Radek Sali is the Founder and Executive Chairman of Light Warrior, an investment group committed to creating shared value by investing in businesses that are socially responsible and environmentally conscious. Radek Sali is also the Founder and Executive Chairman of Wanderlust Head Co, and Founder and Director of Conscious Investment Management, Stratosphere and Anthem.
Light Warrior’s business purpose is to invest consciously to leave the world a better place. Simply, we believe that good business should positively impact the people, the community and the environment as much as profits . So based on this, being conscious of our environmental impact has always been part of our DNA.
We were inspired to become a Certified B Corporation to gain a deeper understanding of how we were tracking and what we were already doing well, and to keep ourselves accountable and challenged to continually do better - we have a group wide goal to increase our score at each recertification! In addition, we wanted to connect with, work with, share and learn from other like-minded businesses who are on a similar journey.
Light Warrior assesses each investment opportunity on a case-by-case basis, however, we have a few key attributes that guide our evaluation process.
Firstly, the venture should align with our purpose of investing consciously to leave the world a better place. For Conscious Investment Management, this is clear in every investment made be it through solar installations, social housing, disability accommodation, bonds that better outcomes for vulnerable Australians etc. Another example from our portfolio is how Wanderlust, a wellness, lifestyle and events company, aims to not only create high quality plant-based products, but more broadly endeavours to lead the entire supplement market in sustainable practice driving innovation across the industry as a whole.
Another key attribute would be team culture. This means that beyond creating an impressive service or product, the company is also conscious of their business operations. By developing a network of investments that fit these two attributes we can engage in conversations with values-aligned management teams to continually strive to improve sustainability outcomes.
As part of our business strategy, all majority owned portfolio companies have goals to achieve and maintain BCorporation and carbon neutral certifications.
Our team members learn about our passion for environmental sustainability from day 1. Under our L.I.G.H.T team values, the G stands for Gratitude, which includes behavioural expectations around limiting our negative impact on the world and using our energy for good. Our team are therefore encouraged to self-educate, pursue opportunities they are passionate about, and take shared ownership for environmental sustainability.
Environmental challenges, projects and targets, as well as BCorp working groups, mean our team are heavily involved. A recent example is tasking a group of team members to conduct a review of our office space and make a call whether it met our latest environmental sustainability goals. This resulted in the group leading an office move project to a new Bcorp Certified space.
My advice would be to just get started - every little bit we do can make a difference. Set some achievable goals and get the team to join you in finding the solutions and making the changes. You’ll be surprised how passionate team members are about environmental sustainability and how much you can accomplish working together. I also suggest reaching out to other businesses who are leaders in the space who can guide and support you on the journey.
