'Unsustainably Sustainable' by Dr Carl Ungerer and Vanessa Liell at Mumbrella CommsCon 2023

1. Unsustainably Sustainable
How to avoid the pitfalls &
become true sustainability experts
Vanessa Liell
Partner & Co-founder
Dr Carl Ungerer
Managing Partner

2. Dr Carl Ungerer Vanessa Liell
Advises CEOs and boards on political, national and
cyber-security risk including cyber-security simulations.
Also...
Career diplomat with DFAT
Intelligence analyst & State/Federal political advisor
Global expert on national security and cyber-security
Widely published author
Advises CEOs and boards on reputational risk
specialising in corporate affairs and issues & crisis.
Also...
Co-founder of creative venture Rethink Everything
Co-founder of Herd MSL
Non-executive director
Casual Academic in Strategic Communications at UTS
Introducing.........
Unsustainably Sustainable

3. Sustainability: practical definition and the
Australian landscape.
1
2 Expert case study: the risk cybersecurity
poses to organisation's sustainability.
3 Implications for communicators: risks and
opportunities in sustainability consulting
and advisory.
Today's
presentation
Unsustainably Sustainable

4. What is sustainability?
Practical definition
Sustainability is defined as anything
that threatens the long term
sustainability of a business.
The focus has been on ESG –
environment, social & governance.
Improving ESG outcomes protects
reputation, attracts and retains
employees and improves investment
opportunities.

5. What is the risk to communicators?
Australian landscape
Overblown and unsubstantiated ESG
claims are leading to accusations and
increasingly prosecutions for
greenwashing.
This poses a major challenge for
companies' reputations, and
potentially the bottom line.
How companies navigate these issues
are increasingly difficult.

6. The greatest current ESG risk is "G"
Case study: Cybersecurity risk
Cybersecurity is now the number one
governance issue for boards and CEOs.
This year we will see several more
attacks on major brands in Australia.
The government has put boards on
notice to act now on cyber or face
regulatory and financial penalty.

7. Boards are increasingly exposed
Case study: Cybersecurity risk
ASIC has already prosecuted a
financial services company for lack
of preparedness.
Companies that fail to protect data will
face the triple whammy of government
regulation, legal class actions and loss
of consumer confidence.

8. The scale of cyber-security risk
Case study: Cybersecurity risk
Ransomware is old news AI is unknown territory Russian based
cyber-gangs

9. The scale of cyber-security risk
Case study: Cybersecurity risk
"Despite Western intelligence agencies
continuing to call out, by name, many
of the state-sponsored threat actors,
and placing sanctions on government
officials and associated agencies
involved in these operations, there is
no sign that cyber attacks have
diminished. In fact, they are
getting worse."

10. Questions for communicators
Implications for corporate affairs and PR agencies
How well is your company prepared
for issues and risks related to ESG?
Have you prioritised the issues that
are likely to cause the greatest
reputational and commercial risk?
Do you know exactly what your
company does and what it says it
does? Is there any difference?
Have you independently checked the
facts? How would you do that?

11. HorizonBlue is an Australian cybersecurity
simulation offering.
Created as a partnership between Horizon GR and
specialist financial services firm BlueChip
Communications.
Combines global cyber-security frontline experience
with specialist issues and crisis preparedness.
Addresses Australian company's requirements to
ensure boards and executive teams are
operationally prepared for a cyber-attack.
Innovate your offering
Implications for corporate affairs and PR agencies

12. Partner with experts in the areas you
are advising.
Separate communication issues from
technical issues (that require specialist
expertise).
Don't assume - ask the hard questions
and interrogate & verify the facts.
How to avoid the pitfalls
Implications for corporate affairs and PR agencies

13. Thank You
1
Vanessa Liell
Partner & Co-founder
Dr Carl Ungerer
Managing Partner