ESG Mindset Shifts Every Business Leader Needs to Know Artwork

Resilient Supply Chain — How Leaders Keep Business Moving

Resilient Supply Chain is for supply chain, operations, procurement and technology leaders who need practical ways to manage disruption, reduce risk and keep business moving.

Each Monday, technology and sustainability analyst, keynote speaker and former SAP Global VP Tom Raftery speaks with the executives, operators, founders and innovators redesigning how goods, information and decisions move through global supply chains.

These are candid conversations about what works in practice—not polished PR narratives or vague predictions. Guests explain how they are responding to supplier failures, geopolitical shocks, volatile costs, capacity constraints, changing regulations and rising pressure to improve both performance and sustainability.

The podcast examines:
Faster planning and decision-making under uncertainty
Supplier risk, sourcing strategy and business continuity
AI, automation, visibility and operational intelligence
Warehousing, logistics and fulfilment performance
Scope 3 emissions, circularity and responsible sourcing
The systems, incentives and organisational changes needed to turn data into action

The central question is simple: what helps a supply chain withstand disruption, adapt quickly and continue serving the business?

New episodes are published every Monday at 7am CET. Resilient Supply Chain+ subscribers also receive bonus analysis, highlights and briefings on emerging industry trends.

Follow Resilient Supply Chain for practical lessons from the people solving real operational problems—and building supply chains that perform when conditions do not go to plan.

All Episodes

Resilient Supply Chain — How Leaders Keep Business Moving

ESG Mindset Shifts Every Business Leader Needs to Know

November 04, 2024 • Tom Raftery / Joanne Flinn • Season 2 • Episode 41

0:00 | 44:13

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In this episode, which is generously sponsored by Component Sense, I sit down with Joanne Flinn, Chair of the ESG Institute, to unpack what it really means to push sustainability forward in business, far beyond the usual carbon targets. Joanne shares her personal journey to becoming an advocate for sustainable transformation, influenced by her father’s work in agricultural economics and her early exposure to global sustainability issues.

We dig into the critical work the ESG Institute is doing to guide companies on their ESG journeys, especially around complex challenges like value chain sustainability and the need for clarity in multi-stakeholder decision-making. Joanne explains the Institute's “Sustainability Readiness Profiles,” a practical tool to help companies identify their ESG maturity and shape their approach accordingly – whether they’re observers, pledgers, compliers, or transformers.

We also discuss the mindset shifts needed to make sustainability integral to business strategies: moving from short-term gains to long-term resilience and embracing multi-dimensional goals beyond simple profit metrics. Joanne even makes an unexpected (but spot-on) connection between ESG in business and the evolving safety standards in rugby.

Tune in to learn why approaching sustainability as a “game of lifting standards” can drive real change, and what steps leaders can take now to create a thriving, resilient future.

If disruption hit tomorrow, would you know where your supply chain was most exposed? In 15 minutes my free scorecard helps you assess 27 resilience statements, calculate your score, and turn the result into three priorities and a 30 day action plan. You can download the scorecard free at tomraftery.com/scorecard.

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🎤 Looking for a keynote speaker on supply chain resilience, AI, and sustainability?
I help leaders understand the forces reshaping global supply chains, from geopolitical disruption and climate risk to AI and real-time decision-making.

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