“We firmly believe that business should be a force for good. Business is here to support the society, not the other way around.” 

Bjørn Kjærand Haugland, CEO of Skift — Business Climate Leaders joined a conversation with Honorary POP Ocean Mentor, Ana Hanhausen and other POP youth leaders focussing on business leadership in the arena of climate action, as part of “POP Climate Leadership Conversations: A Tribute to Chief Mentor” on May 20, 2021.

The conversation opened with Haugland sharing a few words about what climate business leadership means to him. He noted that as the UN conceptualized the challenges that lie ahead into 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), it is an enormous responsibility on the part of businesses to ensure that business models are aligned in a manner that they contribute positively to the 17 goals. His initiative “Skift – Business Climate Leaders” particularly focuses on SDG 13 (Climate Action) by bringing together Norway’s leading businesses to push for emission cuts. According to him, succeeding in SDG 13 is essential, as it poses a big barrier to achieve the other SDGs. He optimistically remarked that there has been growing interest around this in the world of business and that “the younger the business leaders are, the stronger this perspective is.” Recalling his experience with mentoring youth in this field which creates energy, inspiration, and abundant innovation, Haugland emphasized that “businesses grasping this perspective are more innovative, create more values, and attract better people to join them and work for them.”

Youth: Becoming business sector’s critical friend

Following this, Kevin Morales Münstermann, a POP Youth Leader from Mexico and Co-founder of “Resilience 2020”, asked about how we can communicate with business owners the urgency of their need to effectively act and how youth can help transform their process and materials into an eco-friendlier one. Haugland said, “The youth can do a lot, you need to be the business sector’s critical friend.” With the many tools in hand, including the tools of technology and social media, the youth can do the following:

1. Choose to buy/support businesses which you believe are frontrunners in this transition. As a consumer, you have the power to choose everyday. This better decision-making in a collective manner is the way forward.
2. Youth should be really critical. If you see greenwashing, report it, blame them, and make noise around it as the business loses your trust. Allowing a lot of greenwashing to happen is equivalent to allowing a space for those who are not doing just transitioning. (Refer to Swift’s 10-principle guide against greenwashing for businesses)
3. Applaud those who are doing well. In this world of sustainability, companies trying to do their best are also sometimes criticized for not doing it perfectly. Try to applaud those who acknowledge they have a problem and are working to solve it. Volunteer to be included to support businesses in this process.

Inviting regulatory norms for businesses

Drishya Pathak, POP Youth Mentor, enquired about effective ways that can incentivize businesses to go green and what kind of impacts ESG and carbon credits can have on business world-wide. According to Haugland, the best way to incentivize business to go green is to enable proper collaboration between business and governments wherein the government drafts strict regulatory schemes for the operation of businesses. These regulations from the government could involve requiring businesses to report their environmental and social impact including their role in the SDGs in order to create awareness within companies. Additionally, the government while procuring services from the business should not decide based on price alone but by also responding to sustainable criteria. Haugland noted, “The stricter they are asserting requirements to business, the more business will improve, change, and develop themselves. In Skift, we ask the Norwegian governments to put their requirements to us because the higher requirements you give to us in Norway, the stronger we are getting in order to compete in Europe.” 

“Prepare to be naked”: Competing in tomorrow’s market

He pointed out that though the standard of Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) is not perfect at present, it falls into the perspective that impacts of their activities by businesses ought to be reported. Furthermore, the companies that make best progress are those that can build customer trust through true transparency and visibility of their supply chain, working conditions, and so on. “If you want to compete in tomorrow’s market, get prepared to be naked. The more naked you are in your activities, the more trust you create, and the more trust you create, the more competitiveness you create and the more customers you get, the better financing you get and the more support from your regulatory friends.”

For young business leaders

As a last question, Ivan Ransom, a POP Youth Leader from Mexico and Co-Founder of “Resilience 2020” asked about what advice Haugland would give to young leaders who are starting their green businesses and how they can prioritize both growth and sustainable development? Haugland advised that youth embrace the new perspective wherein sustainability brings competitiveness, profit, and success. An increasing number of investors across the globe are looking for companies that are profitably contributing to addressing the sustainability challenges. He called for the young business leaders to have confidence and ambition, as the envisioned 17 UN SDGs serve as a wonderful platform for innovation. He said, “Don’t worry about sustainability or growth; think, act, and do your businesses with a mindset that sustainability will help you create the growth financially and in many other dimensions.”

He further added, “I firmly believe that this is the decade of optimism. We should work together, inspire each other, and share good stories. Leadership of the next decade is all about bringing that optimism into the societies. We need to make this an inclusive journey, an inclusive story.”

Being curious, collaborative, and critical

In his closing remarks, he said, “The most important thing is to be curious. Be curious about other’s perspectives and about how the world is working today, that is the best way to learn. Secondly, be involved and continue doing that. Collaborate with other networks and amplify goodness. Be critical and shout-out. We need that youth movement. We need the youth who are curious, impatient, and a little bit activist. Going forward to COP 26, one should raise voice, network, and challenge the politicians and the political processes around you.”

ABOUT THE GUEST:

Bjørn Kjærand Haugland is the CEO of “Skift – Business Climate Leaders”, an initiative that brings together Norway’s leading businesses to push for emission cuts. He is the former Executive Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer in DNV GL Group, with extensive experience assisting multinational companies in areas such as sustainability, climate change, and innovation. Throughout his career, Haugland has had multiple leadership roles in both Norway, Korea and China. He is recognized in the global debate on sustainability and technology, has his own blog on the Huffington Post, and is regularly writing articles for Recharge, Teknisk Ukeblad, and Sysla Maritime. Haugland is a board member in Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), Sporveien, the University of Bergen, WWF, Kezzler, and Global Maritime Knowledge Hub.

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