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Corporate Sustainability

Corporate Sustainability: What’s Trending?


Christine Nielsen

Feb 27, 2020

In Joaquin Phoenix’s 2020 Academy Award acceptance speech, he noted that even though we may be advocating for different things, “we are all talking about the fight against injustice.” More specifically, the fight against injustice toward our planet, which has been a momentous topic for the past couple of decades. After increasing the amount of pressure on corporations to recognize their role in fighting climate change in recent years, several of the world’s largest corporations have updated their corporate sustainability policies in the past few months. 

Going green also appears to be good for business, not just the planet. The world has been favoring those who are making moves towards sustainability and a promise of a greener future. Consumers are committing their loyalty with eco-friendly brands, voters are putting more weight on environmental implications from political leaders, and we see stock prices go up when corporations showcase sustainable business practices. 

Given the increased attention around climate change and CSR policies, we wanted to find out who is driving the conversations around a greener future. Our research revealed that public figures like Greta Thunberg and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez were influencing the conversation and those engaged in the online conversation, unsurprisingly.

Tip: Take a look at the top sustainability influencers and the top sustainable fashion influencers.

These change-makers advocating for Mother Earth on social media are analytical, social, and philosophical individuals. They are motivated by challenging the status quo, which it appears they are doing quite successfully. Keep it up! 

The domino effect that enabled corporate sustainability has practically forged a new way of business operations. In the first few weeks of 2020 alone, we have already heard bold declarations from top tier US corporations in their pledge to combat climate change: 

  • Delta Airlines says they will be the first airline to become carbon-neutral (offset their carbon emissions)
  • Amazon says that 50% of all their deliveries will be carbon-neutral by 2030
  • Ambitious Microsoft says they will actually become carbon-negative by 2050, accounting for all of their carbon emissions since 1975. 

The infographic below gives us insight into the conversations around corporate social responsibility and how sustainability is taking up space in social media. What surprises you the most?