All companies are mutually responsible for the environmental and social impacts caused by the production and delivery of the goods and services they depend on. Only when a company has effectively avoided or managed such negative impacts can it consider itself Future-Fit. Future-Fit companies take every possible step to ensure that their presence does not negatively impact surrounding communities.
What companies must do
Companies must ensure that their use of water does not undermine the quantity and quality of water available to people and ecosystems that depend on the water bodies in question. It must minimize – and in water-stressed areas eventually eliminate – its consumption of water for industrial and commercial purposes; and. It must ensure that any discharges do not impair the quality of the receiving water bodies, the health of the receiving soil or otherwise cause damage to ecosystems or people.
Natural resources are managed to
As the demand for natural resources increases, so does the pressure on the ecosystems, people and animals that contribute to their supply. The emphasis here is on not causing harm due to the physical management and extraction of natural resources. Harvesting renewable resources such as trees or fish at rates that do not reduce nature's ability to regenerate them;.
Extracting non-renewable resources, such as metals, in ways that do not systematically harm surrounding ecosystems and communities; The emission of substances that are already abundant in nature, and substances that nature can break down quickly and without consequences, are not a concern. Other substances may not seem immediately harmful, but if nature cannot break them down quickly, they can systematically accumulate in the environment at dangerous levels through gaseous, liquid or solid emissions.
A future-proof business maintains the health of all areas of high biological, ecological, social or cultural value – both by protecting those where the company is already active and by avoiding further expansion into new ones. A Future-Fit business emits net zero GHG as a result of its operational activities, including the energy it consumes. Nature can safely absorb some human-made greenhouse gases (GHG) each year, but the Future-Fit imperative is for companies to eliminate all operational GHG emissions.
To be Future-Fit, a company must emit net zero greenhouse gases as a result of its own operations and energy consumption.
Employee health is safeguarded
Note that "health" here extends beyond physical safety to mental and emotional well-being and must include stress management and mitigation.
Everyone has the right to equal treatment and equal opportunities, regardless of personal characteristics such as age, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, country of origin or disability. Discrimination in the workplace can take many forms, and discriminatory behavior can be perpetuated – or at least go unnoticed and unchallenged – by established norms and practices within organizations. To adapt to the future, a company must be proactive in investigating and monitoring key practices - such as recruitment, pay structures, hiring, performance appraisal and promotions - to ensure that no discrimination occurs, however unintentional.
Future-Fit Business pays all workers in all regions enough to meet their basic needs and is safe. A company should ensure that all its employees and their families have the means to afford health care, eat nutritious food, and not worry about meeting their basic needs. In many regions, the living wage is higher than the statutory minimum wage or the poverty line wage.
Living wage calculations should focus on employee compensation relative to standard hours of work: figures should exclude overtime pay, as well as bonuses and productivity allowances, unless they are guaranteed. This means that employees must have the right of association (eg the right to join - or not join - a trade union), the right to reasonable working hours, the right to time off free (eg holiday entitlements and overtime pay) and parental leave leave.
Employee concerns are actively solicited,
No company can be completely free from employee concerns, but it must take all possible steps to minimize concerns, and to deal effectively and appropriately with any concerns that arise. To be Future-Fit, a company must put in place appropriate mechanisms to identify and manage employee concerns, so that potential serious issues and legitimate grievances do not disappear.
Products do not harm people or
Although many goods and services can be used in ways that harm people or the environment, the focus here is on three areas: those intended to cause harm; those whose use could reasonably be expected to result in harm; and those that introduce or reinforce behaviors that undermine society's progress toward future fitness. A Future-Fit company ensures that any goods and services it provides, when used as intended, do not lead to environmental degradation, ecosystem disruption, or negative impacts on people's physical and mental well-being. In relation to physical goods, this goal includes goods sold and leased, as well as any other items that are given to others in support of trading activities, but which the company does not consider as income.
It covers both end-user products and intermediate goods which are incorporated or processed into final products by other companies. To be Future-Fit, a company must ensure that the goods and services it provides to others are not likely to cause harm to people or the environment through their use and (in the case of physical goods) at the end of their life .
Products emit no greenhouse gases
Similar to the business goal of emitting zero greenhouse gases, it is imperative that companies eliminate all greenhouse gas emissions caused by their products. Products powered by electricity can indirectly cause greenhouse gas emissions if the electricity comes from fossil fuels, but the products themselves do not enforce this. To be Future-Fit, a company must ensure that none of its products emit greenhouse gases.
Products can be repurposed
A Future-Fit company does everything it can to ensure that the physical goods it supplies to others can be responsibly recycled at the end of their useful life. This measure includes goods sold and leased, as well as other items supplied to others in support of commercial activities, but which the company does not consider to be revenue producing. It must ensure that whatever is left of the goods it supplies can be separated at the end of their useful life in order to maximize their recovery value after use; and.
It must ensure that its clients have easy access to recovery services that can derive such value.
Product
The company must make potential users aware of such risks, to empower them to make well-informed decisions about the purchase, use and (in the case of physical goods) post-use processing of its products. In addition, a company must ensure that it markets its products honestly and responsibly, avoiding all misleading claims about product benefits, and targeting only the right customer groups (e.g. not marketing cigarettes or alcohol directly to children). These requirements cover both final products designed for end users, as well as temporary goods which are incorporated or processed into final products by other companies.
It must ensure that users are not subject to false or misleading claims about the benefits of its products; and. This should ensure that products are marketed only to those capable of making informed purchasing decisions.
Product concerns
Other product goals relate to the ethical marketing of the company's goods and services, whether they have the potential to cause harm, and how to ensure that goods can be reused at the end of their useful life. To be Future-Fit, a company must therefore implement effective policies and procedures to actively solicit, impartially assess and transparently address customer concerns regarding the environmental and social impact of the goods or services it provides. to take. A Future-Fit Business publicly commits to a responsible tax policy and continuously works to ensure this.
Companies have an obligation to their shareholders to be diligent in their approach to tax payments. A Future-Fit Business never seeks to influence market dynamics in ways that may help hinder society's progress toward future fitness. This goal recognizes that any attempt to influence market dynamics in favor of the company must not in any way contribute to hindering progress towards future fitness, inside or outside the company.
For example, Future-Fit would never knowingly fund any organization protesting stricter laws on toxic emissions. The requirement here is not to proactively lobby or advocate for Future-Fit results, but to ensure that the company does not use its influence to undermine such results. This includes any direct efforts by the company to influence public opinion (e.g. consumer campaigns) and also covers contributions (e.g. membership fees or donations) to any third party who may influence on behalf of the company.
It must implement internal controls to ensure that the organization does not lobby or advocate against Future-Fit results; and.
Financial assets
Many companies own or control financial assets (equity investments, debt instruments, cash . deposits in banks) as part of their core business, as a strategic business objective, or simply as a method of using available cash until it is needed for other purposes. The purchase and trading of financial assets linked to an underlying organization provides capital to the investee to continue – or expand – its activities. Any positive or negative outcome caused by the investee can be sustained or increased by the capital provided and the investor is thus mutually responsible for them.
Future-Fit Business actively seeks to anticipate, avoid and address ethical violations that may arise as a result of its activities.