Sustainability Studies, Extractivist Growth, and El Niño - September Insights

Sustainability InSight: This month's round-up of sustainability reading, listening and learning

Here are five new sustainability reads for September: the launch of Cambridge Marketing College’s updated CRSP apprenticeship, the EU’s tougher anti-greenwashing law, and a new report on trusted sustainability communications. There are also podcasts on the risks of short-term growth thinking and this year’s record-breaking El Niño.

1) Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Apprenticeships at Cambridge Marketing College

A little bit of self-promotion here, but I am very proud of what we have achieved and offer sustainability professionals at Cambridge Marketing College with our Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Practitioner (CRSP) apprenticeship. We're just launching an updated and improved programme, so to mark that event, the College's CEO Kiran Kapur interviewed the tutor team of Victoria Hartley, Helen Rushton and me for the 'Cambridge Marketing Podcast'. 

2) What to know about the EU’s updated anti-greenwashing law

Alongside the CRSP apprenticeship, I am also part of the team which leads our The Carbon Literacy Project course on 'Understanding and Communicating Climate Change and Sustainability' (link for the next course date). On that course, we talk about the challenge of 'greenwashing'. In a previous edition of SiS, I highlighted the recent excellent guidance from the Advertising Standards Authority, and now the new anti-greenwashing laws in the EU, which significantly ramps up the pressure on anyone trying to pull the 'green' wool over the eyes of consumers. There is good guidance on what you need to know on Trellis Group.

3) Trusted Communications for Purpose-Led Brands

If you really want to ensure that no accusation of Greenwash comes anywhere near your organisation, then you could look to partner with the Anti-Greenwash Charter, an independent, not-for-profit initiative helping organisations build trust through honest, credible sustainability communication. They have recently put out a report on trusted communications, and you can also find an article on edie from the Charter's Chief Executive Charlie Martin on 'The rise of the responsible communicator in the trust economy'. 

4) Why short-term growth mindset can put business at risk

I found this podcast in the EY 'Sustainability Matters' series very thought-provoking on the 'extractivist economy' and whether our focus on short-term extraction is quietly undermining long-term resilience, not least because it featured Tim Jackson in the conversation; one of my favourite sustainability thinkers and writers. 

5) Could this be the strongest El Niño in 1,000 Years?

I'm sure, like me, you've seen and heard a lot lately about the strength of this year's El Niño, but if you need a quick refresher on what it is and why this year's edition is so potent, then listen to this episode of BBC's 'More or Less' with the host Tim Harford interviewing the authority on this and other things climate data-related Zeke Hausfather.