As California battles with the Trump administration over regulating fuel standards, uncertain automakers are stuck in the middle.

California has typically been a leader among-st the states with regards to environmental policies, and under the Trump presidency this has been no exception. In fact, the state has already seen clashes with the federal government on these topics, such as when they and other states pledged to follow the Paris Agreement when Trump decided to pull out of it. Now under attack is California’s unique ability to set fuel emissions standards higher than the rest of the country, in place for 48 years under the federal Clean Air Act.

Previously, the national standard was that cars had to reach 35 miles per gallon (about 15 km/l) by 2020; however, in 2012, an Obama policy replaced that with a stricter requirement that cars reach 50 miles per gallon (about 21 km/l) by 2025. As California was on board with this criterion, automakers rejoiced in the ease of having one national standard for all of its vehicles produced.

However, as the Trump administration rejects climate change as a “hoax invented by the Chinese,” their policies tend to reverse efforts towards sustainability and instead reward polluting and outdated energy sources like fossil fuels. In this particular case, they want to rollback the Obama guidelines to the 35 miles per gallon level and remove the clause of the Clean Air Act giving California permission to set its own emission standards. California has the largest auto market in the country with nearly 35.4 million registered vehicles in the state (with a population of 39.5 million people); if California maintains the Obama-era regulation, automakers will essentially have to produce all of their vehicles according to that state’s standard. Trump, of course, does not want this to happen.

This potential change of course hurts both the auto industry and consumers. In the short term, automakers are unable to set up manufacturing plans since they don’t know what the new regulations will be. In the long run, Trump’s bias against sustainability prevents innovation in the transportation sector.

Consumers want to drive cars with higher miles per gallon because it helps both the environment and their pockets. Higher miles per gallon means less trips to the gas station and, under the Obama policy, would have reduced oil consumption by 12 billion barrels and saved consumers up to $5,700 in gasoline costs over a vehicle’s lifetime. Consumers are also increasingly keen on purchasing goods with positive societal impacts; recent research has shown that 87% of Americans said they would purchase a product because of a company’s alignment on an issue they cared about. In essence, if the auto industry innovates to improve and expand fuel-efficient vehicles and vehicles run on renewable energy, they will be able to attract more customers while helping to mitigate climate change.

Furthermore, while Trump tends to promote deregulation with arguments about economic growth, the truth is that the future of economic growth is in fields like renewable energy. In fact, the top 5 fastest-growing jobs in the U.S. energy sector are all related to sustainability, with one of them being clean car engineer.

To start with, the Trump administration needs to acknowledge the reality of climate change. Beyond that, though, national policy must recognize that consumers and businesses alike understand the new American economy to be a sustainable one. In the meantime, California should have the authority to enact policies in line with this vision in the absence of federal leadership.

Those of you who have read my articles know that I am always talking about the importance of sustainability, urging the adoption of sustainable practices, and sharing insights on how to better our journey towards a sustainable and prosperous future. However, talk without action is dead. To make a lasting impression in our pursuit for sustainability, we must act, not alone but as a group of individuals with a keen desire to achieve a more sustainable and prosperous Africa.

Two days ago, the Kenyan sustainability practitioners, business executives and managers proved that they don’t just talk, they follow through. They under-promised and over-delivered during the 2018 Breakfast Meeting on Sustainability trends that have impacted the Kenyan corporate sector. One hundred and fifty sustainability enthusiasts joined me in an event of its kind where we discussed the current sustainability trends and priorities across various sectors of the Kenyan economy. The commitment showed by various business executives in the meeting proved that sustainability is no longer a philanthropic afterthought or about installing low energy light-bulbs, but an approach to embedding more forward thinking and responsible business practice into how a business produces and delivers its goods and services.

It was clear that organizations, and especially those in the business world, have a profound interest in understanding where their consumers are heading. Corporate sustainability, employee wellbeing, sustainable supply chain management among others have become a known and relevant part of the corporate world today, with the objective of better understanding how consumers’ lives are evolving and how this can translate into innovative products and services that are beneficial to all stakeholders and the environment. These were some of the issues we discussed while attempting to dig deep into the fabric of corporate sustainability trends within the Kenyan business ecosystem.

