Why is it important for business to be interested in sustainability and in making sure that we minimize our environmental impact?

 

Business is arguably the greatest force for good or bad in the world. It has such huge scale that if we are to stand any chance of solving some of these huge issues that face us, business has to play a leading role.

 

Sustainability is good business for a few different reasons. As a business selling to consumers, it's never been more important for us to have a really clear sustainability policy that we walk the walk with rather than just talking the talk. So many businesses historically have just green-washed and like polished themselves up and framed themselves in the best possible light and around things that frankly are really spurious. And so it's built up so much sort of doubt, and potential cynicism in this area. Gen Z, audience group, consumer group, and millennials, they will vote with their dollars about where they put their money. And frankly, if you as a business are not living with a really clear purpose, then you're going to fall behind. Added to that, younger people who are joining the workforce now are more interested than ever in what companies are doing, why they exist, and what they're doing to fix some of these challenges that we face as a global people. And so it's essential for us to have a really clear and decisive sustainability policy that is more than just talk, because that's how you attract the very best people. And if you can't attract the very best people for the future, if you can't attract the very best talent, then as a business, you're sunk. 

We're really keen to play a positive role for our communities and for the wider environment that we operate in. And so there's a few different ways as a business that we have an environmental impact. Firstly, it's in our own operations so we've got nearly 100 people based in six offices around the world. The more significant element and how we really try to be part of reducing the carbon output of all of our productions is by working as a global network of six core studios, which then enable us to make films almost anywhere in the world without having to fly people transcontinentally. And that really drastically reduces the carbon output of all the productions that we do. We're really trying in a number of small but important ways to be a bit more of a part of the solution. But, you know, this is an area that we're constantly evolving and constantly trying to change and constantly trying to improve on. And I think for a company like Casual, where we're in a communications role, we can use some of our abilities to really share the message and to help to educate people. Because ultimately, we are the first generation who've really understood and known about climate change. And yet, paradoxically, we're the last generation who will ever be able to do anything about it. So we're going to be able to look at our kids in the eye and say that when the time came, we did what we could.

 

Are we perfect? No. Do we have all the answers? Absolutely, we do not. But we are working through our environmental work group and just on an ongoing basis to understand what is the best practice? How can we make sure that we're a leader in this space? And so, yeah, we've got a long road to go, but we're going to keep working at it.