INTHEBLACK August 2022 - Magazine - Page 16
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INTELLIGENCE
TRANSPARENCY
IN ESG AND THE
CIRCULAR ECONOMY
University of
California Press
Brian Glibkowski
Cristina Dolan and
Diana Barrero Zalles
Economist Matthew Kahn says that one
long-term consequence of the COVID-19
pandemic will be fundamental changes in
the way work is done, with working from
home (WFH) becoming a standardised,
permanent model.
Kahn is interested in the larger social
changes flowing from WFH, and he
believes that the benefits can be maximised
with some thoughtful planning. A major
advantage is the reduction of commuting
time, although long-term WFH might
also mean some expenditure on home
workspaces. The economies of the inner
cities will take a hit as many of the smaller
businesses that service metropolitan office
populations will simply not have enough
customers. Some corporates will entirely
move out of the expensive city core.
Suburban areas and second-tier cities,
however, will do well. Companies will
have to invest in suitable communications
technology and there might be a need for
manager re-training to ensure that remote
employees remain engaged and focused.
Kahn is writing about the US environment,
but what he has to say is relevant to most
developed economies. He concludes that,
on balance, WFH can significantly improve
the standard of living for many people by
expanding personal freedom, but there will
be a significant period of adjustment, which
will be uncomfortable for some.
Brian Glibkowski is a management
academic and consultant who specialises in
communication strategies, and in this book
he seeks to move beyond the usual sender–
receiver method of conversation. Too often,
he says, answers don’t consider or recognise
the real purpose of a question, which can be
frustrating for both sides. Glibkowski’s primary
research deals with how experts in a field
communicate. From that basis he identifies six
categories of answers: story, metaphor, theory,
concept, procedure, and action.
His overarching belief is that each
of these answers can be structured to
incorporate the issues inherent in a
question, thereby providing “answer
intelligence”, or AQ. It can be developed
with practice, he says, and he examines
the concept in chapters dealing with sales,
interviews, coaching and related topics.
He underlines the importance of knowing
the discussion context and illustrates his
points with contributions from people in
business who have used his methods. Yet
it is not always clear how AQ could be
broadly used, and its complexity would
make it difficult to apply in fast-moving
conversational sessions. Nevertheless,
Answer Intelligence offers an interesting
framework and, with the companion
self-assessment and training app, would be
useful for those who wish to become better
communicators.
Environmental, social and governance (ESG)
issues are now central to corporate activities
ranging from capital raising and regulatory
compliance to recruiting talented people.
A fundamental problem, however, has
been the difficulty in collecting information
on company ESG performance and how it
can be improved. Cristina Dolan and Diana
Barrero Zalles, who between them have
skills encompassing technology issues,
cybercrime, sustainability and international
banking, believe that the past decade has
seen the introduction of a new set of tools.
The emergence of ESG-related reporting
standards, such as the Global Reporting
Initiative, has provided basic metrics, but
the real breakthrough has been with various
corporations that have refined the standards
into actionable data.
In this book, Dolan and Zalles examine
a number of cases where companies
have done this, noting that the response
from the community and regulators has
been generally positive. However, they
acknowledge that the use of data to
measure ESG outcomes is still at an early
stage. Emerging technologies like blockchain
and Internet of Things are likely to open
the door to more reliable metrics. Dolan
and Zalles tie this together into a series
of lessons, providing a useful roadmap for
companies that want to lift their ESG game,
but aren’t sure how to proceed.
Matthew Kahn
16 ITB August 2022
Emerald Publishing
Business Expert Press
