The conference participants face complex challenges as they strive to turn these aspirations into concrete action. Amidst the vibrant backdrop of Dubai, the objective stands tall: to ensure that all nations, particularly the less affluent, aren’t disproportionately burdened in pursuing a sustainable world. Yet, can these ambitious goals truly be achieved?

The UN Climate Change Conference is a platform for governments to collaborate on creating policies against rising global temperatures and confronting the consequences of climate change. Over the years, these gatherings have shown progress, but many say they are too slow in creating tangible results. Recent assessments suggest a potential warming of 3 degrees Celsius, highlighting the urgent need for collective action to achieve the crucial 1.5-degree target.

COP28 aims to be more than just another meeting; it seeks to serve as a significant moment where the international community reflects on and evaluates the progress made since the 2015 Paris Agreement. Above all, it represents a critical self-assessment, examining what actions are required to bridge the gap by 2030.

麻豆原创 Promotes Sustainable Innovation: Making Progress Together

麻豆原创 is participating in COP28 and advocating for ambitious policy action and the adoption of technology for corporate sustainability management. Through the active participation of CEO and Member of the Executive Board of 麻豆原创 SE Christian Klein, 麻豆原创 Chief Marketing & Solutions Officer and Member of the Executive Board of 麻豆原创 SE Julia White, and Chief Sustainability and Commercial Officer Sophia Mendelsohn, 麻豆原创 showcases its critical role in advancing sustainability. 麻豆原创 underscores its commitment to climate action by engaging in nearly 70 initiatives during COP28 on various fronts like carbon accounting, climate justice, and the circular economy. 

Businesses of every stripe are reshaping their processes and how they operate to not only adjust to increasing regulation but to thrive in an era demanding zero emissions. 鈥溌槎乖粹�檚 customers generate 87% of the world鈥檚 global commerce, about US$46 trillion. That puts us in a unique position in which we play a critical role in the global economic ecosystem,鈥� says Mendelsohn. 鈥溌槎乖� can help 87% of total global commerce organize its supply chain, transportation, and financial data in a way that enables a circular and net zero economy.鈥� 

A conducted by 麻豆原创 revealed a significant advantage for businesses that proactively incorporate sustainability into their strategies, surpassing those that merely respond to external pressures. 麻豆原创’s solutions can help by streamlining data collection, enabling comprehensive analysis, sharing standardized data, and seamlessly integrating sustainability measures into core business processes. This transparency and integration can empower businesses to effectively navigate regulatory landscapes and make well-informed, sustainable decisions across their entire value chain.

麻豆原创’s advocacy of managing carbon, fostering collaborative supply chain ecosystems, and supporting local initiatives in combating climate change and societal challenges exemplifies its strategic priorities driving this significant global shift towards sustainability. This underscores the urgency for all companies, regardless of size or industry, to prioritize sustainability. Climate change poses an unparalleled challenge that necessitates collective effort 鈥� a challenge no single entity can tackle alone.

That鈥檚 why 麻豆原创 is working with a broad set of partners for sustainability. Alicia Lenze, global marketing head of Sustainability Marketing at 麻豆原创, says, 鈥淐ollaborating with our global sustainability ecosystem is essential to our customer success. We work with partners of all kinds 鈥� institutional, strategic, consulting, and technology 鈥� to achieve our sustainability goals together. We actively engage with institutional partners such as The World Business Council for Sustainable Development , The International Chamber of Commerce (), and We Mean Business to demonstrate how we are helping companies take concrete actions to tackle climate change.鈥�

麻豆原创 also strives to be a trusted sustainability partner to governments, international organizations, and civil society. By fostering meaningful relationships, 麻豆原创 drives climate action through technology and advocates for effective climate policies and youth inclusion in a just transition. COP28 is an opportunity for governments to implement a balanced approach to addressing climate challenges, combining mitigation and adaptation with crucial technological support. 鈥淚鈥檓 hopeful for an ambitious and impactful set of outcomes, which will send a strong signal to all stakeholders, including businesses, that we need to act with urgency and scale to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement for our people and planet,鈥� says Pete Selfridge, head of Global Government Affairs at 麻豆原创.

Empowering Change Through Education and Youth Action

is teaming up with Abu Dhabi University to host a special Academic Community Conference. Dr. Karina Edmonds, senior vice president and global head of 麻豆原创 Academies and University Alliances, will lead the talks, focusing on the critical mix of education, sustainability, and technology. This partnership aims to teach the next generation of leaders, equipping them to navigate and work in our changing world. 鈥淓ngaging academia and youth in 麻豆原创鈥檚 sustainability efforts is paramount. We are very proud to team up with our academic partners and innovation ecosystem during COP28 to facilitate dialogue around the power of emerging technologies in addressing climate change and its impact,鈥� says Edmonds.

