Japan Markets ViewInterview with Georg Kell, Founder of UNGC: Future of Sustainability

 

[QUICK ESG Research Center] This Monthly Research Report features an interview with Georg Kell, who founded the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) alongside former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and served as its inaugural Executive Director. He gave an interview on March 27, 2026, at the QUICK headquarters. He currently serves as Chairman of the Arabesque Group, a firm specializing in asset management and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) assessments powered by artificial intelligence (AI). While describing the current sustainability landscape as “messy,” he expressed his outlook that the sustainability movement will “make a strong comeback.” He emphasized that a key driver of this resurgence is technological advancement—specifically the adoption of AI, noting that an “AI revolution is underway.” He also discussed the strategies Japanese companies should adopt in this new landscape and the critical importance of “AI governance.”

 

Key Points

1. The sustainability landscape is currently messy, with the world fragmenting at regional and national levels rather than moving toward integration. Nevertheless, sustainability is poised to make a strong comeback.
2. He cited four driving factors: (1) the power of nature, such as extreme weather events; (2) market price signals, including real estate insurance premiums, crop prices, and interest rate premiums on bank loans; (3) technologies such as AI; and (4) shifting mindsets, including evolving social norms.
3. Corporate sustainability initiatives should be viewed as insurance against potential damages arising from future scandals.
4. Especially in uncertain times, “integrity and values” command a premium.
5. AI should be positioned as a “co-pilot” and must remain under human control. Oversight of AI needs to be elevated to the board level.
6. If new pillars were to be added to the UNGC, he believes they should be “AI and its governance” and “business and peace.”

 

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