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CEO Sustainability Series | Emmanuel Hervé, Managing Director, South East Asia (ASEAN), BSI
As part of the Sustainable Business initiative, the French Chamber of Commerce in Singapore presents a leadership interview series where we invite CEOs and key executives to discuss crucial management qualities that drive successful sustainable transformation
What does sustainability mean to BSI?
At British Standards Institution (BSI), sustainability is part of our purpose. Since our establishment in 1901, we've upheld a strong commitment to society. As a proud signatory of the UN Global Compact and supporter of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, we actively advance some of the goals.
Our focus is on making a positive impact not only through our own practices but also by assisting our clients in making sustainable choices. Given the scale of our operations relative to the reach of our standards, stakeholders and clients, our greatest contribution to sustainable development is through the work we do with others. BSI has achieved carbon neutrality in 2020 and has set and working towards our net zero target for 2030.
How does BSI contribute to promoting sustainable practices in various industries?
As a leader in sustainability, BSI helps organizations realize their potential by taking action and advocating for sustainability, delivering positive impacts and strategic advantages. We collaborate with global partners like the chamber of commerce and the UN Global Compact to launch climate and carbon reduction initiatives, including thought leadership sharing, tree planting, carbon reduction initiatives and more.
Our webinars and events offer guidance on the journey towards net zero and ESG reporting. BSI provides sustainability services across industries, covering water and waste management, greenhouse gas emissions, ethical supply chains, and sustainable infrastructure.
We play an important role in shaping of standards related to sustainability such as ISO 14090 (Adaptation to Climate Change), the world’s first standard in this important area; PAS 2030, PAS 2031 and more.
What guidance would BSI provide to organisations that are just beginning their sustainability journey? What are the key steps they should focus on when starting to address sustainability within their operations?
Regardless of your organization’s scale or focus, BSI can work with you to deliver against your sustainability goals on your journey to organizational resilience. Key steps for addressing sustainability within operations include:
Step 1: Stakeholder engagement - to gain leadership support and commitment from board to all levels on the aspiration and commitment towards sustainability goals.
Step 2: Gap analysis - to gain an understanding, identify and analyse what areas need improvements for your ESG performance and rating.
Step 3: Scoping and goals setting – to scope areas of improvements and extend of coverage/inclusion. Setting measurable goals.
Step 4: Capabilities building – to ensure everyone in the organization understand and are aligned with the organization’s sustainability goal and have the knowledge and skills required to collect, analyse, audit, plan and implement improvements strategies and lastly, to measure outcomes, and to report their ESG performance according to international standards / local authorities’ mandate. This can be done by deploying various training programs at different levels.
Step 5: Deploying improvement strategies and implement actions within agreed timeframe. Step 6: Measuring and reporting and ensure the report is verified by an independent third party such as GRI.
Step 6: Measuring and reporting and ensure the report is verified by an independent third party such as GRI.
This interview was conducted with Emmanuel Herve, Managing Director SouthEast Asia (ASEAN), BSI
October 2023 | French Chamber of Commerce in Singapore
