Sustainability-led Transformation

1.0   The case for transformative change

Sustainability is an ever-evolving landscape, and conventional productivity-focused approaches are no longer sufficient. Companies must adopt a sustainability-led transformation mindset that intertwines traditional performance improvements with portfolio or transformative changes. Many companies need more detailed plans to achieve critical business and environmental, economic, and social goals such as NetZero, resource efficiency, people benefits and community engagement. To achieve these ambitions and long-term goals and lasting impact, visionary leaders must re-imagine the entire business ecosystem and deal with ambiguity, risks, and opportunities so that they are fit for the future.

The sustainability issues businesses and society face can only be overcome with a transformative mindset and process, which requires a seismic shift in focus, scope, leadership involvement, resource requirement, and lasting impact. Companies that achieve the necessary transformative change will reap the following benefits [1] – [4]:

1. Cost savings: Implementing sustainable methods can result in financial benefits by improving energy efficiency, reducing waste, and optimizing resource utilization.
2. Enhanced Brand Reputation and Customer Loyalty: A company’s dedication to sustainability can enhance its brand image, set it apart in the market, and draw in environmentally aware consumers.
3. Driving Innovation: Embracing sustainable methods encourages companies to reevaluate current processes and discover innovative ways to operate more efficiently.
4. Risk Management: Investing in renewable energy and sustainable supply chains can mitigate a company’s vulnerability to price fluctuations and disruptions in the supply chain.
5. Aligning with Stakeholder Expectations: Regulators, investors, and consumers are placing growing pressure on companies to prioritize sustainability, compelling businesses to adjust accordingly.
6. Attracting and Retaining Talent: Younger employees are increasingly attracted to companies with robust sustainability initiatives, aiding recruitment and employee retention efforts.

The global megatrends that significantly affect the environment, people, communities and businesses include climate change, resource scarcity, rapid technological changes, demographic shifts, and shifting power dynamics. These megatrends are interconnected, and as a result, businesses, governments, and communities need to adapt to thrive and capitalize on new opportunities.

For example, the circular economy and NetZero are two opportunities that organizations have to address the sustainability issues of our time in delivering efficient resource utilization and NetZero carbon emissions.

1.1 Circular economy – solving the resource scarcity problem

The circular economy signifies a crucial transformation in the global business arena that companies must acknowledge. Embracing circular practices provides substantial competitive benefits and is vital for sustained success while neglecting to adapt poses risks of becoming obsolete. Companies must prioritize this matter seriously and integrate it into their core business strategy and transformation endeavours [5] – [7].

1.2 NetZero carbon emissions – addressing climate change/global warming

Reaching net zero demands broad collaboration across value chains and engagement with stakeholders such as governments and civil society. Companies must collaborate closely with suppliers, customers, and partners to reduce emissions collectively. Net zero isn’t solely an environmental concern; it’s a pivotal business transformation necessary for competitiveness, risk management, and seizing opportunities in a low-carbon economy. It entails strategic, operational, and cultural shifts throughout the organization [8],  [9].

1.3 Rapid Technological Development

Technological breakthroughs transform industries, markets, and communities, enabling tremendous value-creation opportunities and challenges. Companies are grappling with meeting with keeping up with the breathtaking speed of advancements with technological advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, energy storage, DNA sequencing, blockchain technology, and materials sciences. Businesses that fail to transform and significantly grow via value creation digitally may fail [10]-[12].

1.4 Demographic Shifts

There are five generations in the workforce with different views on work and the world; the median age in countries is increasing, with significant demographic changes that are straining countries’ social systems with un- and under-employment, weakening economies from emigrating citizens, and steering economies to emerging markets such as India and China. For example, 66% of the global middle-class population and 59% of middle-class consumption by 2030 will be in Asia. Sustainable businesses must work towards building thriving local economies. They must adapt to the new and divergent needs and expectations of consumers/customers and other stakeholders [10]-[12].

1.5 Shifting Power Dynamics

The emergence of new global powers and changing geopolitical landscapes is realigning global economic and political influence, which impacts international trade and relations. Shifting power dynamics risks disrupting the trend of globalization, which has made it easier to distribute goods and services across borders but rather disrupt global supply chains. There could be changing tariffs, sanctions or regulations that will impact organizations delivering a global business. Sustainable businesses must complete a comprehensive business influence/impact analysis that addresses political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental (PESTLE) issues and transform to overcome being taken out of business by these PESTLE factors [10]-[12].

