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"The company that does not adapt will not be there anymore tomorrow"

Climate is generally not yet at the centre of a board’s discussions. Chapter Zero Brussels strives to equip its members to make business practices more sustainable. A climatic and... strategic imperative.

“There is no place for business in a world where human life is no longer possible". These words sound like evidence. It is Valentine Deprez, director at  the Belgian company Greenyard[1], listed on the stock exchange, who pronounces them. It is the responsibility of the business world to become aware of climate issues and to act to reduce their effects, she explains in substance. "We no longer have excuses ! Not acting is not an option,” she continues.

Alarming shortcomings

"We all tend to offload the burden onto the other... Yet everyone has a responsibility to bear: from citizens to businesses", underlines Natacha Lippens. Precisely, it is to them that Chapter Zero Brussel[2]s, an NGO of which she is president, is addressing, and more precisely to the administrators and administrators of their boards of directors (BD). "They have a key role to play in getting companies to make their transition to truly sustainable models, which take into account the climate crisis", explains Natacha Lippens. They are indeed guarantors of the strategic direction and the long-term vision of the company, and therefore cannot ignore climate change which is ti be considered itself as part of the long term. “It is up to the BDs to ensure the resilience of the company, taking into account the risks and opportunities,” summarizes Natacha Lippens. “However, choosing not to be part of the solution, not taking into account these major issues, constitutes a risk for a company.”

Despite this, the observation made at Belgian and global level is "very alarming", she concedes. According to various studies, there is a real "lack of skills and understanding of climate issues" within BDs. However, "if we want to  generate positive change, we must equip these people, whose levers of action are important, and make them 'climate competent'", she continues. That is to say, to make them aware of the situation, the issues and challenges and, in doing so, make them "involved in solutions".

On the side of the solution

At the instigation of the World Economic Forum, initiatives related to corporate climate governance ("Climate governance initiative")[3] have emerged at the global level, aimed at directors of boards of directors. To date, there are some fifty affiliates (or "chapters") with approximately 100,000 members. "The World Economic Forum imposes a roadmap that we apply with great freedom", specifies Natacha Lippens. Chapter Zero Brussels has chosen to focus its activities on environmental sustainability.

The NGO thus organises training dedicated to administrators from all sectors, by sector or from the same board, webinars, meetings and debates, taking care to base the debates on strong scientific inputs. “The flagship product is the Directors'climate journey,”[4] says Ms. Lippens. A training course lasting several months that mixes different themes - finance, law, scientific aspects, field observations, in particular. The training is now organised in partnership with the Vlerick Business School[5] and is in its fourth class.

During this training or this "progress", it is also for the participants to constitute a network of administrators and specialists registered in the same approach. "Sometimes isolated in our BDs, we are part of a community of people who practice and who seek", rejoices Valentine Deprez. A context that "promotes the sharing of experience and expertise", adds Natacha Lippens. "It's also an opportunity to gain confidence in one's vision" and to bring what has been learned back to the BD table to influence decisions and orientations.

Claiming a strong foothold in the European capital, Chapter Zero Brussels intends to facilitate dialogue between companies and the European Union, on its climate policy and the regulations and orientations taken by the Commission. These have a considerable impact on professional practices.

Barriers to break down

While some companies operate the essential environmental shift with enthusiasm, driven by the social responsibility they endorse, others are pushed behind by regulations, among which the European directive on the duty of vigilance of companies in terms of environment and human rights[6], as part of a sustainable corporate governance initiative. "Regulations act as a driving force", confirms Natacha Lippens.

Nevertheless, some brakes still remain. What are they ? "This is what we are going to try to determine thanks to a subsidy from the King Baudouin Foundation and in collaboration with Profacts"[7], announces Natacha Lippens. Once the observations have been made, it will be a question of finding solutions to overcome these barriers and reach as many people as possible, even the most recalcitrant. In the same vein, beyond the large companies which are better equipped - if only in terms of human resources - Chapter Zero Brussels aims to reach the "mass market", i.e. the dense Belgian network of SMEs.

"Evolution is adapting to change. As a biologist, I dare to make a Darwinian comparison: Like the theory of evolution, the company that does not adapt to the climate challenge will not be not there tomorrow", concludes Natacha Lippens.

Returning to the BD of Greenyard as a member of the family, Valentine Deprez quickly wondered what added value she could bring to the family business. "I had a sensitivity for environmental, societal and governance issues" framing the performance of ESG companies, she says. "Frightened" by the climate situation, she proposes to put on the "sustainability" hat within the board of directors and encourages each of its members to take responsibility. “It makes perfect sense since Greenyard is a supplier of fruit and vegetables: an activity dependent on nature and subject to the consequences of climate change,” she continues. However, “agriculture contributes to the problem while being a sector of the future. How, in this context, can we bring solutions? »

Its approach has been refined in recent months, in particular thanks to the “Directors climate journey” training course, organised by Chapter Zero Brussels. "Integrating sustainability into the company is a journey for me", she comments after these few months spent talking with experts and other administrators on the subject. A concept now structures her vision, that of resilience, which she translates into a question: "How to improve by being present in the current market while entering into that of tomorrow?"

