b'Solu\x00onsParth Devalia suggests investor ac\x00on can be a driving force in delivering a sustainable future, no\x00ng that over the last ten years the considera\x00on of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors, as alterna\x00ve measures of company performance, has been growing. These criteria are used by investors to assess investments based on their social and environmental impact, and to be\x00er determine the future nancial performance of the companies they invest in. To this end, the impact investor movement, built around a shared belief that nance can and needs to be a force for good, is growing. Prize-winning entrant James Poston notes how these ini\x00a\x00ves encourage individual and ins\x00tu\x00onal investors to reward good business prac\x00ces and punish unsustainable or unethical businesses, via their investment choices. Correspondingly, at a recent annual mee\x00ng, members of the impact investor community have been asking how the pandemic aects their ability to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals. And how best investors can engage with decision-makersincluding businesses and regulatorsto make sure that sustainability and social impact become part of the new normal a\x00er the crisis (Krivanek, 2020).44 Evidence is moun\x00ng that having a posi\x00ve environmental and social impact is also nancially benecial in \x00mes of crisis.With the caveat that this is just a snapshot in \x00me and that past performance is no guarantee of future returns, Schroders have recently reported that during the Covid-19 pandemic, stocks with a be\x00er sustainability prole saw be\x00er share price performance than their less sustainable counterparts (MacDonald-Brown and MacLennan, 2020).45 In addi\x00on to the nancial benets of adapta\x00on and a green recovery detailed in the previous chapter, the economic case for sustainable business seems clear. As inferred by James Poston, perhaps coronavirus provides the catalyst for mainstream banks, ins\x00tu\x00onal investors and na\x00onal governments to support businesses to achieve a sustainable transi\x00on.Although investor-led encouragement for changing business prac\x00ce is important, the desire for purpose-led, sustainable business must also come from within.Business leadership and governance are cri\x00cal. Taking inspira\x00on from sustainable food systems literature and building on cri\x00cism of the private sector for designing sustainability strategies behind a corporate veil (Brunori and Galli, 2016),46 Sophie Corcut suggests the use of transi\x00ons thinking within business governance. Summarised as structural, holis\x00c and evolu\x00onary, the concept emerged to avoid the pi\x00alls of corporate sustainability strategy, which has generally failed to consider: Who should be si\x00ng around the table? Whose sustainability is it? What might the unintended consequences of business decisions be? And what opportuni\x00es for crea\x00vity and innova\x00on are being missed, by the pursuit of specic (albeit necessary) targets? (Spaargaren et al, 2012:47Kirwin et al, 2017).48As discussed in previous chapters, inclusivity in decision-making is key to delivering a sustainable, equitable future. The same applies to business board level governance, with other entrants also picking up on the need to improve and diversify representa\x00on at a board level. Parth Devalia suggests appoin\x00ng sustainability representa\x00ves to the boards of large companies. Extending this point further, academics Haar and Searcy (2019) found that improved and inclusive stakeholder dialogue was a key factor in enabling companies to successfully navigate complex sustainability tensions.49Sectoral Insights:Food SystemsLord DebenChair of the Commi\x00ee on Climate ChangeEllen Fletchers deep-dive essay reviews the impact of the pandemicItsaboutPeople,PlanetandProt.Forbusinesses, on cooking, food waste, local sourcing and other food cultures andsustainability means being here in 125 years \x00me. This behaviours. She assesses the vulnerability of food systems andmeansworkingwith,ratherthandegrading,the supply chains in the UK and behavioural changes needed to buildenvironment and society on which they rely.resilienceandhelpdevelopasustainablefuture.HolyAyesha Smithsessaynotestheimportanceofgovernmentsupport packages to include greener agricultural processes and the role these can play in climate adapta\x00on. Rachna Garodia Woodland Walk, 103 x 98 x 3.5 cm, handwoven wool, co\x00on, jute, linen, raa, bark (London plane, palm) cinnamon, wheat pod and grass held in handcra\x00ed frame in oak, 2018Rachnas tapestries seek to bring the outside in, evoking the simple pleasures of a woodland walk. All around the world we have been forced to pause, to stay at home and save lives. Her handwoven works are like a prayer in praise of the spirit of nature, its mutability and irregularity. She juxtaposes natural yarns like co\x00on, linen, wool and silk with found and gathered materials like paperbark, seedpods and twigs. She combines unexpected textureswhere voids in the weave created by bits from nature act like the silences between notes in music. 34 35'