2.0   Framework for Landing Sustainability-led transformation

The three significant steps of the framework for landing sustainability-led transformative change in organizations and businesses include designing the transformative agenda, creating the enabling conditions, and developing leadership skills and effective execution. The framework has been adapted from references [13] and [14] and is shown in Figure 1.

2.1 Design the Transformative Agenda

The first step of landing the sustainability-led transformative change is to design and build the understanding that sets the foundation for achieving the much needed transformation for business and society [13], [14], and are summarised by the following sustainability themes:

2.1.1 Transformative Opportunities.

Businesses have to adapt to the industry shifts that pose critical risks and opportunities in new business/business models, cost savings and assessing the costs of not proceeding with sustainability. Business leaders must identify where the value is shifting within the industry and beyond and find the inflexion points that show new opportunities. Sustainable transformation turns risks into opportunities and lies at the intersection of vision, adaptability, innovative business models, and strategic action. No wonder reports by Forbes and McKinsey [15], [16] suggest that around 40 per cent of companies, depending on the metric, that capture value from sustainability are actively pursuing sustainability as a transformative opportunity and strategic priority. A Deloitte article [17] indicates that companies like Unilever have landed sustainability transformations to create meaningful business value, delivering a 290% total shareholder return during its CEO’s 10-year tenure focussing on sustainability.

2.1.2 Understand the complexities

After understanding the transformative opportunities, companies need to understand the complexities within their organization, industry, and market, enabling them to implement strategies to achieve sustainability-led transformations and business performance. The critical steps to understanding the internal complexity include a thorough analysis of the company’s strengths, weaknesses, processes, systems, organizational culture, decision-making processes, and resources to identify areas of opportunity for transformation. Companies can set meaningful key performance indicators (KPIs) and gather feedback from employees and other stakeholders to gain insights into challenges and opportunities for transformation. Additionally, companies must stay updated on industry trends, regulations, and technological developments that could impact the business and conduct a competitive analysis of the impact of competitors’ transformation strategies to understand emerging challenges. Moreover, companies can gather data to understand customer/consumer needs, preferences and behaviours, demographic shifts and social trends to improve products, services and customer experiences [18], [19]. For example, 3M’s understanding of their complexities, such as meeting the needs of various stakeholders (customers, investors, employees, society), embracing technological innovation, and nurturing employee skills, has enabled 3M to achieve ongoing global growth and respect [20].

Companies can take practical steps to understand their business complexities and achieve sustainability-led transformations, including gap assessment, materiality assessment, stakeholder mapping, benchmarking, risk analysis, evaluation of five capitals, global megatrends, and relevant government policies and legislation.

2.1.3 Transformative vision and purpose

Companies that understand their complexities and are fully adept at the transformative opportunities are better placed to define their vision and purpose, aiming for a significant global impact and driving radical change and innovation. A transformative vision and purpose permeate the company culture from leadership to the workforce, prioritizing practical problem-solving and attracting top talent that aligns with purpose-driven companies [21], [22]. For example, Patagonia’s mission, “We’re in business to save our home planet,” extends beyond selling outdoor gear and clothing, striving to lead worldwide environmental conservation initiatives [21]. Also, Amazon’s transformative vision has been to be “the most customer-centric company in the world,” propelling its advancements in e-commerce, cloud services, and other revolutionary technologies [23].

2.1.4 Set business goals and evidence-based targets

Impactful companies establish ambitious, science-based sustainability goals aligned with their envisioned future, seamlessly integrating them into business frameworks to spur innovation and transformative progress [24]. For example, Walmart targets zero emissions in its operations by 2040 without carbon offsets, aiming to power 100% of its facilities with renewable energy by 2035 [24]. Companies like Unilever, Nestlé, and Danone have set science-based targets approved by the SBTi, committing to reduce emissions across their value chains in line with the Paris Agreement [25].

2.1.5 Data-driven insights

Sustainable companies leverage centralized data management, view data as valuable assets, modernize architectures, foster data-driven cultures, and cultivate adaptable leadership to translate data insights into impactful organizational change [26]. A Havard Business Review [27] survey/report indicates that data-driven decision-making in organizations impacts business performance in seven dimensions: operations and structure, proactive market orientation, employee empowerment, skills and competence, culture, leadership commitment, and analytics-strategy alignment. However, a 2021 New Vantage study found that only 39% of executives believe their companies manage data as an asset and fewer (24%) see their organizations as data-driven [27]. An example of a successful application of data-driven insights is UPS’s creation of routing software that guides delivery drivers to the most efficient routes, leading to savings of $400 million and a reduction of 10 million gallons in annual fuel consumption [28].