For the moment, Valentine Deprez's journey has brought the subject more in depth in the Board's discussions. Whereas "Greenyard's mission has always been, through its offering, to encourage healthier lifestyles and more sustainable food supply chains, operationally it is now about improving the collaboration between the board of directors and the company" in order to "better support management's efforts". Until it leads to an adaptation, a change or even an upheaval in behaviour and practices? The “great challenge” is to arrive at the “coherence of the model” in relation to the issues, she replies. In this regard, “we are undeniably moving towards a more sustainable mode of production, consumption and services”, emphasizes Ms. Deprez.

Be competitive while improving your practices

"I had a sensitivity for environmental, societal and governance issues" framing business performance (ESG), says Valentine Deprez. "Frightened" by the climate situation, she proposes to put on the "sustainability hat”  in the board of directors and encourages each of its members to take responsibility. “It makes perfect sense since Greenyard is a supplier of fruit and vegetables: an activity dependent on nature and subject to the consequences of climate change,” she continues. However, "agriculture also contributes to the problem whereas it is on the other hand a sector of the future. How, in this context, can we bring solutions?"

The consistency of the model

Its approach has been refined in recent months, in particular thanks to the "Directors climate journey" training course, organised by Chapter Zero Brussels. "Integrating sustainability into the company is a journey for me", she comments after these few months spent talking with experts and other administrators on the subject.

A concept now structures her vision, that of resilience, which she translates into a question: "How to bring improvements still being present in the current market while entering into that of tomorrow?"

For the moment, Valentine Deprez's journey has brought the subject  more depth to the Board's discussions. While "Greenyard's mission has always been, through its offering, to encourage healthier lifestyles and more sustainable food supply chains, operationally it is now about improving collaboration between the BD and the company" in order to "better support the efforts of management". Until it leads to an adaptation, a change or even an upheaval in behaviour and practices? The "great challenge" is the "coherence of the model" in relation to the issues, she replies. In this regard, "we are undeniably moving towards a more sustainable mode of production, consumption and services", underlines Mrs. Deprez.

Source

Valentine Van Vyve+ "L’entreprise qui ne s’adaptera pas ne sera plus là demain" ? IN/ La Libre Belgique, 15-5-2023n https://www.lalibre.be/planete/2023/05/15/lentreprise-qui-ne-sadaptera-pas-ne-sera-plus-la-demain-3FU6FAS6NJGL3MRERKE32GRITE/

[1] Greenyard is a listed international company from Belgium that is active in the trade and preparation of fruit and vegetables.

[2] We are the Brussels chapter of the Climate Governance Initiative (CGI), in collaboration with the World Economic Forum. The CGI gathers a network of national and regional chapters around the world. https://www.chapterzerobrussels.eu/about

[3] The World Economic Forum has developed a set of Climate Governance Principles for boards of directors, with a view to enabling non-executive directors (NEDs)to gain climate awareness and skills, embed climate considerations into board decision-making, and understand and act upon the risks and opportunities that the climate emergency poses to the long-term resilience and business success of their companies, while taking into account all stakeholders. https://www.weforum.org/projects/climate-governance-initiative?DAG=3&gclid=CjwKCAjwpayjBhAnEiwA-7ena3ZnWjJMjI_I79nnQnLC7d8UG83w_1YqxBtEgnitN2pjYyuTYdQMhhoCOBAQAvD_BwE

[4] The journey maps out a path for non-executive directors to increase their understanding of climate change and the boardroom. It aims to support NEDs to have high quality and effective boardroom discussions and debate the impacts of climate change on their businesses. https://chapterzero.org.uk/directors-climate-competence/

[5] https://www.vlerick.com/en/programmes/programmes-in-general-management/director-climate-journey/

[6] To achieve its objectives, the European Duty of Vigilance should provide a broad material scope to environmental matters, covering all actual or potential damage to the environment and its components. Otherwise, the obligations enshrined in the Directive will be largely ineffective https://www.asso-sherpa.org/focus-on-can-the-proposed-european-directive-on-the-duty-of-vigilance-close-the-corporate-accountability-gap

[7] As a full-service market research agency with a true can-do attitude, Profacts goes beyond data delivery. Our team reveals factors for success by providing actionable recommendations and consultancy. Highly passionate about our work and our customers, we go the extra mile every time. No challenge is too big for us. https://profacts.be/about-profacts

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