I witnessed several proactive companies from the manufacturing sector, financial services sector, telecoms and commodity sectors making the effort to identifying relevant sustainability trends that they’d employ as one of the inputs into their innovation process. My advice to these proactive organizations is that when confronted with the new trends, they should embrace them and try to respond to them. By doing so, they are likely to become first movers or actually shape consumer behaviour (act as trendsetters) by owning such trends at the appropriate time and with the right propositions.

During the panel discussion, it was apparent that the Kenyan industry and market are changing over time. So, businesses will need to embrace dynamism. Because of that, organizations will need to follow the sustainability trends related to their businesses. Why? Because research shows that the demand for sustainable products are on the rise. Again, sustainability-oriented businesses tend to survive in the long-term.

Over and over, the history has shown us that companies that are not so good in adaptation according to their environment disappear, “not to innovate is to die” as Freeman has taught us. The task at hand, therefore, entails identifying and evaluating the relevance (and even existence) of a specific sustainability trend. Yet, even if a trend is identified and understood, a company needs to reflect on some key questions before using it as a guiding light for evolving its brand. Great brands spot powerful ideas on the horizon that resonate with their core values, and they discover ways to advance those ideas. That’s the secret of growth: being proactive by anticipating or leading the sustainability movement.

Success needs an appropriate mix of creating and following trends. It is the never-ending cycle. Organizations should endeavor to connect with the larger sustainability culture in ways that lead to more sustainable influence and impact. They should try to determine where society is heading and explore how their brands can add value in ways that are aligned with that direction. And as they forge ahead, they should make sure that they remain true to their brand and what it stands for.

Again, when confronted with such trends coupled with the rising socio-economic and environmental challenges, the role of sustainability management within organizations is becoming more complex and more central to business success. In this light, improving the organizational structures and strengthening the capabilities of sustainability practitioners is, therefore, critical to assist them in influencing and guiding their organizations in the direction of an integrated approach to sustainability across all functions.

One of the channels for achieving this includes building a platform where sustainability practitioners are equipped with a high-level understanding of sustainability practice through knowledge sharing and collaboration. The Kenyan sustainability professionals, therefore, officially launched the Association for sustainability practitioners in Kenya (ASPK)- a platform for the members to act as a crucial force for sustainability in the country while advancing sustainability innovations that create impact and generate profits within their respective organizations. This is a platform that I envisioned two years ago and nothing thrills me more than to see it come to fruition.

As we move forward, we need more business collaboration, but what we need most are well-designed, well-governed, accountable, and impactful collaborations. This was well demonstrated by the Kenyan sustainability practitioners. As we work together in improving the state of sustainability within our respective organizations, we must emphasize the need to ideate, design, and explore—and subsequently accelerate and scale—powerful collaborations that yield transformational change. We believe that the time is right to pursue such opportunities vigorously, aggressively, and with focus. We believe that the time is now. Let us all keep walking the talk.

Yesterday in the late afternoon, I had an opportunity to bring a group of enthusiastic sustainability practitioners together at the first Sustainability Meetup at the Intercontinental Hotel in Nairobi. By uniting these Kenyan sustainability professionals in Kenya, ranging from social entrepreneurs to CSR managers, and providing them with anopportunity to network, exchange knowledge and expertise in the field of sustainability and CSR, this Sustainability Meetup aspired to push the sustainability agenda in Kenya forward by inspiring and connecting these like-minded individuals. 

We were very pleased to have Dr. Michael Hopkins as our first keynote speaker, engaging us in the social responsibility conversation, as he is a leading expert in the field of CSR and author of the book “CSR and Sustainability – From the Margins to the Mainstream”.

He started off with explaining how the interest to sustainability and social responsibility has evolved over the years and how companies switched from an economic, shareholder theory to a broader stakeholder theory, that includes the environment as an important stakeholder in decision making as well, with some firms like Nestlé adopting the shared value approach. 

