Corporate CEO Weighs In on Sustainability With Advice for His Peers, NGOs, Government

It’s good to hear from corporate CEOs on sustainability issues, and especially relevant when a CEO offers advice to his peers based on his own experience and values.  Mads Nipper, Group President & CEO of the Illinois-based Grundfus Pump Corporation, attended the UN Global Compact meeting in New York City and offered his perspective on the influential Huffington Post platform.

CEO Nipper sees the collaboration of corporate leaders, government leaders and NGOs as critical to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) out to the target year of 2030.  His own enterprise is focused on SDG 6 and 13 because (he explained) clean water and sanitation is critical to advancing human health and safety.  Nipper’s company products are focused on clean water and waste water solutions and so the SDGs are important elements of strategy-setting. 

The CEO points out that 600 million-plus Planet Earth residents lack access to clean (and safe) drinking water and 2.4 billion – one third of the planet’s population – lacks adequate water sanitation.  Yes, this is a marketing opportunity to the Grundfas enterprise, but embracing of the SDGs (goals and objectives) is also among the key imperatives driving strategy.  “Sustainability is a Mind Set” is his essay title.  You see the company’s products address water supply and water sanitation challenges, in commercial and residential settings. And so, climate change (with floods occurring more often in many more settings) and water control is a critical mission for building owners and managers – and for society. 

CEO Mads Nipper explains this in his Huff Post commentary, written in the setting of the gathering of global leaders in New York City to discuss (among other things) the SDGs and impact of these 17 goals/169 targets on the business community. 

G&A's own Louis Coppola attended the UNGC Leaders Summit at the United Nations last week and he adds that one of the most inspiring speakers at the event came from a 16 year old named Xiuhtezcatl Roske-Martinez, of the "Earth Guardians," who was first recognized by the US government for action on Climate, and is now suing the US government for not doing enough to curb climate change for his generation.  

This is just a sample of some of the articles from this weeks SustainabilityHQ Highlights. You can view the full Highlights by using the following links. Sustainability | ESG, Highlights for the Week of June 28, 2016