Bob Willard, Thought Leader and Author, The New Sustainability Advantage What are the key characteristics of a truly sustainable enterprise, and how can they be used to build a 'gold standard' ESG performance benchmark? How do companies need to perform on key ESG criteria, and respective KPIs, if the business world is to conform to fundamental science-based conditions required for human society to flourish on our finite planet?

1. The New Metrics of Sustainable Business 2013
Sneak Peek: A Gold-Standard Benchmark for ESG
Performance
Bob Willard, The New Sustainability Advantage

2. SNEAK PEEK:
GOLD-STANDARD BENCHMARK
FOR ESG PERFORMANCE
bobwillard@sympatico.ca
www.sustainabilityadvantage.com

3. HOW WOULD WE RECOGNIZE A
TRULY SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS
IF WE SAW ONE?

4. THE FOURTH BENCHMARK
Other companies
3
1
X
Baseline
year
Performance
Today
Company X
2
Company
Goal
4
GOAL LINE(S)
Gold-standard
benchmark
Material, science-based
KPIs and Goals for a
Truly Sustainable Business

5. TRULY SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS
Environment
Society
Economy
X
A truly sustainable business
creates positive environmental,
social, and economic value
… throughout its value chain/network
… contributing to the possibility
that human and other life will flourish
on our planet, forever
If it were to operate forever, it would not only do no harm;
it would do well by doing some net good.

6. METHODOLOGY / FLOW OF LOGIC
8 science-based Systems Conditions
for a sustainable environment (3)
and a sustainable society (5)
8 Design Constraints for a truly sustainable business model
21 Key Transitions to meet the Design Constraints
25 KPIs with measureable goals that confirm
the Key Transitions have been made

7. KPI PRINCIPLES
• Sustainability context: Each KPI is rigorously connected to a
science-based design constraint for a truly sustainable business model
• Context-based: Fair share within regional thresholds
• Offsets: Possible for some KPIs
• Interim proxies: Metrics for currently unmeasurable KPIs
• Assurability: Measurable thresholds/goals; variety of metrics
• Materiality: Material to the environment and society 
Material to company success  Material to investors
• Value chain: Include Tier 1 & 2 suppliers, and customers
• Comparability: Map to indicators in GRI and other standards
• Comprehensiveness: Each is necessary; all are sufficient

8. KPIs & GOALS
Environmental (8)
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
GHGs: zero or better
Energy: 100% renewable
Water used: fair share or net zero
Materials: 100% recycled/renewable
Waste: net zero or better
Land and water pollution: zero
Air pollution: zero
Land use: restorative
Social (10)
• Stakeholder safety: zero harm
• Stakeholder rights: for 100% of stakeholders
• Stakeholder diversity: mirrors demographics
• Stakeholder engagement: 80% annually?
• Stakeholder development: 100% eligible
• Employee remuneration: living wage?
• Employee ESG pay link: 20%+ weight
• Local economy: 80% of stakeholders are local?
• Taxes paid: 100% of statutory obligations
• Community benefits: positive social capital?
Governance / Financial (7)
• Board oversight: ESG committee
• Policies and systems: embed ESG principles
• Procurement: heavy ESG weighting
• Ethics: zero ethical violations
• Disclosure: full, on ESG aspects
• Public policy: transparent about lobbying
• Financial performance: going concern

9. SNEAK PEEK:
GOLD-STANDARD BENCHMARK
FOR ESG PERFORMANCE
bobwillard@sympatico.ca
www.sustainabilityadvantage.com