For those that don’t know, COP16 is the sixteenth Conference Of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). More than 9,000 official delegates and journalists are expected to attend to work towards a global agreement on carbon emissions and climate change.

Ideas Shop is going because we think it’s important to be part of the conversation. We want to know what global trends are emerging in the sustainability sphere and where the opportunities are for New Zealand, our domestic businesses, and our export industries.

We also want to know where the market is going and what the business opportunities are. What are other countries and businesses doing in the sustainability sphere and how are they communicating their efforts?  What effect is their sustainability work having on their brand and reputation? What lessons can we bring back to share with New Zealand business?

Businesses and their leaders know sustainability is important: the UN Global Compact’s 2010 survey of almost 800 CEOs found that 93 per cent think “sustainability” will be central to their future. It also found that 80 per cent of them say the economic downturn has increased sustainability’s importance and see it as a source of cost efficiencies and revenue growth. That’s why CEOs and industry leaders are now outnumbering state representatives at Cancún. They want to know how to position themselves to take advantage of the opportunities that sustainability is generating.

Many of their companies are investing in sustainability initiatives and incorporating sustainability principles into the way they do business. Now they want to know how they build that into a competitive advantage. How do they demonstrate that their businesses are really committed to sustainability and not just engaging in greenwashing?

Is it enough to promote their products being used at (and useful for) sustainability events,like HP are doing at Cancún? Or do they think sustainability events provide a platform to promote their commitment to sustainable business practices, like the Coca Cola-chaired Consumer Goods Forum group have done in Cancún, by announcing that they’ll start using natural refrigerants instead of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in their cooling equipment from 2015.

Because Ideas Shop has been active in the sustainability space for the last seven years, we know there are opportunities for companies with a strong sustainability focus to derive a competitive advantage in their:

• brand and corporate reputation
• employee engagement and talent retention
• customer loyalty
• bottom line

But we want to know more. And share it with you. We’ll be blogging and tweeting from Cancún, so stick around for regular posts about what we’re seeing, hearing, and learning.

Posted by Steven Farry on 2 December 2010