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From Teaching Dolls to Transforming Corporations: What We Can Learn from the Journey of This Indonesian Founder
This is the journey of a relentless sustainability education activist who, through various organizations, has inspired numerous parties to integrate sustainability into her activities, striving to ensure the earth's and its people's well-being.
Maria R. Nindita Radyati, PhD, is a distinguished leader in sustainability education and corporate responsibility. She serves as the President Director of the Institute for Sustainability and Agility (ISA).
What Led Her to Academic Contributions in Sustainability
Since childhood, Maria Nindita aspired to be a teacher. After school, she would pretend to teach her dolls using a whiteboard that her parents gave her. In elementary school, she simplified lesson topics in a notebook, then use it to explain to her friends helping them understand difficult concepts. She found a quote from Albert Einstein that she felt was very suitable for her way of thinking, namely:
"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough."
This mindset persisted into adulthood. Maria created infographics and tools about CSR, ESG, Sustainability, and Social Business Model planning, presenting them in easily understandable formats even for the general public who do not have basic knowledge will easily understand it. She shared her work on social media, including LinkedIn.
In 2005, while pursuing her PhD in Sydney, the Ford Foundation challenged her to develop an educational program in CSR and Sustainability. By 2007, she formulated a Master’s curriculum in CSR and Sustainability at her university, the first of its kind in Indonesia. The curriculum is "pracademic" that blended practical experiences and theories. Maria was instructed by her Boss to manage the program independently, handling recruitment, marketing, and operations with a $350,000 grant from the Ford Foundation.
To sustain the program after the grant ended, Maria established a research center at the university, offering professional CSR consulting services. Despite the heavy burden of completing her PhD studies, she thrived under these challenges, fostering creativity.
After completing her studies, Maria initiated the "CSR Award" for Indonesian companies, guiding them to implement CSR strategically through award criteria based on ISO 26000 and GCG principles. She also created the "Faculty-Sustainability Award" to integrate SDGs into university curricula, research, and community service.
How Recognitions and Leadership in Sustainability Initiatives Shaped Her Career
Recognized for her sustainability expertise, Maria was acknowledged by the Ministry of National Development Planning in Indonesia. She was invited to join expert councils in various non-profits, including the Indonesia Chamber of Commerce (KADIN), the United Nations Global Compact Indonesia, and even by a communications consulting company APCO Worldwide based in Washington DC, USA.
Maria was the Chair-Person who led the drafting of the "CSR Law" for the Indonesia House of Representatives and the "CSR regulation" for the Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises. She reviewed the SDG Academy Curriculum for UNDP Indonesia and continues to serve on expert councils for the ESG Index at IDX, KATADATA ESG Rating, and more.
After the COVID-19 pandemic, Maria left her university position to start ISA (Institute for Sustainability and Agility). ISA aims to inspire and assist companies, SMEs, and educational institutions in integrating ESG factors to achieve organizational and environmental sustainability. Through ISA, Maria continues her pro-bono activities, including designing the Master’s curriculum in ESG & Sustainability at Sanata Dharma University and offering internships to lecturers and students.
ISA operates three business units: ISA Consulting, ISA Academy, and Cloudxier (Digital Technology). ISA provides free educational content through videos, webinars, coaching, and infographics on CSR-ESG-Sustainability, accessible on https://sustainability.co.id and social media.
Maria also channels her educational passion into writing. She authored the "ESG Guide" for business actors through the ESG Taskforce at KADIN, and she is working the writing of "Guidance of ESG Implementation for SMEs" and "Guidance for GHG Emission Management and Decarbonization". All of these works are voluntary and are donated to UNGC Indonesia and KADIN.
ISA’s unique "Work from Anywhere" (WFA) policy allows employees, mainly Gen Z, to work from various cities, fostering happiness and comfort. ISA emphasizes employee knowledge growth through sharing the latest developments, standards, and books in Sustainability, ESG, and CSR. Maria encourages her team to attend trainings and learn at the UNGC academy, as ISA is a UNGC member.
Since 2021, ISA has supported over 15 public companies and large corporations in ESG roadmap preparation, risk assessment, program development, reporting, and more. Cloudxier, ISA’s Digital Technology unit, has clients in Singapore and Australia. Currently ISA together with Cloudxier are developing an online learning platform and software for comprehensive ESG and Sustainability implementation.
Distinguishing CSR and ESG: Overcoming Challenges and Educating Companies
In Indonesia, many companies struggle to distinguish between Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria.
ISA consistently relies on the ISO 26000 standard as the primary framework to educate clients about proper CSR practices, ensuring a holistic approach. To aid in this understanding, Maria has designed an informative infographic, which is featured below. This visual aid is also included in her pocketbook and the ESG Guide for KADIN.
A significant challenge in the realm of ESG is navigating the various standards, rankings, and rating agencies that investors and lenders use to evaluate a company's sustainability performance. Additionally, it is crucial to raise awareness among all company members about the benefits of ESG for business sustainability. Without a collective and comprehensive implementation of ESG practices, achieving commendable ESG performance is unattainable.
When assisting companies with ESG planning, ISA begins with an ESG risk assessment to identify material issues. This is followed by developing ESG governance structures, strategies, programs, setting targets, monitoring progress, and ultimately, ESG disclosure. The subsequent step involves establishing a robust ESG governance structure and implementation system.
ISA has successfully guided its clients in developing comprehensive ESG roadmaps, ESG disclosure, and communication strategies. This assistance has enabled them to enter ESG indices on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX), such as the SRI KEHATI Index and the ESG Sector Leader index. Furthermore, ISA has supported some clients in meeting the requirements for ESG audits mandated by their investors and financial institutions, which provide sustainability-linked loans at reduced interest rates.
Once ESG practices are well-implemented, it is vital for companies to disclose their efforts in the Sustainability Report, Annual Report, and on their website.
Maria's mottos, "always trial and improve" and "seeing is believing, but experiencing is mastering," drive her direct involvement in projects, enhancing her expertise. She believes that "we never own the nature, we only borrow the nature from future generations", hence it is essential to inspire and educate the next generation to preserve our beloved planet.
Written by UNDERDOGS ORIGINALS
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