A Sustainability Journey with…
“[It’s] the advice and counsel you give us – the insight we wouldn't get if we weren't working with you. It helps us to set a direction. It’s a partnership that really works – we trust you guys.”
“It’s been an evolution,” says Stacey Weeks, Sustainability Manager at Cadent, about her work with TBL. “It began with Support the Goals [TBL’s education and Sustainable Development Goal rating service for business] and some work to get our suppliers thinking about sustainability. That expanded to sustainability reporting and over time strategy, materiality, and CFD all became part of the mix.”
Getting ahead of the curve on compliance
“Generally speaking, sustainability teams are small parts of much larger organisations,” explains Stacey. “That lack of scale can be a blocker to moving at pace – and there’s so much to do. You’re trying to satisfy investors, comply with legislation, and make real progress on your sustainability journey. We see TBL as a partner, a fabulous consultant able to come in and help us do the things that need doing and take some of that pressure off us.”
Beyond the ‘doing’, Stacey sees real value in the strategic guidance TBL offers. “TBL works with a lot of organisations. They see a breadth of best practice across the industry and we’re able to benefit from that insight and perspective.
“Naturally, given our work, we are highly regulated with a European and global investor profile, and TBL helps us get ahead of the curve in terms of compliance. Much of what we report on isn’t yet mandatory but we have a forward-thinking board that wants to see compliance earlier. That’s why, for example, we did our first round of TCFD work with TBL two years before disclosure became mandatory.
“TBL has always been great in saying ‘you might want to think about this’. You help us understand what we need to be ready for – what’s coming down the track in terms of compliance. That enables us to work back and understand what we need to put in place to be ready for change.”
Planting the seed of sustainability with suppliers
“One area where I think you’ve massively helped is changing the dial on where our procurement team see sustainability,” says Stacey. “Once you’ve got your scope 1 and 2 emissions sorted, the real focus needs to be your supply chain, and TBL has helped plant the seed with our internal procurement team and our supply partners.
“At the end of the day, sustainability’s all about collaboration, isn’t it? We’ve been encouraging our suppliers onto the same thinking path as us because we want to work with businesses that are working sustainably. At the same time, we’ve been asking how we can help our supplier partners of all sizes be more sustainable, because even the smallest supplier has a role to play and an opportunity to evolve.
“TBL has helped us with both of those aspects and we’re seeing the effect of that work demonstrated in our supplier sustainability awards, where 40 or 50 suppliers of all sizes submitted entries across our Force for Good pillars of Easier Warmth, Fairer Opportunities and Greener Society.”
“We trust you guys”
What does Stacey feel about the relationship she and Cadent have built with TBL?
“Of course all the work TBL does is first class. The appropriate methodologies are always in place and the evidence is always there for the work we’re doing
“But beyond that is the advice and counsel you give us – the insight we wouldn't get if we weren't working with you. It helps us to set a direction. It’s a partnership that really works – we trust you guys. “I should also say you’re really good value for money, which helps when I’m agreeing budgets!”
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