Podcast appearances and mentions of aron cramer

The 21st episode in this series focuses on “Decoding the EU Omnibus Legislation in Sustainability and Governance,” featuring Aron Cramer, President and CEO, BSR; Christine Diamente, Managing Director of Transformation, BSR; and Paloma Muñoz Quick, Director of Human Rights Standards, BSR. They were in conversation with Susan Mac Cormac, co-chair of the ESG + Sustainability and Social Enterprise + Impact Investing practices at MoFo. Suz, Aron, Christine, and Paloma unpacked the complexities of the Omnibus legislation, which is shaping the future of sustainability and corporate governance on a global scale. Their discussion also delved into the regulatory landscape, key implications for businesses, and how organizations can adapt to these comprehensive sustainability standards.

The 19th episode in this series focused on “ESG Insights from 2024 and What's Next for 2025,” featuring María Mendiluce, CEO at We Mean Business Coalition, and Aron Cramer, President and CEO at BSR, in conversation with Susan H. Mac Cormac, Co-chair of the ESG + Sustainability and Social Enterprise + Impact Investing practices at MoFo.

The 15th episode in this series focuses on the “How Businesses Can Scale Action for a Nature Positive Future” with Aron Cramer, President and CEO of BSR, interviewing Eva Zabey, CEO of Business for Nature. The discussion focuses on the intersection of nature and business, including why every business needs a nature strategy and how business and finance can contribute to a nature-positive future. Eva provides insights on the latest developments in business and nature, as well as on how businesses can effectively create credible business action plans and help drive ambitious policies to achieve a nature-positive, net zero, and equitable economy for all.

The 14th episode in this series focused on “Business Leadership in the Context of 2024's Elections,” with Aron Cramer, President and CEO of BSR, interviewing Daniella Ballou-Aares, Founder and CEO of the Leadership Now Project. Daniella started the Leadership Now Project in 2017 to focus business leaders on the critical actions required to renew American democracy. Daniella began her career at Bain & Company, working across the firm's offices in the United States, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. From there she became a founding partner at Dalberg, where she led the Americas business and transformed the startup into the largest social impact strategy firm, with 25 offices worldwide. She spent five years in the Obama administration as the Senior Advisor for Development to the Secretary of State, serving under Secretaries Clinton and Kerry. Daniella's perspectives have been featured in publications such as the Harvard Business Review, New York Times, Fast Company, and POLITICO, and at the World Economic Forum. Daniella is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and was a 2014 World Economic Forum Young Global Leader. She holds an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, an M.P.A. from the Kennedy School, and a B.S. cum laude in operations research and industrial engineering from Cornell. The Leadership Now Project is a membership organization of business and thought leaders taking action to protect and renew American democracy. The organization mobilizes its members' influence, expertise, and investment for high-impact solutions for American democracy. Leadership Now members are the foundation of the organization, driving action and enabling impact. Founded in 2017 by a group of Harvard Business School alumni, the Leadership Now Project today has members across more than 25 states and collaborates with faculty at 15+ colleges and universities.

The thirteenth episode in this series focused on “ESG: Looking Back and Ahead,” with Aron Cramer, president and CEO at BSR, and Susan H. Mac Cormac, co-chair of the ESG + Sustainability and Social Enterprise + Impact Investing practices at MoFo. The ESG and impact space witnessed interesting developments in 2023, ranging from new regulations to anti-ESG legislation, litigation, and enforcements. This discussion provided insights and reviewed key events that took place in the ESG and impact space last year, as well as highlighted trends and predictions for 2024 and beyond.

The eleventh episode in this series focuses on “Just Transition: How Companies and Investors Can Ensure an Equitable and Sustainable Future,” with Aron Cramer, President and CEO of BSR, interviewing Kate Gordon, Former Senior Advisor to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).  It is increasingly clear that the energy transition needs to be inclusive, not only to advance equity, but also to bolster the political will to take action. Increasingly, companies are devising just transition strategies to ensure that the energy transition considers questions such as access to clean energy, employment transition for those displaced from the fossil fuel economy, supply chain questions related to resources needed for the clean energy economy, and the means of addressing the economic and environmental harms related to fossil fuel development and deployment. Kate Gordon will join us to share her perspective and expertise based on her experience as a leading climate advisor.

