Chairing of events
Over the years, EMG has chaired a number of high-profile CSR and sustainability conferences, including CSR Dubai, the longest-running CSR conference in the MENA. Working alongside the conference organizers to ensure current trends were addressed, EMG gave the opening speech on the global outlook of CSR and the influence and opportunity of CSR locally.
Keynote speakers
Most recently EMG delivered the keynote speech on CSR reporting at the Turkey Sustainable Business Summit, the country’s largest sustainability event, attended annually by more than 1,000 sustainability professionals. Other speeches were delivered by EMG at the Ethical Business Summit in London and SustainabilityLive, the largest sustainability event in the UK.
Discussion leaders
EMG has been at the center of vibrant discussions on the topics of CSR and sustainability, fostering debate on delivering tangible progress, from moderating panel discussions at conferences, leading round tables, or stimulating dialogue with youth. Examples include chairing keynote panel discussions in Saudi Arabia and Dubai, and taking part in a panel discussion about the UNSDGs at the Global Donors Forum in Turkey.
International experts
As experts in effective resource management and the circular economy model, EMG has been a Guest Member of the World Economic Forum Circular Economy Taskforce, and separately, has held advisory roles with WRAP’s ‘Resource Revolution’; IEMA’s Resource Network Campaign, the Guardian’s Sustainable Business Platform, and is a project partner with the University of Leeds’ resource program, funded by the Natural Environment Research Council.
At the macro scale, EMG has held multiple advisory roles for the development of national CSR policy, which include supporting governmental and corporate bodies in numerous countries, such as Saudi Arabia and Kazakhstan. Other national-level projects saw EMG take part in roundtable talks in Turkey as part of the ‘CSR for all’ project, outlining the potential in CSR reporting, and addressing an audience in Ukraine on the subject of transparency in state-owned companies.
Awards judge
Earlier this year, EMG’s CEO Daan Elffers was appointed judge for the inaugural CSR excellence awards held in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. EMG provided extensive input for the evaluation and assessment criteria andwas on the panel of seven judges in the short-listing of entries. EMG also led the awards ceremony and presented the awards.
Academic peer reviewers
For the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute in California, US, EMG undertook stakeholder assessment and analysis of financial and non-financial data which informed the first Impact Study, which was also peer reviewed by the Scientific Review Panel formed of representatives from Delft, Yale and Oxford Universities. Further engagement with the Cradle to Cradle model saw EMG take part in a roundtable discussion in New York, US, on the promotion of Cradle to Cradle certified products for marketing executives.
The Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA) has frequently invited EMG to review documents intended for governmental and organizational use including their Skills for a Sustainable Economy document and the Graduate Standard, and worked on projects in cooperation with the University of Leeds.
Trainers of auditors
In 2008, EMG became the world’s first sustainability & CSR firm with Certified Cradle to Cradle consultants for the marketing of Cradle to Cradle, the circular economy model developed by Willian McDonough and Prof. Dr Michael Braungart. The concept rests on an application of biomimicry to the design of products and systems, modelling human industry on nature’s processes and viewing materials as nutrients which circulate continously in closed systems.
As certified trainers on maximizing the business opportunity of Cradle to Cradle certification, EMG led the workshop on commercializing Cradle to Cradle at the international assessors training, attended by engineers from Belgium, Switzerland, Spain, Turkey, Brazil, the Netherlands and the UK. Graduates became the latest accredited assessment bodies authorized to analyze and assess products on Cradle to Cradle Certified quality.
Authors of publications
EMG consultants have written a wealth of publications featured by the European Commission, Columbia University Press (USA), Hurst (UK), NATO/Springer on subjects from China, Global Security and Sustainable Development. EMG has contributed to a number of industry-specific and survey publications, including the Thomson Reuters Annual Review and the CSR Handbook for the International Organization of Employers.