What does Sustainability have to do with Compliance?

On this episode, I’m speaking to a Compliance innovator that has combined both. Dr Sarah Tischler is Head of Compliance for NKG, the world’s largest coffee trading company. Since NKG is privately owned and isn’t operating in a regulated industry, on the face of it, they’re not the kind of company you might naturally expect to have a compliance function. And up until a few years ago, they didn’t. Until Sarah came along and persuaded them that they needed one and created a role for herself.

Not only has she built out her function, but she’s also added to her responsibilities by taking on responsibility for Sustainability under what they call their Responsible Business Program. Now, you may be wondering what a subject like sustainability has to do with compliance — which was my reaction when I first met Sarah and she told me what she did. But having heard her explanation it not only makes perfect sense, but it’s surprising that more firms haven’t adopted this approach.

In our discussion, we talk about how Sarah persuaded NKG to establish a Compliance function, what her approach to the role is, how Behavioural Science supports that and the rationale behind and practicalities of combining it with Sustainability.

Relevant links:

Professor Johan Lambsdorff - https://www.wiwi.uni-passau.de/wirtschaftstheorie/

NKG - https://www.nkg.de/

The German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act - https://www.bmas.de/EN/Services/Press/recent-publications/2021/act-on-corporate-due-diligence-in-supply-chains.html]

The World Economic Forum paper on the rise of Chief Integrity Officers - https://www.weforum.org/whitepapers/the-rise-and-role-of-the-chief-integrity-officer-leadership-imperatives-in-an-esg-driven-world