The ninth episode in this series focuses on “Responsible Innovation: Ensuring Ethics in Emerging Technologies,” with Aron Cramer, President and CEO at BSR, interviewing Paula Goldman, Chief Ethical and Humane Use Officer at Salesforce, and Lokke Moerel, Senior Of Counsel, Privacy + Data Security practice and ESG Steering Committee member, at MoFo.

The seventh episode in this series focuses on the “Net Zero Transition – Opportunities and Headwinds” with Aron Cramer, President and CEO, BSR, interviewing Curtis Ravenel, Senior Advisor to the Co-chairs and Vice Chair, Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ).

The fifth episode in this series focuses on “navigating crosswinds while continuing to advance sustainability,” with Aron Cramer, President and CEO of BSR, interviewing Ken Mehlman, Partner, Global Head of Public Affairs and Co-Head of KKR Global Impact. Ken will provide insights on how businesses are navigating the current economic and political crosswinds and staying focused on the fundamental reasons sustainability is essential to business success and economic vitality. From concerns regarding the scope of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) to woke capitalism and the culture wars that have ignited ESG political pushback, Ken will discuss how companies and investors can stay the course to ensure they are solving critical problems to drive financial returns and create a more equitable and livable world for future generations.

This week's episode features interviews with Aron Cramer, CEO of advisory firm BSR, and Jill Dumain, global vice president of sustainability solutions at certification firm SGS.

The third episode in our series focused on “delivering an authentic approach to sustainability” with Aron Cramer, President and CEO of BSR, interviewing Rose Stuckey Kirk, the Chief Corporate Social Responsibility Officer at Verizon. Rose provided insights on how she provides values-based leadership to address social needs in a way that enhances and leverages Verizon's business. She spoke about her experience engaging and activating Verizon's leadership, setting a strategy for achieving genuine impact, and ensuring authentic approaches that resonate with customers, investors, employees, and society. Rose also discussed how Verizon's efforts take into account the current environment, with economic volatility, a polarized public, and a changing public policy environment.

In this episode, we talked about how interest and advancements in ESG are suddenly everywhere.  Today's guest, Aron Cramer called the trend an “overnight sensation.” But really he's been working for years to pull sustainability into the mainstream. Aron is the President and CEO of management consulting company, BSR (Business for Social Responsibility). Before his career as an ESG OG, Aron went to law school and worked as a journalist. On the show, Aron tells us about his professional journey, how BSR helps businesses advance ESG initiatives and how ESG has evolved and exploded in popularity!  Learn more about Aron Cramer and Persefoni here. Sustainability Decoded is produced by our incredible team at Persefoni and Hueman Group Media.  Learn more about Persefoni and our climate management and accounting platform by subscribing to Tim's weekly newsletter!

Episode NotesGuestsRebecca Henderson, Aron Cramer, Earthea NanceHostMichelle HarvenWriting and ProductionWritten by Keith Schumann with input from T.A. Frank, Miguel Padró, Felicia Davis, and the Business & Society Team.Recorded by Ben Eyler and edited by Jesse Krinsky.The Business & Society team wishes to thank the audio technicians and everyone involved in the production of this episode, including:Gail DelaughterJohanna PoschwattaAndrew SeltzerAdeline SireTheresa DiederichMusic Samples Featured in this EpisodeAlgorithms by Chad Crouch (Excerpted form of the track; used under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License)Ongoing Cases by Blear Moon (Excerpted form of the track) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/All the Answers by Lee Rosevere (https://leerosevere.bandcamp.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Island of Despair by Daniel Birch (www.danielbirchmusic.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Tobacco Road – Storyblocks AudioArchival AudioC-SPAN – June 11, 2001

