A continued commitment to sustainability at the Aspen Business and Society Summit

Earlier this month, I had the honor of attending the Aspen Institute’s annual Business and Society Summit in Colorado. Since I live in Florida and work in the oceans, it was a nice change of scenery to be in the mountains. And it was fun to be so far above sea level and still talking about issues that impact marine and coastal habitats.

It was an interesting time to be at the Summit, given the current political discussion around corporate sustainability and DEI initiatives. But I was reassured to hear that the companies represented at the Summit are not giving up on their commitments.

Recognizing the business value of corporate sustainability initiatives

My key takeaway from my time in Aspen was that all of the different corporations and stakeholders attending the Summit spoke about the initiatives they are a part of as delivering tangible benefits to their companies, as well as to communities and the environment. They are also saving them money and helping them make investments in places and projects that will ensure stable, long-term access to healthy resources that they need for their businesses.

It’s what we’ve been saying at SFP from the very beginning – using natural resources in a responsible way is not just good for the planet and the right thing to do, it is also good for the bottom line. There are solid business cases to make for all of this work going forward, acknowledging that corporate sustainability initiatives strengthen companies and give them more longevity, not the opposite.

In the long run – and particularly in the next few years – I think it is a good thing for these companies to be leaning in on telling their stories through this lens, highlighting the business reasons to invest in sustainability initiatives, conservation, responsible sourcing, and habitat restoration.

Sustainability parallels between seafood and other sectors

The Summit was also a great opportunity to learn from representatives of other sectors and industries that I don’t often have the chance to interact with. For example, I had a fascinating conversation with a representative from one company about their agricultural work in Indonesia, where it was interesting to see so many similarities between that work and what we are doing in aquaculture.

And finally, it was nice to reconnect with many of SFP’s industry partners and to hear about all of the other sustainability initiatives they are engaged in. I am used to seeing them only talk about their efforts in fisheries and seafood and enjoyed learning about their leadership in a wide range of areas.

I’m back at sea level now, but I will be thinking about the things I heard and learned at 8,000 feet for a long time to come.