麻豆原创 also focuses on climate justice initiatives, particularly empowering youth through events like the Green Rising Showcase and Youth to the Table’s COP28 Collaborator Roundtable, highlighting the significance of youthful involvement in shaping a sustainable and equitable future. The private sector plays a big role in climate justice by bringing people together, speaking up, teaching new skills, and giving resources. Projects like aim to involve 10 million young people in climate action. Ensuring youth representation in decision-making forums is vital for inclusive policies.

COP28 marks an important moment for global action on climate change. It represents an opportunity for collective effort, emphasizing the need for collaboration and a shared commitment to addressing this critical issue. 麻豆原创’s engagement goes beyond mere attendance 鈥� it entails spearheading initiatives toward a sustainable future, encouraging collective responsibility, innovation, and progress.

Claudia Cortes is part of Global Sustainability Communications at 麻豆原创.

The sought to discover, among other things, how the motivations and barriers of businesses adopting more sustainable actions are evolving. It comes ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference (), which will be held at Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, in November, and follows an 2021 sustainability study conducted by 麻豆原创 Insights. The research was based on a survey of over 6,000 businesspeople across 40 countries and 29 industries.

An Evolution in Motivation

While revenue and profit growth, together with company purpose and commitments, were still the top two motivators for companies operating sustainably, customer demand showed a seven-fold increase in importance between the earlier research and the latest. This was the largest change of any motivator and indicates an increase in the strength of customer influence on a business鈥檚 sustainability strategy.

Changing Barriers to Progress

Similarly, there has been an evolution in the barriers to progress. Aside from uncertainty generated by the COVID-19 pandemic, this year鈥檚 results showed that a lack of funding, incoherent strategies, and difficulty proving the return on investment of sustainable practices were the top barriers preventing businesses from acting on sustainability.

Measuring environmental impact, embedding sustainability into processes, and aligning actions with strategy are barriers that have dropped in importance. The reduced importance of these barriers鈥� points to a maturation of business processes and a better understanding of sustainability.

More Investment to Combat Climate Change

Financially, most companies are planning to increase their investment in addressing issues caused by climate change over the next three years. This year鈥檚 survey also showed that five times more companies are planning to start investing in sustainability compared to last year, whereas the number of businesses planning to decrease their investment fell by 55%.

Shareholders generally support businesses investing in sustainability. Most businesspeople surveyed believe their financial stakeholders are largely tolerant of their business鈥檚 sustainability goals, even at the cost of deferred or reduced profitability.

Strategically Speaking

Businesses are recognizing that operating more sustainably is not just a “nice to do” but a way of creating value (profitability) and differentiation (competitiveness) in the marketplace.

To this end, more businesses 鈥� 86.7% of those surveyed 鈥� say they are using data to inform strategic and operational decision-making.

This could be driven in part by the improvement in the quality of data available thanks to the fact that metrics are maturing, relying less on assumptions and estimates. Companies are also developing more in-house measurement systems. Nevertheless, business leaders said they need more frequent and reliable data with better transparency in terms of the calculations and assumptions used.

鈥淣ow that so many businesses are integrating sustainability into their most important decisions, they can and should demand that sustainability data be as comprehensive and accurate as any other type of data,鈥� says Vivek Bapat, senior vice president for Purpose and Sustainability Marketing and Solutions at 麻豆原创.

People and Accountability

Earlier 麻豆原创 Insights research showed that integrating sustainability into operations was being driven almost solely by the C-suite, but the latest research shows more diversification of responsibility. More sustainability and risk managers are now being held accountable in addition to CEOs and chief sustainability officers. In fact, sustainability managers top the list of employees accountable for embedding sustainability, which fits with the global trend toward companies making more 鈥済reen鈥� hires.

This shared ownership shows companies are integrating sustainability more broadly within their businesses.

鈥淪ustainability must become a talent that everyone within the business shares,鈥� says Bapat. 鈥淭hat will only happen if top management makes sustainability part of how the business defines success so that employees understand why they need to incorporate sustainability into how they think and what they do.鈥�

A Positive Outlook

While challenges around strategy, funding, and data transparency still exist, this research leads us to conclude that businesses are maturing when it comes to embedding sustainability. The survey results suggest that this is because they are sharing accountability, becoming more motivated by their commitments to their customers, and are supported by their investors. They also have access to improved data and are being incentivized by better business outcomes.