“Imagine all the people, living life in peace…. no need for greed or hunger, a brotherhood of man.” Those lyrics are surely familiar to you. They are from one of the most successful songs of all time, Imagine, by John Winston Lennon. Lennon, singing of his better world, voiced certainty that he “was not the only one” with this dream. Now, prominent corporate leaders have begun a new firm with the express purpose of making business and industry better global citizens. They have named the firm, Imagine, after the song.  In this episode, Edie Lush and Claudia Romo Edelman discuss Imagine and talk with two of the founders, Paul Polman, former CEO of Unilever, and Valerie Keller, a well-known CEO whisperer, coach and expert in transformational business leadership. With governments acting too slowly or in many crucial places gridlocked, more focus has fallen on the role of business in curbing climate change and achieving the other Sustainable Development Goals.  Keller and Polman argue that much can be accomplished by creating “collective courageous behavior” by corporations working together to achieve what no one of them might take on alone.  Their first effort is underway in the Fashion industry and they talk about future plans for travel, tourism and, perhaps, even energy. Claudia observes that Imagine, the song, which was written in 1981, seems to call for the Sustainable Development Goals long before they were created in 2015. But Lennon also sang of “no possessions,” which might be a step further down a socialist road than Imagine, the company, envisions. Edie and Claudia discuss Imagine, the company’s place in what they describe as a movement to create a “better capitalism,” not replace it. “What we are really seeing in this world is that many people are dreaming of a better world than we have currently,” Polman says.   Facts and Actions “to help meet the moment…the decisive decade of the 2020s” are from a leading expert in sustainable business, Aron Cramer, President and CEO of BSR, a not-for-profit which advises companies on sustainability. You can read Cramer’s 2019 CEO letter, “A New Climate for Business”.   Laura MacKenzie, Senior Vice President of our sponsor, Mastercard, describes Mastercard’s work creating digital systems to pay garment workers, predominantly women, around the world. This protects their earnings and increases their access to the formal financial system. “many of the women,” MacKenzie says, “also have ambitions of their own. They would like to own land they would like to start a business. That’s what’s so exciting about this work.”

THE IMPACT. Aron is:- Recognized globally as an authority on sustainable business- CEO of BSR, or Business for Social Responsibility, the long-running sustainability network and consultancy, where he advises senior executives on social and environmental issues- On advisory boards at Marks & Spencer and SAP, and previously also at AXA, Shell, and Nike- Director of the Natural Capital Coalition, the International Integrated Reporting Council, and We Mean BusinessTHE JOURNEY. In our conversation, we explore:- How sustainability in business has evolved in the last 25 years- A shift in business, from sitting on the sidelines to taking a stand on global challenges- Balancing urgency and patience- Transforming the individual vs. the organization- Leading from the head vs. from the heart- Overcoming fear with faith in the futureA big thanks to Aron. You can follow his work on BSR.org and on Twitter @aroncramer.

Creating a World that Genuinely Works for Everyone and Respects Nature's Boundaries Aron Cramer President and CEO, Business for Social Responsibility The world is changing very fast. Businesses are building technologies at lightning speed that enable connection and agency; but it’s really important for development teams to engage social scientists and experts in cultural transformation to understand better the entire social picture of a technology before it goes to market. The problem is that institutional understanding and system’s thinking approaches to the deployment and use of technology lag well behind the pace, scale, and rate of change happening in technology. Imagine, there are 2.6 billion users now on Facebook. And, over 50% of the world is connected on the internet. Globalization and connection are good; when done right and when technologies provide a positive social, economic, or environmental benefit. Take for example, Indian rural dwellers using voice recognition to communicate more effectively to others in different languages and dialects. That’s a service. And even if we can’t remove 100% of the negative and false cyberbot activity on the internet; we can do a lot to remove much of the misinformation, Aron suggests. We just need to stay true and business accountable to developing a world forward the genuinely works for everyone and respects nature’s boundaries.

A globally recognized authority on sustainable business, Aron Cramer co-authored “Sustainable Excellence: The Future of Business in a Fast-Changing World,” which spotlights innovative sustainability strategies that drive business success. In his role as president and CEO, Aron advises BSR’s more than 250-member companies on the full spectrum of social and environmental issues.       

