It’s a difficult position that is at odds with the established business model centred on short-term gain cycles and linear growth. However, this approach is based on the historic norms of a relatively stable economic and climatic global state that no longer exists.
“The challenge is further compounded by the fact that CSOs and indeed CEOs will be making decisions and investments around sustainability that they will not necessarily be in-role to see come to fruition, such are the timescales of the issues they are tackling.”
Sustainability strategy is business strategy
The new climate reality is what is driving Walford’s perspective. This new reality touches all aspects of business from supply chains to compliance, and with that comes the need for a renewed approach to business leadership.
“Future business planning can no longer be based on the paradigms of the past; instead, organisations must be re-engineered with transparency and adaptability at their core. This will allow them to meet new climate regulations, and rapidly respond to climate and wider geopolitical shifts in the real world. Sustainability actions have moved beyond doing the ‘right thing’ from a values perspective alone, they are now aligned with doing the right thing for your business commercially too.” continues Walford.
Ultimately this requires the sustainability strategy and business strategy of every organisation to be one and the same. Systemically embedding sustainability into business plans prevents it being in direct tension with other KPIs, and avoids one of the greatest associated risks: the cost of taking no action at all.
“My biggest piece of advice for fellow sustainability officers is to really work with the business to understand what their drivers are, what they're looking to achieve, and then work with them to understand how sustainability is actually a core piece to that,” states Walford.
Zubin Randeria, ESG Leader, PwC UK, has a clear view of how the alternative to this approach would play out. “Your sustainability strategy must be fully integrated into your whole business strategy, as if you have two business strategies, one of them is going to fail.”
Where is your data?
There is a common enabler to both business and sustainability strategies that makes the business case for their integration more straightforward; data. Organising your data in a way that will flex and respond to your organisation’s changing needs in a constantly changing world should be the priority. Yet it is far from straightforward, even for the largest companies in the world.
Randeria continues: “I was recently speaking to the CSO of a FTSE 10 company, who have made really ambitious climate goals. When I asked him what his biggest challenge was, it wasn't about how they are going to deliver their climate goals while delivering the returns to investors. It was: where is my data?”
It’s a common story. Legacy processes and systems have produced silos; the data in one part of the organisation is managed by a legal entity, and logistics and supply by a production facility with a different set of systems. It is critical that companies start tackling the challenge of bringing their data sets and technology platforms together, with the confidence that ultimately can be assured.
This is where the other role of the CSO comes in - as a cultural enabler. If all of the people in an organisation can switch their thinking to that of owning and indeed being accountable for sustainability in their area, from a front line operative to a function lead, then you also have the momentum of human determination behind your strategy. Helping everyone understand that sustainability is a part of their job every day and keeping that drum beating with singular messages and an established culture are powerful enablers of success.
“This network is a great way to share knowledge and best practice. It’s always beneficial to speak to people in a similar position to yourself, facing similar challenges and talk about what worked and what didn't. Then you can go back to your day job with those ideas in mind.”
Lizzie Jones, Group Sustainability Director, Savills
Change is hard, but collaboration helps. Progress can be made by bringing functions together and breaking down silos.
Latifa Kapadia, Director of Corporate Sustainability, PwC UK, says, “Over the last 15 years we’ve cut our carbon emissions by over 80%, which has only been possible because of the collective effort of different functions and the commitment to continually challenge ourselves to go further.”
Sustainability enablers
As organisations move from target setting into action, three powerful enablers for sustainability progress in the new climate reality are emerging.
Get your data infrastructure in order: to meet the climate challenge, first look at your data. Keep in mind how the saying “quality in, quality out’’ applies here, and that data is key to enabling confidence. Draw on your organisation's technology and data teams to scope out and deliver a tech-enabled approach to sustainability reporting, ensuring it is aligned to the delivery of your wider business strategy. Ensure you have a robust plan to develop new systems where needed, assurance processes to validate your data, and the team in place to deliver it.
Embed sustainability into whole-enterprise planning and make it everyone’s day job. Start by getting everyone to understand that the flow of accurate data is a fundamental building block to tackling the climate challenge while also creating a future-ready organisation. Incremental changes across the workforce will add up to true transformation. Leaders can inspire and embed the cultural changes needed to meet the climate challenge.
Collaboration inside and out. Sustainability generally does not have a seat at the technology table in equal measure to other function leads. Building cross-functional relationships that champion sustainability, backed by a singular business strategy that comes from the top is crucial. By collaborating across functions, particularly with technology and finance, you can unlock new insights to make informed and decisive change. Remember to look outwardly too: across your supply chain and peers.
Focusing on these enablers, alongside finding a network of peers to share knowledge and challenges, will help CSOs drive growth that is both commercial and responsible.
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