According to Hopkins, CSR is not the same as philanthropy. He describes CSR as treating key stakeholders responsibly. He went ahead to stress that it is crucial for organisations to map out the key stakeholders to be able to engage them in an effective manner. He stressed that the media has a key role to play and should not be left out since the media has an important role in communicating your positive and negative sustainability impact. 

Wakesho Sonje, our second keynote speaker of the evening, insisted that organisations should make an effort to train journalists on reporting sustainability matters. This is needed to ensure that the media does not only concentrates on an organisations under-performance but also captures their contribution towards sustainability. 

In early 2018 two political protagonists in Kenya shook their hands together in a historic mark of unity and compromise, after a year of tensions and political uncertainty. Dr Hopkins’ took this gesture as an opportunity to invest in good. He established his Handshake Fund to commemorate this gesture. Through this fund he invests in the top 10 social responsible businesses listed in the Nairobi Stock exchange. With his Handshake Fund,he is making an effort to stimulate companies to act in a socially responsible way and proves that there is a business case for sustainability. 

Furthermore, Dr Hopkins made the statement that more regulation is not always better and can lead to unintended consequences. To substantiate his statement, he brought up the Nairobi matatu CBD ban of last Monday, when the governments’ pursuit of more regulation caused a major in convenience for the society.

The fact that the journey towards integrating sustainability in an organisation is not an easy one was brought up by Wakesho Sonje, who shared her struggles and learnings in her attempt. She underlined that even though this journey towards sustainability can be though, we should never give up and keep on moving. 

Though, by doing so, Sonje added that we should not forget to have fun while we are working on it. She pointed out that it is crucial to engage your surroundings in the process, and that we should take responsibility in creating awareness – both internally as well as externally – so that together we can pave the way for sustainability. 

And with these words,she emphasized the need for bringing practitioners together and highlighted the importance of this Sustainability Meetup. After this inspiring local experience story of Sonje, the practitioners took this opportunity to network and discuss the learnings and insights shared by these inspiring professionals.  

This Sustainability Meetup marked the first of many sustainability gatherings to come. As we look forward, towards helping organisations become more sustainable we must remember that collaboration, communication, networking and sharing are very important components of our success equation. I, therefore, urge to find time to connect with us and fellow practitioners in the field to steer the conversation forward.

One of the best feelings you can experience is in the combined energy of so many people embracing something new and better in their lives. But as human beings we have a tendency to disconnect ourselves from those bigger purposes. We often feel insignificant, or too small and the problems all feel humongous. How can we really make real strides when we feel so incompetent?

Without a doubt in order for the focus to shift to the big picture (the environmental, social and political issues) we need to first focus on ourselves. It’s absolutely necessary that we first become the people that can create real change in the world.

Going Green: It’s on everyone’s mind these days and if it’s your New Year’s resolution, you’re in the right place. Green living can be approached from various angles; it requires taking big steps to embark on the process. Ready to take on a greener lifestyle this New Year’s? Looking for ways to reduce your impact on the planet? This year make it your personal mission to adopt habits that will help both you and the earth!

To start you off, here is a list of some achievable resolutions for you to select from. Keep in mind that when selecting a resolution, it must be a reasonable goal that is achievable based on your own circumstances.

1. Commit to eating less meat. No meat Mondays! Possibly?
2. Pledge to say no to single use plastics (water/soda bottles, food wrappings etc.).
3. Choose to use public transport, bike or walk to work one day of the week or possibly more
4. Buy your coffee using a reusable cup. I do this often.
5. Join an initiative and volunteer your time in making a change. It can encompass cleaning your environment.
6. Change your house lighting by adopting energy saving bulbs.
7. This might sound a bit hard, but challenge yourself to only buy used items and reduce the number of items that go into waste.
8. Make your own free fertilizer from compost (e.g. food waste). It can be used to nourish your home gardens.
9. Carry your own reusable shopping bags.
10. Use less chemicals on your body this year, specifically in your personal care products. Go for eco-friendly and non-toxic brands.

As you go about setting your New Year’s resolutions keep in mind that Individual action can make a big difference. Let it start with you!

