Thread by @bbaue

Thanks to @dvlahov for inviting me & @mwmce to have a conversation (as we’ve been doing for the past decade+) but on the mainstage at the @SustainBrands / @SOCAPmarkets #Integrate21 Conference.

It was fun!

Here’s the deck we used to anchor the convo:

r3-0.org/wp-content/upl…

@dvlahov @mwmce @SustainBrands @SOCAPmarkets We first asked: Is Sustainability “Sustainable”?

To answer that question, we grounded our discussion in the @GRI_Secretariat Sustainability Context Principle as introduced in 2002 in the 2nd generation of Sustainability Reporting Guidelines.

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@dvlahov @mwmce @SustainBrands @SOCAPmarkets @GRI_Secretariat We noted that @GRI_Secretariat inexplicably removed the capitals from the SustyContext Principle in G3.

@dvlahov @mwmce @SustainBrands @SOCAPmarkets @GRI_Secretariat And that @GRI_Secretariat inexplicably removed performance (which had been there for the past 2 decades) from the SustyContext Principle in the Universal Standards this year.

@dvlahov @mwmce @SustainBrands @SOCAPmarkets @GRI_Secretariat Actually, @GRI_Secretariat offered an explanation in its Basis for Conclusions document, but its rationale was based on a straw man argument.

GRI didn’t actually justify why it removed performance.

If you can make sense of this, pls chime in. I can’t.

globalreporting.org/media/0ymfh0xu…

@dvlahov @mwmce @SustainBrands @SOCAPmarkets @GRI_Secretariat We went on to ask, Is ESG “Sustainable”?

We let @GRI_Secretariat Co-Founder Allen White of @TellusInstitute speak for us:

"ESG does not, by nature,
carry a true sustainability gene."

@dvlahov @mwmce @SustainBrands @SOCAPmarkets @GRI_Secretariat @TellusInstitute And we inquired WTF Bob?!?

In other words, why does @rgeccles insist on persisting to (dangerously) conflate ESG with Sustainability??

@dvlahov @mwmce @SustainBrands @SOCAPmarkets @GRI_Secretariat @TellusInstitute @rgeccles We then asked, Is Sustainability Reporting “Sustainable”?

The answer? Nope.

So said the Bjorn et al study of 40k susty reports…

sciencedirect.com/science/articl…

@dvlahov @mwmce @SustainBrands @SOCAPmarkets @GRI_Secretariat @TellusInstitute @rgeccles Will the major global movements to “harmonize” sustainability reporting do the trick?

Again, nope.

See how ISSB, EFRAG & TCFD stack up on this:

@dvlahov @mwmce @SustainBrands @SOCAPmarkets @GRI_Secretariat @TellusInstitute @rgeccles Which prompted me to recently suggest that the ISSB should actually be more accurately labeled the I-ESG-SB…

linkedin.com/posts/billbaue…

@dvlahov @mwmce @SustainBrands @SOCAPmarkets @GRI_Secretariat @TellusInstitute @rgeccles Next: Is Integrated Accounting & Reporting “Sustainable”?

You guessed it: no again.

Current Integrated Accounting & Reporting places incommensurable elements side-by-side, pretending that integrates them.

Commensurability is needed to truly integrate.

sustainableorganizations.org/Non-Financial-…

@dvlahov @mwmce @SustainBrands @SOCAPmarkets @GRI_Secretariat @TellusInstitute @rgeccles We ended by asking How Do We Make Sustainability Sustainable?

We proposed 5 ways.

(Actually, we ran out of time, but now we get the chance to fix that here in the Twitterverse).

1) UNRISD Sustainable Development Performance Indicators

unrisd.org/80256B3C005BB1…

@dvlahov @mwmce @SustainBrands @SOCAPmarkets @GRI_Secretariat @TellusInstitute @rgeccles 2) Global Thresholds & Allocations Council

r3-0.org/gtac/

@dvlahov @mwmce @SustainBrands @SOCAPmarkets @GRI_Secretariat @TellusInstitute @rgeccles 3) Multicapitalism & System Value

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@dvlahov @mwmce @SustainBrands @SOCAPmarkets @GRI_Secretariat @TellusInstitute @rgeccles 4) Certified Triple Bottom Line Organizations

certifiedtbl.com

@dvlahov @mwmce @SustainBrands @SOCAPmarkets @GRI_Secretariat @TellusInstitute @rgeccles 5) Generally Accepted Non-Financial Accounting Principles (GAAP-NF)

sustainableorganizations.org/Non-Financial-…