Ulysses Aoki is a seasoned leader with over a decade of experience in the field of sustainability. Starting his career in consulting, he has led projects for major domestic and international corporations while also contributing his expertise to unicorn companies and impact investment funds. Leveraging his extensive knowledge and diverse perspectives, he has recently joined Codo Advisory, taking on new challenges ahead. In this interview, we delve into what inspired him to pursue a career in sustainability, the highlights of his professional journey so far, and his vision for the future at Codo.
Morgane: Thank you for your time today! You recently joined Codo Advisory, but let’s take a step back and reflect on your career journey so far. Could you share what inspired you to pursue this path?
Ulysses: I’ve devoted my professional life to sustainability roles—my first one being in consulting. This honestly wasn’t by choice, there simply weren’t any sustainability roles in Japan at the time. My mother thought I was crazy by wanting to devote myself to such a niche role, but it was a path that I’ve pretty much set for myself during my time at school.
Morgane: That’s such an early start! Could you elaborate on how your school years led you to the field of sustainability and ESG?
Ulysses: I heard about climate change very briefly when I was in middle school, which led me to do research with my mother’s computer at home and write essays on the topic. It perplexed me that we as humans have done so much harm to our planet, but didn’t have much (if any, at that time) of our workforce dedicated to solving this problem. After some research I also learned how some companies were trying to combat their emissions and this to me seemed like a reasonable approach- motivating polluters and/or large entities to shift the dialogue.
Morgane: So that curiosity led you to working with companies to drive these initiatives forward.
Ulysses: Yes. Career-wise, I was the first undergraduate hire for EY Japan’s sustainability team in 2015 and just by chance, ended up working on some of Japan’s largest companies first sustainability projects. In hindsight, call it luck or call it will-power, go figure. After quitting EY in 2019, I continued to do sustainability advisory on my own for Japanese corporates, while working at the largest unicorn startup at that time called Spiber. Working in a startup then led me to be interested in the responsibility that investors have in pushing the sustainability agenda forward which is why I joined one of the first impact VCs in Japan, in the meanwhile growing their advisory business. I’ve changed careers more than the average Japanese worker, but I’m satisfied with these changes because they were all organic, and it has allowed me to understand the viewpoint of different stakeholders: advocates, corporates and investors.
Morgane: You’ve had a diverse range of experiences throughout your career. Are there any specific moments or projects that stand out to you as particularly impactful?
Ulysses: Many of the early projects I worked on at EY have ended up becoming benchmarks for the industry, and that’s something I couldn’t have suspected.
Morgane: Indeed, sustainability wasn’t on many Japanese companies’ radar back in 2015.
Ulysses: Yes, at that time we were struggling to persuade Japanese companies to work on sustainability, so looking back it’s a thing of beauty to think that the first movers were somewhat rewarded by the market… which also was what we truly believed—that great sustainability efforts will bring value to companies.
Morgane: Can you tell us more about some of the projects you worked on during that time?
Ulysses: Notably, these were large-scale projects around sustainability strategy, human rights policy and due diligence implementation, and sustainable procurement projects for global Japanese companies. I also had the pleasure of supporting the Japanese adaptation of the SDGs, working on sustainability for the Tokyo Olympic Games, and teaching for UN Global Compact study groups. I always thank EY for such opportunities.
Morgane: What about your time at Spiber?
Ulysses: Working on the first impact strategy and impact report at Spiber was also a memorable project. It was the first project I took on as head of strategy there in close communication with the CEO, and it was also something that I’ve never seen a Japanese startup do at that time.
Morgane: Over nearly 10 years of working in sustainability, what shifts and trends have you observed, particularly within the Japanese corporate landscape?
Ulysses: Working in this world for 10 years has given me perspective of a larger timeline. I participated in and have observed the advocacy to move the sustainability agenda forward.In 2015, it was a shift from CSR to CSV. It was about adopting the SDGs and GRI and creating internationally recognized frameworks to make companies report on non-financial matters.
Sustainability data simply wasn’t available for analysts, and reputable organizations couldn’t base their assumptions on facts. There was no financially logical explanation to tell companies to do this or that. It was also about giving NGOs proven materials for advocacy, and poking on financial institutions, namely investors with leverage.
Then ESG indices were adopted by GPIF, which was moved by PRI, and sustainability reporting became, at least to an extent, financially motivated. TCFD was adopted and now there is pressure on financial institutions to make commitments—which then ostensibly led to corporations adopting TCFD and making climate commitments.
Morgane: How would you describe the current landscape?
Ulysses: As a result of all these past efforts, we have investors that need to consider sustainability or ESG as a part of their fiduciary duty. We have companies that are setting commitments and disclosing as much information as possible because there is pressure from internal and external stakeholders, as well as competitors that are sustainability-driven. We also have regulatory aspects that are moving around regarding disclosure, emissions, waste, and more. With all this, my point is—these things that may look like trends, were put in place for reason. We all have roles to play in fixing this global issue. Although it has taken time, we’ve also come a very long way and I believe everyone that has participated in this great movement should be applauded.
