You may have heard of the Kilner jar. First established in the U.K. by John Kilner in 1842, it’s a simple yet effective air tight container to preserve your chutney or jam; keeping it fresh. This iconic jar has been popular throughout the generations and can be found in retail stores across the globe.
But it hasn’t escaped the odd controversy during its long reign as the no.1 jar of choice. In 1871 The Kilner Company was taken to court because of the smoke emissions from its Thornhill Lees factory, caused by coal-burning. The judge presiding over the case ruled that “no man has the right to interfere with the supply of pure air”.
The belief that commercial profit should not come at the expense of people, society, or the environment is not new. In fact, in 1833, not long before John Kilner first opened his factory doors, the Act for the Abolition of Slavery throughout the British Colonies was passed by Parliament – the sugar which would eventually be contained within those jars would not be the product of slaves.
Fast-forward to the 21st century, we continue with the struggle between invention, ambition and achieving greater socio-economic harmony. Or perhaps the collective global will to strike this balance is actually gaining ground? Take climate change. The planet faces a critical tipping point, and many governments and businesses are now present and listening. According to statistics from PwC, carbon intensity of the global economy fell by “a record-breaking 2.8% in 2015, meeting the rate promised by the INDCs submitted for Paris”. The G20 countries are taking strides towards decarbonising their economies, yet more has to be done and the pressure on governments and businesses continues to build.
At present, transparent reporting from businesses on sustainability performance is voluntary but more businesses are getting on aboard with this practice in order to affect real change for their own internal efficiency as well as for the greater good. Sustainability performance, itself, is becoming a differentiator and a factor that can boost share value, as companies seek to avoid risks to reputation through poor practise, respond appropriately to the changing environment and diminishing resources, and attempt to attract and retain investors by offering long-term value.
EVS Translations has been working with a wide variety of clients, including customers from the financial, technology, energy and automotive sectors, to produce entire sustainability portfolios. This involves not only the publically circulated sustainability report, but also includes materials relating to the company’s sustainability strategy, internal audits and global engagement documents. For an international certification and testing company, too, EVS Translations provides the translations for its sustainability magazine as well as advisement publications, and guidelines on how to successfully implement sustainability processes. This is across audio-visual media and printed materials, so our in-house technical teams for subtitling or desktop publishing step-in to offer a comprehensive solution.
EVS Translations helps businesses to report accurately and with confidence across multiple foreign languages. This, in turn, can act to instill a greater sense of confidence in global stakeholders, who are able to access key information in their own language. As the trend in responsible investing rises and businesses come under more scrutiny, perhaps the next two hundred years will see that elusive vision of true socio-economic harmony become a reality. In the meantime, we can help businesses on that path with professional sustainability reporting to a global audience.
