Avondale University

Why sustainable value creation requires the whole marketing mix. I could write you the standard sustainability article. Greenwashing is bad. Do not do it. Be authentic. You would agree, nothing would change, and we would both have wasted ten minutes. The more useful question is structural: why do organisations that sincerely want to do the […]

Not long ago, sustainability reporting was largely a voluntary exercise. Today, it sits firmly on boardroom agendas, with organisations publishing increasingly detailed accounts of their environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance, sustainability strategies and future commitments. Yet reporting sustainability and managing sustainability are not the same thing. The Ris...

The most revealing thing about how organisations talk about sustainability is the word "initiative." An initiative is something you launch, resource for a while, congratulate yourself on, and quietly retire when priorities shift. It sits alongside other initiatives, competing for attention and budget. The moment sustainability is framed this way, as one project among many, […]

Imagine opening the agenda for your next board meeting and seeing the Great Barrier Reef listed as a trustee. Far-fetched? Perhaps not. Recently, a Guardian article appeared about the Scottish Association for Marine Science formally appointing the ocean as a trustee on its board. The ocean is represented by environmental lawyer Helen Mitcheson, whose role […]

Sustainability and corporate social responsibility are often discussed as environmental or governance priorities, but its foundations are unmistakenly human. An organisation can set sustainability goals, publish reports and invest in technologies, but long-term value only emerges when people have the capability, culture, and leadership support to bring those commitments to life....