Morgane: It sounds like the sustainability movement has made incredible progress. What made you decide to join Codo at this pivotal moment?
Ulysses: Adding to everything I’ve mentioned above, I believe that the sustainability “market” is at a pivotal time mainly for 2 reasons: 1) We’re at the point where disclosure is becoming abundant and somewhat sterile, and we’re hungry for actual transformation to happen, and 2) there’s a crucial need to streamline sustainability projects and efforts in order for transformation to happen.
Codo has strengths in sustainability transformation, especially within decarbonization/transition planning and sustainability education. These are necessary to move the sustainability agenda forward and in an ideal world, should be the main focus of resources and time for companies today.
Morgane: Do you see particular challenges for companies looking to enhance their sustainability efforts?
Ulysses: As mentioned, sustainability efforts need to be streamlined. Companies are now reporting just for the sake of reporting, KPIs are being set as placeholders, human rights and supply chain efforts are overlapping, transition plans are being made through guesses. In addition, firms that support these efforts are also fragmented. You have consulting firms that might work on strategy, another firm for the report which then leads to another firm that sets your decarbonization commitments, leading to a SaaS provider of carbon emissions calculations and supply chain questionnaires provisions.
This fragmentation is a demotivator for companies, which need frictionless, fluid support.
Morgane: This is where Codo’s “one-stop shop” approach can really address these challenges effectively.
Ulysses: Yes, I joined Codo as a part of the management team because I believe we have a good probability of alleviating these problems that the market holds. The market is starting to get crowded, but it’s an exciting prospect since there is still so much that needs to be done.
Morgane: Codo provides a wide range of services, mirroring the ever-widening scope of corporate sustainability and ESG. Which services do you believe will see the greatest demand in the coming years?
Ulysses: Transition planning and implementation within supply chains, and human capital/human rights/well being within these next few years. Over the long-term, sustainability education. And of course, there will always be an appetite for reporting since that’s where the regulations are changing by the day. I’ll put my “wildcard” guess on ESG risk and sense checks within marketing/ads in the near future, although this is unexplored territory for most people.
Morgane: Many of our clients ask where they should begin their sustainability journey. What is one piece of advice you would offer to companies just starting out?
Ulysses: My advice: Do what you can, but do it good. Do it because there is a societal problem that you want to solve, not because of a regulation that might be coming in the future. At the end of the day, for the companies that got their sustainability activities “right” 10 years ago, those things are still relevant, disclosable and effective to this day.
My approach to sustainability and impact isn’t really driven by any cerebral or sophisticated influence but is based on simple ethics and an ethos. We have one life to live, so why not use that time to get something right, and to do good for the world we live in?
Morgane: That’s a powerful perspective. How do you stay informed and inspired in such a rapidly evolving field?
Ulysses: Insights and reports that have consistently proven value over a period of time—the WEF risk report, the brilliant reports of international NGOs within each respected field that push boundaries, companies with consistent ideologies.
Morgane: Finally, are there any resources, books, or thought leaders you’d recommend for those looking to deepen their understanding of sustainability?
Ulysses: I tend to enjoy books that act as source material for our ways of thinking and consistently come back to them. Books like Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, The Tao Te Ching, Plato’s Five Dialogues. The world we live in is fast-paced and sustainability practices/regulation changes seemingly overnight, but our ethics are still based on fundamental, unchanging concepts. In terms of sustainability-related books specifically, “How to avoid a climate disaster” by Bill Gates. It was a great read that comprehensively and quantitatively broke down the issues with climate change, approaches towards tackling it, along with the caveats surrounding such approaches and actions, for even general readers.
Morgane: Thank you so much for sharing your insights today! I’m excited to see your contributions to Codo and the field of sustainability.
Ulysses Aoki
Senior Managing Director, Codo Advisory
Graduated from ICU (International Christian University). A sustainability professional with over 10 years of experience in ESG as a whole, sustainability strategy, and impact. After contributing to the early development of domestic best practices as a founding member of a sustainability team at a major consulting firm, he developed Japan’s first domestic impact strategy and report at Spiber Inc. Subsequently, at GLIN Impact Capital, he contributed to the establishment of a consulting team while implementing impact investments. He also serves as the ESG & Impact Director at MCP Asset Management Co., Ltd., and is an Impact Advisor at Spiber Inc.
Morgane Benoist
Sustainability Consultant / Administrative Coordinator , Codo Advisory
Graduated from Aix-Marseille Universite, Morgane Benoist is a sustainability consultant with expertise in EU-Japan climate cooperation and intercultural relations. She acts as Codo Advisory’s main facilitator and trainer for education services, while also providing support to consulting projects. She is a certified trainer for Climate Fresk and Biodiversity Collage, as well as a certified facilitator for Digital Collage and 2tonnes (France). She is also a regular contributor to Codo Advisory’s monthly column “Codo’s Insights,” where she analyzes ESG policies and trends in Japan and around the world.