2.1.6 Sustainability strategy

Sustainability must be embedded in the core business model and strategy, mission, and vision, and be a fundamental part of the company’s operations and purpose to drive transformative change that benefits business, society, and the environment [29]. For example, Unilever delivered a ten10-year Sustainable Living Plan, which reduced the company’s environmental impact, increased its positive social impact, and doubled its revenues, reaching a 290% total shareholder return [17].

Nonetheless, a 2022 study by Accenture estimates that only 7% of companies have fully integrated business, technology and sustainability strategies, indicating a lack of effective embedding of sustainability strategy [30].

An effective tool for designing sustainability strategies for companies is here.

2.2 Create the enabling conditions

The second step of landing the sustainability-led transformative change is to create the enabling conditions that make a conducive environment for achieving sustainability-led transformative practices, and are summarised by the following sustainability topics:

2.2.1 Integrate sustainability into the value chain

One of the initial steps for landing the sustainability-led transformative change is to integrate sustainability into the value chain to make achieving value-creation goals for various stakeholders in and outside the organization easier.

2.2.1.1 Definition of terms

Value chain

The value chain describes the full range of activities required to bring a product or service from conception through different phases, or the entire life cycle, including material sourcing, production, consumption, and the end-of-life treatment of sold products, to deliver to an end customer or consumer [31]. In practice, value chains may be complex or have more links, such as Porter’s value chain model, which was introduced in 1985 and has become a cornerstone for businesses aiming to sustain competitive advantage.

Supply chain

The supply chain may be defined as a network of organizations, such as manufacturers and retailers, involved in some capacity in producing, delivering, and selling a product to a customer or consumer [32].

The main differences between the supply chain and the value chain

Sustainable organizations must resist the temptation to use “supply chain” and “value chain” interchangeably because, as Table 1 shows, their concepts are fundamentally different.

Sustainability

Sustainability is a situation where current generations can achieve their social, economic, and environmental goals in a way that does not threaten future generations’ ability to achieve theirs. This Definition stems from the “sustainable development” definition from the United Nations 1987 Brundtland report [34].

What is a Sustainable Value Chain (SVC)

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) [35] defines a “sustainable value chain approach” as one that empowers both businesses and society to gain a deeper understanding of and tackle the environmental issues linked to the entire life cycle of products and services. A standardized model of a sustainable value chain is illustrated in Figure 1. A sustainable value chain’s major/primary phases include material extraction and processing, design and manufacturing, retail, use, disposal, recycling, and end-of-life. The support services include logistics, procurement, infrastructure, technology development, human resources, marketing, and sales.

Life cycle thinking

Life cycle thinking (LCT) is an approach that encompasses the environmental, social, and economic impacts of the whole life cycle of a product, process, or service – from production to consumption or use and finally to the end-of-life. Life cycle assessment (LCA) uses an approach that evaluates and minimizes environmental impacts of all stages of a product or service’s life, helping to consider the broader context and the long-term consequences of choices, leading to sustainable choices and informed decision-making [36].

2.2.1.2 Benefits of Sustainable Value Chain

A sustainable value chain can offer multiple benefits to businesses, such as [35]:

1. Fuelling top-line growth through market differentiation and improving productivity by optimizing resources.
2. Ensure continuity of supply by diversifying suppliers and locations and developing contingency plans.
3. Creating new markets by appealing to conscious consumers, fostering innovation and addressing unmet needs.
4. Adding value to customers and consumers where consumers/customers receive better products aligned with their values and contribute to a sustainable future.
5. Optimizing energy consumption by embracing renewable energy and promoting energy-efficient equipment and technologies.
6. Achieving circular economy practices by reducing waste and promoting efficient resource utilization.
7. Creating competitive advantage by fostering efficiency and innovation and better prepared for unexpected challenges.
8. Create and speed up sustainable innovations through the whole life cycle of a product or service.
9. Explore new market segments, update the business model, and enhance credibility and trust in the market to create shared value for communities and businesses.
10. Enhancing stakeholder relationships by collaborating to achieve a common goal
11. Manage risks such as resource scarcity and strong regulations.
12. Creating system changes, e.g., demonstrating what is possible and accelerating changes in technology and business practices.

