Why the whole alphabet is crucial to achieving results in ESG

Bringing people together on the topic of sustainability is something we’re all for here at Quorum Park. We were therefore privileged to offer space within Q11 to host Insider Media, an online publisher of business news in the regions, as it held a breakfast event to discuss all things Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) last week.

Not only that, but we sponsored, and took part in the panel for the packed event, which was live-streamed to viewers across the region.

Starting with a 30-minute opportunity to network, businesses of all shapes and sizes came together for the event on Tuesday (March 19th), which was led by Philip Cunliffe, Insider’s Business Editor.

Made up of two panels of experts, the morning offered audience members the chance to gain a clearer understanding of the intricacies, challenges – and perhaps most importantly – the opportunities presented by ESG, along with practical ideas on how positive change can be realised to impact the triple bottom line – people, planet, and profit!

The event, supported on social media with the hashtag #InsiderNetZero, outlined the core principles underlying the Net Zero and ESG agenda, offering regional examples to illustrate the practical measures organisations can adopt to boost their credentials in this area, as well as the impact of doing so.

It also gave businesses an idea of where they can go for support to benchmark where they currently are before tapping into financial assistance and incentives to support carbon monitoring and reduction goals.

As Philip stated in his introduction on the day, the North East region is poised to take advantage of developments and investments in Net Zero, for which the supply chain is economically critical.

Our own Director of Sustainability and Community, Laura McGrath, was one of the initial panellists alongside Jessica Cook, Programme Lead for Net Zero North East England, and Simon Colvin, a Partner and ESG Lead at law firm Weightmans, which specialises in ESG matters and was a fellow sponsor of the event.

Laura said: “It was such a comprehensive discussion to be part of that, while giving me a great chance to highlight all the great initiatives we have here at Quorum Park, such as active travel options, renewable energy in all shared spaces, and rewilding and fresh produce projects, it also enabled organisations to get a feel for how they can overcome any concerns they have around making changes towards achieving carbon neutrality.

“For example, I talked about our Sustainability Working Group, which involves representatives from across the park and has guest speakers including Paul Irwin-Rhodes, Head of Sustainability from Greggs, who was unfortunately not able to take part in the breakfast discussion. And I also mentioned the Carbon Literacy Training we’ve been able to roll out across the park this year, which is fantastic for businesses whose staff can cascade their learning both at home and at work, giving them a tangible impact trail – and it’s information you can’t unlearn, so it’s win-win for everyone involved!”

Some encouraging statistics were shared by Jessica Cook around how well the North East is fairing in its Net Zero ambitions compared to the national average, although some of this data also served to highlight some stark realities, such as the fact we have fewer workers in the ESG economy, and high transport-related social exclusion that means many people have little choice but to continue to use cars to get to work.

Jessica said during the discussion: “There’s a real appetite in the North East, among businesses in particular, to do ESG and to do it well!”

Among the key pieces of advice she offered was to invest in data capture, whether in terms of time or money, to help organisations know if they’re on the right track by providing a baseline.

She added: “People are often scared by the cost of Net Zero, and it is expensive if you look at it in isolation, but once you break down that silo, most businesses begin to see the co-benefits in terms of staff retention and progress towards their organisational goals. It becomes more financially viable from this bigger-picture perspective.”

Simon Colvin, who has been an environmental lawyer for 20 years, spoke of the fact that people are often blinded by the E in ESG, and he advised against this:

“The biggest impact for businesses is often in the S – that ‘social’ piece, usually involving their people, but the G of ‘Governance’ is also an important strand as it gives you the pathway towards implementation.”

The second panel was made up of Katrina Applyard, Innovation Manager for Sustainability at event sponsor the North East Innovation SuperNetwork, Graham Purvis, Managing Director of the first North East firm to gain B Corp status, Robson Laidler accountancy and wealth management firm, and last but not least, Wilmer Carcamo, Co-Founder and CEO at Caribe Coffee Co.

Katrina explained how she works with organisations to integrate ESG into their business strategy, drawing upon a crucial fourth pillar to the triple bottom line – resilience, often using the B Corp framework.

Graham explained that this initiative, which verifies that companies have achieved high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability, offered him the chance to manifest the purpose of the 104-year-old firm, which is to make a positive difference in the lives of all its stakeholders, including staff, clients and the entire supply chain.

Wilmer, who moved to the UK from Honduras in 2017, spoke passionately about how his farming family background inspired him to launch his company, which works directly with coffee farmers in his home country to ensure the highest quality product as well as the best rates of pay for those cultivating this precious crop amid the natural flora and fauna of the surrounding ancient forests.

He also explained why he turned down a major investment offer from Peter Jones after appearing on Dragon’s Den:

“The only reason was because I felt he wanted to change the core dynamic of the business too much for us, making it more about profit and about myself as the face of the organisation than about the farmers without whose hard work we couldn’t exist.”

After a variety of questions from the floor, audience members were able to take away some of Wilmer’s samples to try.

Many thanks to Insider Media for the opportunity to be involved. Find the full-length recording of the event on its website at insidermedia.com/event/insiders-net-zero-esg-breakfast.

And don’t forget, you can keep up with Quorum Park news and events on our Facebook or LinkedIn pages, on X at @Quorum_Park or on Instagram, and you can call The Hub on 0191 691 0889.