Sustainability Teams: The Architects of Future Proofing Corporate Strategies
After 13 days of meetings, events and deals, nearly 100,000 delegates and finally an acceptance that the world must transition from a dependence on fossil fuels towards climate-neutral energy systems, COP 28 has come to an end. Having been there on behalf of Arcadis, my reflections are that while the principle of holding an important sustainability event in a major oil-producing nation might not sit well with many, the rallying cry from several countries around the world to phase out fossil fuels was genuine, meaningful and significant.
So what happens next? What happens when the world moves on, and when the momentum stalls? This is where businesses like ours come in. Here at Arcadis, we have recently launched our new three-year strategy, entitled Accelerating a Planet Positive Future. Making sustainable project choices is at the heart of this strategy. We advise businesses, governments and local authorities on how to develop and deploying innovative solutions across our infrastructure and built environment.
Every business wants to predict where the world is headed: what consumers will want or need, what challenges communities will face, and where money will be made. But relying on financial and demand models and on trends that have existed for the last 100 years is no longer enough. The climate and society are changing rapidly; many of these trends no longer apply. There is a group that can give you a more accurate, data-driven read on the pace of change.
Just as organisations historically sought out their market niche, each company possesses the unique potential to advance sustainability practices. Chief Sustainability Officers and sustainability teams play a vital role in identifying this niche and developing a strategy that is transformational, specific, accessible and desirable. By aligning your sustainability initiatives with the company’s strengths, your organisation can achieve long-term success.
Going beyond ESG#
Sustainability has been viewed as the Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) umbrella. But this perspective often reduces sustainability to a checklist of risks without recognising its potential as a core to revenue and growth. And I would argue that this massively discounts the value that CSOs and sustainability teams can bring to your organisation.
Sustainability professionals can peel back the curtain and give insight into a future that will be radically different from the past. They can guide your company not only in ESG matters but also in building a well-defined strategy that embraces the huge economic, social and environmental changes on the horizon. The job of your CSO should be — and increasingly is — to help the company position itself to stay relevant and profitable in the face of these changes. And that is perfectly reflected in Arcadis’s new strategy.
Embracing a transformational approach#
Many organisations tend to adopt a cautious, incremental approach to sustainability, setting achievable goals without a comprehensive strategy. This is reflected in the fact that, while 90% of business executives acknowledge the importance of sustainability, only 60% of organisations have a sustainability strategy, and just 25% have a clear business case for their sustainability efforts.
As a result, many companies (40%) address sustainability sporadically or not at all, with 75% lacking a clear sustainability investment plan. Yet, those with well-defined sustainability strategies focusing on crucial issues can see profits rise to 50%.
So, for rapid decarbonisation to happen, we must make transformational changes to the systems that created the need to decarbonise in the first place. Investors are looking for sustainable companies, young talent are seeking aligned values in their employers, and 81% of global consumers are expecting companies to contribute to environmental improvement.
The need for specificity
It’s one thing for a company to aspire to transformational change, but it’s another thing for it to lay out the steps to implement this change. A specific strategy provides the entire organisation with a clear idea of the company’s direction, the necessary steps to get there, and the players responsible for executing those actions.
An effective sustainability strategy must get all levels of the organisation involved, it can’t be a topic solely discussed by leaders. Equipping people with time and tools to shift their way of working is key.At Arcadis, a vital aspect of this goal was ensuring all 36,000+ of our people across more than 40 countries shared a language with which to discuss sustainability. We tackled this challenge by launching Sustain Abilities, our internal sustainability training program which equips our people with the knowledge and skills needed to engage in sustainability conversations and deliver sustainable outcomes for our clients.
Priming for the long haul
In the coming years, companies will face significant challenges as they navigate the environmental changes resulting from climate change and its impact on employees, customers and supply chains. Obstacles like regulatory uncertainty, a lack of clear data, limited resources, and resistance to change lie ahead.
But by crafting sustainability strategies that are transformational, specific, accessible and desirable, CSOs and sustainability teams can empower organisations to turn these obstacles into new avenues for growth.
COP28 did not deliver the transformational change and unambiguous commitment the world now so desperately needs. And so many are now turning to business, to ask how they are going to accelerate our transition at a faster clip than in the text. Where there is transformation, there is opportunity. As the sun sets on COP 28, your CSOs and their teams are the ones to tap to ensure that sustainability is not only a key element of your strategy, it is your biggest opportunity for growth.
Alexis Haass, Chief Sustainability Officer, Arcadis
