23.01
A COMPANY’S SUSTAINABILITY TRANSFORMATION REQUIRES FULL OWNERSHIP ACROSS THE ENTIRE ORGANISATION TO BE SUCCESSFUL!
To combat climate change, the global economy will need an entire industrial revolution to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions as businesses rethink and transform their strategies and operating models.
The Board and C-Suite team inevitably play an indispensable role in steering this business transformation.
But if businesses are to be successful in rethinking and transforming their strategies and operating models, sustainability should be owned by everyone in the organisation, and there are two aspects of ownership: Accountability and responsibility. The fundamental difference between these two aspects is, that the former being held by the Board and C-Suite team, and the latter, which requires action, shared by all employees.
The only way to successfully merge sustainability holistically withstrategy and build full ownership – and thereby not only ensuring that sustainability initiatives have the desired positive effect on the ecosystem, which the company is a part of, and the climate, but also making sustainability a profitable business (lowering costs, increasing efficiency, accelerating innovation, accessing new segments and markets, attracting and retaining employees etc.) – is by ensuring alignment, shared understanding, motivation, and engagement throughout the entire organisation. This includes owners and investors, the Board of Directors, C-Suite team, and all employees and is key to delivering on both direct business-related KPIs as well as sustainability-related targets and KBIs, thereby ensuring ROIs in both the short and long term.
That said, it is equally important to assess the business’ actual ability to transform, meaning assessing knowledge and skills, capabilities, resources, work environment, and group dynamics at owner and investor level, Board level, C-Suite level, and among employees. If these factors are not assessed properly, the likelihood of transformation success will be low, no matter the alignment, shared understanding, motivation, and engagement.
Reach out if you’d like to have a chat about how your company can navigate safely through these challenges and turn sustainability into a profitable and impactful business.