• What greenwashing really is: promoting environmental initiatives that – intentionally or not – distract from harmful activities, without real changes to operations, supply chains, or product designs and lifecycles
• Industry-level greenwashing: the plastics industry is a case in point, recently weakening the global plastics treaty talks in
• #Geneva by pushing recycling and techno-fixes rather than tackling the root issue: plastic production
• Sustainability drives performance: it’s not a trade-off with profitability but a driver of it. The most sustainable companies outperform their peers. (B Corps, for example, consistently deliver stronger results and more resilience than peers)
• The role of governments: legally binding frameworks and common standards at the national level, independent and statutory auditing and enforcement bodies are essential to curb greenwashing – as seen with Europe’s CSRD
• Positive progress in the UAE: The UAE has come a long way with listed companies required to submit sustainability reports and strong frameworks such as the ADGM ESG Disclosures Framework – however, more work is required to lead globally
• Decoupling sustainability from marketing: sustainability shouldn’t sit under marketing and comms. It should report directly to the CEO, be owned by leadership, and be on every board agenda
• Don’t forget nature: organizations often focus only on climate and decarbonization. But nature and biodiversity risks must also be addressed – standards like the TNFD can guide this

Karim also encouraged all organizations serious about expanding sustainability into nature and biodiversity to join the IUCN World Conservation Congress held in #AbuDhabi between October 9 and 15. 🌍

Here is Karim’s LinkedIn post on this event.