Featuring, three interviews on innovation — including one with CEO Aron Cramer — collected during the BSR gathering this week in New York.

Lynette Cameron, Vice President of Sustainability at Autodesk Aron Cramer, President and CEO, Business for Social Responsibility Patrick Flynn, Senior Director of Sustainability, Salesforce Tech companies are cleaning up their data centers and building shiny new buildings that sip water and energy. But are they really as green as they claim? Many companies issued statements in support of the Paris climate agreement, but their actions will be more important than their statements. According to guest Aron Cramer from BSR, the way we measure how green companies are needs an update. “Companies should be judged not only on what they do, which is more traditional,” Cramer says, “but also what they enable through their partnerships and what kinds of policy frameworks they seek to create.” This program was recorded live at The Commonwealth Club in San Francisco on March 6, 2018.

BSR has been providing socially responsible business solutions to many of the world's leading companies for almost 25 years, working with 250 member companies around the world to create a more just and sustainable global economy. In this podcast, BSR CEO Aron Cramer, gives his frank assessment of where companies are on their journey to sustainability, the crucial role of finance in the sustainability, and asks difficult questions about the future of an economy based on Western consumption models. Aron also talks about the work that BSR is doing around building an inclusive economy, and the role of new sustainability models like the sharing economy. The post Episode 9: Aron Cramer | Corporate sustainability – past progress and future questions appeared first on The Sustainability Agenda.

Walmart. Emit Less. Live Better Walmart and other large companies are pushing their suppliers to reduce packaging, waste and energy use to save companies money and reduce carbon pollution. The goals of zero waste and 100 percent renewable energy are big and audacious. According to Aron Cramer, CEO of Business for Social Responsibility such goals are also necessary. “We won’t be able to maintain economic growth if the environment starts to get in the way,” he says. Along with important steps towards a more sustainable supply chain Walmart has an emphasis on energy. “Energy efficiency has to go hand in hand with renewable energy,” says Andrea Thomas, Senior Vice President of Sustainability at Walmart. To Walmart renewable energy is a business opportunity and she says they now in a position to start scaling. Aron Cramer agreed with the significance of renewables saying distributed energy could “be a business opportunity for retailers.” A conversation with two top executives on sustainable capitalism. This program was recorded in front of a live audience at The Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco on May 6, 2013

Lost In The Wash With everything from hand soap to glass cleaner labeled as “eco-friendly” or “sustainable” consumers are suffering from green fatigue. We are just starting “to align our spending with our values,” says Dara O’Rourke, co-founder of Good Guide. Transparency is the name of the game and social media “hashtags” mean brands “don’t get to control the message anymore,” says O’Rourke, “I don’t think they get to tell us what to believe or not to believe.” The roundtable, including William Brent, Executive VP of Weber Shandwick, and Aron Cramer, President and CEO of BSR, points out that consumer behavior is critical to understanding (and reducing) the lifetime carbon footprint of a product. Listen to a conversation between experts on the next step towards a greener marketplace. This program was recorded in front of a live audience at The Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco on January 11, 2013

From solar shingles to locally implemented environmental waste collection, companies are creating products and corporate infrastructures that are about more than just profit. Aron Cramer, an advisor on corporate responsibility, points out several benefits in the revolution in this open-call conversation. He explains the need to bridge the gap between businesses for profit and nonprofit organizations, and how any working combination of the two would bring about social change, environmental improvements, and technological innovations. This open phone call challenges the stereotypes of business and philanthropy, as well the degree of separation between the two sectors. Cramer explains that a synthesis between the two, with an emphasis on the results-based movement of corporations and the socially-based goals of nonprofit organizations, would create investment in small businesses and corporate-social responsibility. Impact investing, social entrepreneurs, and locally-based businesses are part of a newly growing trend that supports local and international social goals, environmental awareness, and minimization of poverty. This trend, Aron Cramer proves through several examples and in answers to callers’ question, is making the world better, and will continue to improve environmental and social standards as businesses and non-profits continue to merge and cooperate. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/aron_cramer_sustainable_excellence_the_future_of_business_in_a_fast_changin