Professor David Hillier speaks at IoD Conference

Executive Dean of Strathclyde Business School Professor David Hillier took part in a roundtable on holding ourselves accountable to the next generation and embedding the triple bottom line. He was joined by Jojo Mehta of Stop Ecocide International , Tony Wines of Turnkey Group & Jill Farrell of Zero Waste Scotland as part of a virtual global conference organised by the Institute of Directors (IoD) Scotland on September 2 and 3. The session was Chaired by Aiden O’Caroll Chair of IoD Scotland.

The delegates of this first online Global IoD Conference were truly international, coming from the UK as well as Argentina, Australia, Bermuda, Canada, France, Hong Kong, India, Kenya, Malawi, Malaysia, Mauritius, Philippines, Qatar, Singapore, Turkey, Uganda, and the USA. The conference explored how organisations can step up their responsibilities to tackle climate change and build sustainable businesses for a fairer, greener world. 

IoD Scotland delivered the event in partnership with its sponsors Wood, Skills Development Scotland and Strathclyde Executive Education & Development (SEED).

The conference generated ten Actionable Insights:

Leadership

• Develop your metrics – figure out what you need to measure. Connect with the help that is out there and learn from nature while you’re at it!
• Put these issues on your agenda – at every board meeting (and think of the COP26 baby whilst you’re there)
• Be honest about where we are – but connect and learn from those making a difference to give you hope and inspiration

Good Governance

• Set transparent goals – as board directors hold yourselves accountable and measure progress
• Set out your values on sustainability and the environment – and then recruit against them to ensure you have a team of like-minded people
• ESG – think of it in the same way as you think of financial reporting; look at your energy, water and waste every month at board level as part of your oversight responsibilities

Accelerating to Net Zero

• Be like Vanessa Nakate – have the courage to lead – set out your own journey to Net Zero now!
• Frame the stories you are going to use now to explain what you are doing to tackle the climate crisis
• As leaders, think about what you have to systematically change to create an environment where innovation on sustainability can flourish
• As a board – define your moon landing mission and identify the cross sector partners to help get you there

Click here to read a blog report on the conference.