We are extremely proud to have been included in the inaugural Australian Financial Review and Boston Consulting Group Sustainability List, which celebrates organisations that are both achieving a positive impact for the environment and society while growing their business. We have been specifically recognised for our Reef Credits initiative – a ‘world first’ – launched in September 2020, which was developed to help improve water quality on the Great Barrier Reef – the biggest threat to its survival after climate change.
The Sustainability List highlights leading sustainable business model innovations across nine industry categories and three special awards. We have won the special ESG Enabler Award for providing a service that contributes to organisations being able to deliver on their environmental, social and corporate governance goals and aspirations. The award also recognises innovation in creating new markets such as Reef Credits, for sustainable products and services.
Reef Credits projects are those where GreenCollar works in partnership with farmers, graziers and other land managers to align their own business goals with reducing the flow of nutrients (Dissolved Inorganic Nitrogen) and sediment to the Great Barrier Reef through improved cropping practices, or by establishing wetlands and repairing gullies. Reef Credits are sold to businesses, investors, philanthropists and governments seeking to reach water quality targets or to achieve corporate ESG or compliance outcomes. You can learn more about them on our website here.
Additionally, the funds these initiatives bring through the front gate are then available for landholders and managers to invest back into their businesses, including further environmental market projects.
Sustainability Leaders list entrants were assessed against the four dimensions of BCG’s SBM-I framework:
- the amount of environmental and societal surplus the innovation created across six dimensions: economic vitality, environmental sustainability, lifetime well-being, access & inclusion, societal enablement and ethical capacity;
- the effectiveness with which the innovation leveraged environmental and societal surpluses into a more robust and resilient business model – specifically, how it scales, whether it addresses the root cause of ESG issues, whether it increases differentiation, leverages business ecosystems and would be difficult for competitors to replicate, and whether it creates both shareholder returns and benefits ESG stakeholders value;
- the scale and scope of change driven by the innovation, which was considered across business and product and service lines, and the value chain; and
- the extent to which the innovation utilised sustainability as a fulcrum for business advantage, and the impact on the entrant’s industry and ecosystem – including whether the innovation is reshaping competitive boundaries by creating and scaling a reinforcing loop between business value creation and environmental and social surpluses.
We would like to recognise all the partners we worked with to develop Reef Credits, including the cane farmers that have now prevented 35.5 tonnes of nitrogen pollution from entering the Great Barrier Reef, Eco-Markets Australia who independently administer the Reef Credits Scheme and ensure it operates with the highest integrity and traceability, as well as our foundational buyers – HSBC, the Queensland Government and Tourism Australia.
