Value vs Values
Alan Chalmers, Corporate Account Manager for Schneider Electric pty ltd,
This year Schneider Electric was recognized as the “Global 100 most Sustainable Corporation in the World” *. If you don’t believe me, ask your browser.
This award did resonate with me as an employee. But as a citizen I questioned, are we as individuals aligning ourselves with companies who have values the same as ours? What are we doing about it?
At the shareholder level there is increase activity in Environmental and Social Governance investing in aligned Real Estate investment funds. Makes sense, as well as looking after our future, the businesses that invested in themselves are typically stable long-term.
On the ground, however, are we acting in this way? Many still make decisions primarily on financial value with secondary consideration to the values.
However, we are seeing a shift in these over recent years.
Whether we get on board because we embrace this or not, we can’t ignore survey results telling us 65-70% of employees prefer to work for a sustainable company or 85-90% of consumers want to use sustainable companies.
Yet, business is still going to the cheapest bidder, whether we admit it, or not. For this to change we need to push down and up to ensure, not just pay lip service, that businesses don’t look at prices until satisfied that they are talking to those with aligned values.
There are real shifts in attitudes around equality, sustainability and ethics. Values and value should have the same outcome.
Don’t wait to be taken to the next stage, switch the process around before the decision is made for us.
*Corporate Knights