[BASIC Event Recap] Reporting 3.0 on ESG's Illusions of Progress

by Marion Rockwood

On February 14, 2018, BASIC-Boston and Reporting 3.0 collaborated on an event hosted by Brown Advisory. The speakers, Reporting 3.0’s Bill Baue and Ralph Thurm conveyed an urgent message that business-as-usual is not going to cut it when it comes to achieving true long-term sustainability and that the ESG industry should not get lulled into thinking that current company disclosures are sufficient.

Few companies currently mention ecological limits to their business activities in their reporting and investors therefore cannot know what performance levels are sustainable. The cost and pace of business are obstacles to meaningful assessments like Life Cycle Analyses, though Reporting 3.0 is optimistic that AI and big data may help to alleviate these concerns.

Reporting 3.0 advocates for a shift in the Triple Bottom Line from people, planet, and profit to people, planet, and prosperity and hopes to facilitate positive mavericks, who catalyze transformation to act at the scale and pace dictated by science and ethics. Their Reporting Blueprint Process aids companies looking to integrate financial, management, and sustainability accounting.

You can find the slides from the event here and can contact Bill or Ralph if you are interested in joining the Beta Testing Program, the joint learning and piloting initiative, or the Advocation Partners Program for advisory organizations supporting such piloting.