Sustainability

Last week we launched our inaugural #roundtable series "Circular Conversations", a series dedicated to supporting and educating our industry on sustainable practices. Our intention is to bring forward our industry thought leaders to provoke conversation and educate us on sustainable best practices while delivering tangible learning. With a theme of progress over perfection, we invite you to join us as we work to move our industry towards circularity.

Below are 5 lessons to surface from our Circular Conversations #1: Becoming B Corp with Mary Lou Ryan, Co-founder and Director of Sustainability and Supply Chain bassike, and Rosanna Iacono, Managing Partner and Advisor, The Growth Activists.

BECOMING B CORP LESSONS
1. Progress over perfection. Truly sustainable practices require business transformation over many years, with honesty required to maintain real CSR.

2. Operating sustainably will soon not be a 'choice'. It will become the cost of remaining in business. Driven twofold, by both customers and governance.

3. The journey to B-Corp can be broken into 5 key stages; Analysis & Benchmarking, Strategy & Roadmapping, Implementation & Verification, Activating & embedding and Monitoring & Optimisation

4. The workplace is evolving to a position where sustainability doesn't sit with an Environmental Specialist, it will become the responsibility of all employees

5. Sustainability to be treated with the same vigour as an arms race. Those who succeed will own the market and in doing so pull the industry forward.

The worlds of fashion, art, food, and entertainment came together that afternoon in support of a more sustainable future; co-hosts Sophia Bush and Laura Brown, alongside Farran and Comazzetto, welcomed the crowd with an inspiring message about the role of design and technology and their impact in shaping the future of fashion. 

Environmentally focused influencer Marina Testino and environmentalist Indré Rockefeller joined actors Busy Philipps and Abigail Spencer and personality Racquel Chevremont that afternoon to close out New York Fashion Week over pommes frites and specialty Spritzes in a private lounge of the sun-filled skyscraper.  


Photographer Credit: Darian DiCianno via BFA.com