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SUSTAINABILITY CONNECTION
KEVIN FRETZ
CEO of Green Earthology
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Introducing myself and TrueValueMetrics
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Introducing myself and TrueValueMetrics
Peter Burgess
11:10 AM (2 hours ago)
to Kevin
Dear Kevin
Jerry Peloquin has been encouraging me to talk to you for some time now, and today Peter Sullivan has copied me on a message you sent to him which has prodded me into action.
I became interested in the environment and society in the mid-70s when I was the CFO of an international shrimp fishing company. Environment was important because if the shrimp can't reproduce and grow, then profit performance is degraded. Social was important because I saw what true poverty and hunger was like ... when staying alive was a challenge.
However, I have stayed interested in accountancy because, in my view, it is the foundation for all corporate management systems, and while it has served very well for several hundred years to enable the maximization of profit it no longer is fit for purpose in the modern era.
There has been a lot of talk about new business reporting that incorporates social and environmental performance as well as profit (economic / financial) reporting ... but while profit reporting is quantified quite rigorously, social and environmental impacts are more aspirational than real ... not to mention a certain amount of active opposition to bringing these matters into account.
For some time now, my goal has been to quantify social, environmental and economic performance in an easy meaningful way ... and while I have a very solid foundation of quite comprehensive management thinking, I call the current iteration of this work TrueValueMetrics (http://TrueValueMetrics.org) ...
I am falling behind the curve on what is technically possible in terms of data processing and modern best practice for effective management (that is moving the needle) ... but though I am technically out-of-date, my understanding of how the world works remains OK ... and to be honest, I am not much impressed with progress and performance over the past 40 years. The system has become productive and profitable and good for owners, but all the other stakeholders whether in society or in nature are paying the price.
I trained initially as an engineer ... expanded into economics .. and later qualified as a Chartered Accountant in London. I know something of the amazing technological progress that has been made in the last 50+ years and the very very mixed bag of progress that has been accomplished for society as a whole and the massive degradation there has been of the environment with little of no accountability.
We can do better. We must do better.
I am currently sequestered in the Poconos of PA, a couple of hours West of New York City where my phone connectivity is awful. Mostly Skype works (PeterBinBushkill) as does Google Meet, ZOOM et al as long as I have electricity ( ... lost it for 3 hours on Tuesday !!!!!!)
Would love to talk and learn some more about your GreenEarthTechnology Inc initiative
Best
PeterB
'Kevin Fretz'
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