2018 was quite an eventful year for those of us immersed in the sustainability discourse. From a corporates to an individual level, a majority of us worked towards righting the wrong metrics of our investments and lifestyles.  Climate change risk became material to investors and mitigation and adaptation became a key policy issue across the globe a at state and an international policy levels.  Weather devastation took a toll on us; from South Africa being at risk of “Day Zero” – running out of water to ravaging typhoons in Asia and Hurricanes in America and closer home- floods turning roads temporary to rivers in Kenya.

The fate of the Planet- 12 Years Left 

The alarming message by IPCC that we have 12 years left to avoid the potentiallydevastating and irreversible impact of climate change wasa “wake up” call for action tolimit warming to 1.5ºC  The report cautions irreversible damage on the planet if global warming is not limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

“If greenhouse gas emissions continue at the current rate, the atmosphere will warm up by as much as 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit (1.5 degrees Celsius) above pre industrial levels by 2040, inundating coastlines and intensifying droughts and poverty. The estimated $54 trillion in damage from 2.7 degrees of warming would grow to $69 trillion if the world continues to warm by 3.6 degrees and beyond” 

The report caution that failure to keep temperature increases below 2°C would increase the risks to human well-being, ecosystems and ultimately sustainable development. Some of the eco systems that support the millions of people are dying. Declining insect population, and dying of coral and kelp forest and the threat of extinction of some mammals like the white rhino are some of the 2018 trends that we had to deal with.

The Ocean Dilemma – More Plastics than Fish in the Sea

A McKinsey report in 2015 identified a worrisome trend in plastic waste where a majority (60%) of the approximately 8 million tonsof plastic waste leaking into the world emerge from handful Asian countries- China; Indonesia; the Philippines; Thailand; and Vietnam. UNEPestimates the negative externality of plastic production at USD 40 billion annually —equivalent to the GDP of Tunisia and as per the International Monetary Fund (2017) – exceeding the plastic packaging industry’s profit pool. Ellen MacArthur Foundation cautions;

“In a business-as-usual scenario, the ocean is expected to contain one tonne of plastic for every three tonnes of fish by 2025, and by 2050, more plastics than fish [by weight].”

Not all is gloomy, as iconic multinationals in the food sector that have been identified as a contributor to plastic menace have launched ambitious initiatives to right their plastic wrongdoings.  McDonalds and Coca-Cola have committed to 100 percent recyclable and certified packaging materials by 2015 and 2030 respectively. The interventions are in response to increased global concern over the prevalence of plastic waste.

Oil Companies Acknowledge Climate Change Impact on their Portfolio

Oil Companies remain multinationals with the highest global footprint. Consequently, they arguably yields the largest environmental footprint. For decades, the oil companies have reaped profits year after year while simultaneously contributing to global warming. Nevertheless, the turnaround in the oil sector is stunning and the companies are realizing that even the fossil fuel sector is not immune to climate change. The oil companies admit suffering fromeffects of climate change forces. Oil giantChevron Corporation, the largest oil and gas producer in the Gulf of Mexico, lost $1.4 billion because of reduced production and added costs for repairs and maintenance for both offshore and onshore facilities  as a consequence of hurricanes  Katrina and Rita.

Take a case ofØrsted, a Danish Oil and Natural Gas multinational that is now a leading renewable-focused power utility with an installed offshore wind capacity of 3.9 GW. The move to transition to renewables not only yielded reduction of carbon intensity by an equivalent of half of Denmark’s entire CO2 reduction in 2006,but as well, Ørsted’s installedoffshore wind capacity of 3.9 GW could meet more than 10 million people’s annual power consumption. The move was a win for environment and stakeholders as Ørsted’s net profit increased by 53 percent to $3.37 billion in 2017 compared to 2016. Ørsted continues to disinvest in coal, oil and gas business but aggressively investing in renewable energy.

HAVE A SUSTAINABLE 2019

The year 2018 had mixed outcomes, but the outcomes already set an agenda for 2019- reduce environmental footprint. So, as corporates define their missions explicitly around sustainable investment and align around value-based business models, and countries continue to invest in mitigating and adapting to climate change, we can only imagine how this could play out in 2019