Is your co-operative or mutual ready to report its ESG impact?

18 August 2021

ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) impact is now a mainstream concern for all businesses. Corporations are expected to consider how their business operations affect the natural environment, as well as their workers and wider communities. Customers and investors are making decisions based on these factors and so firms need to assess their ESG impact and to report to business owners and other stakeholders in a clear and consistent way.

As this ESG reporting moves up the corporate agenda, BCCM has organised an international symposium to examine how co-operative and mutual businesses could have a particular story to tell in relation to their environmental, social and governance impact.

Moderated by ABC News journalist Peter Ryan, the event will bring together mutual business leaders from Australia and the UK to share their expertise and consider how the challenge of ESG reporting presents an opportunity for mutual business to take a lead.

Together they will tackle the key questions facing our sector in relation to ESG:

• Does the mutual business purpose present an advantage for firms needing to express how they make an ESG impact?
• How many CMEs can describe their behaviours under each of these categories – what is the best way to approach this?
• Can co-operatives and mutuals leverage their inherent mutuality and business impact to attract sustainable debt and equity investors?

The event will start with former APRA Director Geoff Summerhayes throwing down the challenge to co-operatives and mutuals to take a lead among corporations as they report on their impact on wider society.

Delegates will hear from Jonathan Labrey of the value reporting foundation, who will describe how global standards are being set for the consistent reporting of business impact.

Barry O’Dwyer of Royal London Insurance, Louise O’Brien of Bank Australia, and Rohan Lund of NRMA will share a conversation about how mutual business purpose drives their corporate strategies to serve their members.

Ruth Woodall of the Co-operative Group and Esther Kerr-Smith of Australian Unity will present examples of their social reporting and how this has been useful to drive their business success.

The final session will hear from Hans Georgeson of Royal London Asset Management, Jim Parker of Dimensional Fund Advisors and Colin Melvin of Arkadiko Partners to discuss how ESG and impact is affecting the decision-making of investors.

This online event is exclusively available to BCCM members and invited guests.  It will take place simultaneously online in Australia and from Royal London headquarters in the City of London.

Peter Hunt, Symposium Convenor