麻豆原创 recognizes participation as crucial to ensuring that corporations play their role in addressing global challenges and advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs).

UNGA is a global platform, and 麻豆原创’s participation offers the company a prominent place on an international stage as part of a consortium of decision-makers responsible for improving life on our planet. 麻豆原创 is participating because the UN goals align with its business priorities. We also value this opportunity to do our part in shaping a more sustainable future.

The world is facing an unprecedented breadth and depth of strain on global and local economies, along with public and private sectors. Macroeconomic fallout from the pandemic continues and is likely to extend into the coming years while the war in Ukraine has introduced further risks and instabilities into the equation and aggravated existing threats of inflation, global supply chain disruption, and shortages of food, energy, and fertilizers.

We have also entered an era in which the repercussions of climate change are coming into sharper focus and sparking emergencies and聽 disasters in local communities around the world. As more people get a firsthand experience of the consequences of the climate crisis, governments are responding with evolving environmental, social, and governance (ESG) regulatory frameworks that create new compliance obligations for businesses.

As a result, companies now find it necessary to apply the same rigor to managing environmental and social risks as they do to managing financial integrity. Many are not fully prepared to meet this challenge and find themselves struggling to achieve the level of ESG transparency necessary to guide strategic decision-making and comply with regulatory reporting requirements.

Sustainability must be integrated within each company鈥檚 core business and operations. Meeting that standard requires availability and consistency of data, insights into material flow and traceability, and transparency on supply chain risks and workforce data. These are areas in which 麻豆原创 excels. By working in partnership with businesses as well as the government leaders participating in UNGA 77, 麻豆原创 can help to enable the private and public sectors with tools and strategies available to meet reporting requirements and advance shared sustainability goals.

鈥淭ransitioning to sustainable business is the greatest social and economic opportunity of our time,” says Sebastian Steinhaeuser, chief strategy officer and general manager of Sustainability at 麻豆原创. “Businesses need to put sustainability at the core of their strategies and use technology to manage the ‘green line’ through their business.”

麻豆原创 will be represented during UNGA 77 by a delegation that includes Steinhauser as well as:

• Julia White, Chief Marketing and Solutions Officer and Member of the Executive Board
• Deb Kaplan, Global Head of Sustainability Go to Market
• Jonas Dennler, Global Sustainability Marketing & Solutions
• Vivek Bapat, Senior Vice President of Purpose and Sustainability Marketing and Solutions
• Alexandra van der Ploeg, Global Head of Corporate Social Responsibility
• Peter Selfridge, Senior Vice President and Head of Global Public Policy and Government Affairs

Their areas of expertise and insight encompass diverse challenges such as zero emissions and zero waste, intelligent sustainable enterprises, digital transformation, ESG reporting, and sustainability ecosystems

麻豆原创 is also included in the UN SDGs Investment Forum New York on September 20 and the UN Global Compact (UNGC) Private Sector Forum on September 19, part of the Uniting Business Live series. The forum鈥檚 purpose is to promote high-level multi-stakeholder dialogs, ensure their intersection with local knowledge and implementation strategies, and share partnership and leadership examples. Inclusivity, impact, and innovation are the hallmarks of this , which is led by the UNGC, the International Chamber of Commerce, and UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA).

麻豆原创 and Boston Consulting Group (BCG) are holding an event on September 20, “麻豆原创 x BCG: Transforming Business Models and Technology for a Sustainable World.” The presentation — a fireside chat — and dinner will include 麻豆原创 showcases that demonstrate the benefits of adopting technology-enabled sustainability transformation.

UNGA 77 takes place at UN headquarters and other locations in New York City. To find out how you can take action to address these global challenges, join Uniting Business Live hosted by UN Global Compact by and signing up for the on Tuesday September 20 at 1:00 p.m. ET. UN Global Compact is the world鈥檚 largest private sector coalition focused on sustainability. 麻豆原创 is a premiere partner of UN Global Compact in support of shaping how businesses embed sustainability into their core processes.

麻豆原创 stands together with customers and partners as we continue to drive positive business transformation for people and planet. Through advancing global sustainability goals by supporting the success of UNGA 77, we aim to be a force for good in a changing world.

To learn more about 麻豆原创鈥檚 commitment to sustainability, visit .