navigating 2024 will require transparency in addition to swift and adaptive corporate responsibility strategies. By putting employees and workers first, companies can not only navigate the evolving landscape but also lead in making a positive impact across community well-being, climate change, democracy, and much more that we all need during these challenging times. 

总的来说，预计未来将发生更多的变化。除了敏捷且适应性强的企业责任战略之外，为了应对2024年，企业还需要透明度。通过将员工和工人放在首位，公司不仅可以应对不断变化的环境，还可以在社区福祉、气候变化、民主等方面发挥积极作用，而这些是我们在这充满挑战的时代所必需的。