Climate change and the volatility it can cause has a demonstrable impact on GDP. However, traditional GDP calculations often neglect to include the impact of environmental degradation, resource depletion, and societal disruption caused by the climate crisis. The broader picture of economic health, therefore, is not as complete and robust as it could be. Our experts, Cecilia Van Cauwenberghe, Meenakshi Narayanan, and Rita N. Soni, discussed the critical need to consider sustainability as an integral part of GDP discussions, as well as key initiatives integrating economic factors, climate change, and GDP by economists and other research institutions. Attendees understood more about the relationship between economic inclusion, climate change, and GDP and learned how to make GDP calculations more inclusive of sustainability considerations. What questions did the webinar answer for the participants? How do climate change and social disruptions directly impact GDP growth and economic stability? What methods can be used to integrate environmental and social costs into GDP calculations effectively? What innovative strategies can different stakeholders implement to promote sustainable economic development?

On April 30, Everest Group moderated a webinar titled, "Webinar Deck: Corporate Resilience: Practical Approaches and New Management Mindsets." Executive leaders across the global business community have quickly addressed the immediate needs of their organizations related to the COVID-19 crisis. Work-from-home is in place, productivity has reached near normal levels, and other immediate employee and client concerns are addressed. Now, as a result of the crisis, leaders face the opportunity to implement – and accelerate – visions that will future-proof and re-imagine their operating models and businesses. In this webinar, we will share our collective insights on ways leaders can approach the opportunity ahead of them, which we’ve deemed “the great unsticking of new ideas,” and the technology that will help them realize breakthrough changes for the next normal. Senior IT and business operations experts will gain expert insights and answers to questions such as: How do you develop a clear strategy, gain corporate alignment, and effectively measure and assess success moving forward? Is virtualization essential for business continuity? How do you virtualize more effectively using collaborative tools, cloud, and AI? How do you effectively and practically establish a resilient mindset across the organization? How do you monitor employee engagement? How have various stakeholder expectations shifted? What previous norms should you challenge?

This Virtual Roundtable Discussion Summary is available only to Strategic Outsourcing & Vendor Management members. For information on membership, please contact us Everest Group regularly organizes virtual sessions in which senior executives from enterprises convene to share experiences and network with colleagues in other organizations on hot industry topics or particularly challenging issues of the day. In this virtual roundtable, we offered insights into the latest impacts of digital transformation on the business and spent the bulk of the time discussing strategies among the group to address the challenge. Participants discussed common traps that procurement falls into that limit their ability to influence and deliver value, as well as how procurement and sourcing can better position themselves to be trusted partners in supporting businesses through the digital transformation journey.