Beyond Compliance: ESG, Impact, and the Need for More Than "Less Harm" with Dr. Rawaa Ammar

In this episode, Jonas, co-founder of The Sustainability Circle, sits down with Dr. Rawaa Ammar, Chief Sustainability and Impact Officer at Resortecs, a pioneering Belgian startup in textile circularity. Together, they explore the challenges and limitations of standard ESG frameworks, especially for impact-driven companies, and discuss why it’s essential to shift from “doing less harm” to creating real, measurable impact.

Key topics include:

1. Why traditional metrics may not fully capture the impact of sustainability-driven companies and the challenges in meeting ESG standards.
2. Moving beyond “doing less harm”: The importance of creating a positive impact rather than just reducing harm.
3. Balancing diverse stakeholder expectations while staying true to sustainability goals.
4. Measuring impact that benefits entire industries rather than just a single organization’s balance sheet.
5. Navigating investor expectations: Differences between traditional and impact-focused investors.
6. Developing a sustainability strategy rooted in core values rather than compliance.

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Timestamps:

1:45 Rawaa's Journey into Sustainability

03:31 Her Current Role at Resortecs

09:00 The Importance of Doing More Than Less Harm

12:00 Navigating ESG Frameworks and Their Limitations

18:47 Reconciling Varying Expectations and Metrics

21:49 Reporting on Impact vs. ESG

23:38 Engaging with Impact Investors

31:32 Outro

32:07 Final Words

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