2.2.1.3 Critical Success Factors

The effective establishment of a sustainable value chain relies on numerous factors, especially the following five [35]:

1. Leveraging the power of collaboration based on a common understanding of the vision of sustainability, providing sufficient resources and sharing knowledge with proper competitive safeguards.
2. Understanding customer and consumer needs and proactively encouraging them to make new choices is essential. Analyzing consumer beliefs and behaviours to understand the nuances of individual preferences and adapting is also necessary. Adapting to consumer beliefs and habits can include developing clear messages and being truthful about the impacts and benefits of new offerings and solutions.
3. Utilise Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) to identify and assess the environmental impact of all areas of the life of a product or service and identify the areas with the most significant impact, also known as the “hot spots”. The outcomes of life cycle assessments empower businesses to make informed choices and prioritize potential adjustments within their value chains.
4. A sustainable value chain must ensure a healthy supply/demand ecosystem and unlock the benefits of economies of scale, for example, fostering resilience, efficiency, and revenue by aligning environmental goals with business objectives.
5. Achieving sustainable value chains requires top leadership commitment to allocate appropriate time and resources accordingly.

2.2.1.4 Using the UN SDG Compass to integrate sustainability into the value chain

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDG) Compass [37] provides a structured approach for companies to evaluate and maximize their value chain impacts, set goals, embed the UN SDGs into the business processes, and communicate and report transparently on their sustainable development contributions, summarised below, and Figure 2:

• Mapping (Step 1) and prioritization (Step 2): The SDG Compass supports companies in evaluating how their current business and sustainability objectives relate to the SDGs, prioritizing areas where they can have the most significant impact along their value chain.
• Setting business-relevant targets (Step 3): Companies can make their commitments more tangible by directly incorporating priority SDGs into corporate sustainability goals.
• Integrate SDGs into company operations (Step 4): Once priorities are set, companies integrate SDGs into various aspects of their operations, products, and advocacy efforts.
• Reporting and communicating contribution (Step 5): the SDG Compass aids companies in aligning their reporting and communication on sustainable development with SDG indicators, enabling them to showcase their contributions along the value chain.

2.2.1.5 Case studies

The following are two case studies of companies using the UN SDG Compass model to integrate sustainability into the value chain.

1. City Developments Limited Discloses Its Impacts Across Its Value Chain. City Developments Limited, a real estate firm based in Singapore, utilized the SDG Compass to pinpoint significant points along its value chain for generating social and environmental benefits in alignment with the SDGs. Each identified value area, like “Design and Planning,” was correlated with specific SDGs, such as SDG 7 for Affordable and Clean Energy, SDG 9 for Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, and SDG 11 for Sustainable Cities and Communities. [38].
2. PTT Global Chemical Links the SDGs to Its Value Creation Model. PTT Global Chemical, a chemical firm in Thailand, revealed its “Business Value Creation” model, detailing its approach to generating financial returns while fostering community welfare and addressing social and environmental concerns. The company identified four stakeholder groups within its value chain – Shareholders, Business Partners, Employees, and Community/Society/Environment – and emphasized the significant influence of the SDGs on its value chain impacts. [39].

2.2.2 Cultivating the culture

Companies must take a people-centric approach, such as hiring and promoting based on cultural fit, rewarding and recognizing behaviours that reinforce the new culture, and clearly defining the desired culture and sharing the rationale, progress, and process to build understanding and engagement to achieve transformation [40], [41]. A Financial Times/Fujitsu Uvance report suggests that most organizations (54%) say that younger employees are pressing sustainability issues internally, requiring companies to engage effectively [42]. Also, companies that do not cultivate their culture and treat sustainability as a temporary trend tend to have weaker financial performance, with only 25% surpassing revenue expectations, compared to 60% of companies prioritizing sustainability [43]. An example of a company cultivating the culture is IBM, which engages and inspires employees to address environmental challenges and see the economic case for sustainability [44].

2.2.3 Board governance

Company governance is critical for steering companies towards long-term sustainability and success by setting transparent sustainability decision-making processes and authority and how it fits into the company governance structure, setting clear accountability, targets, and performance measures and linking to executive pay and compensation, navigating risks and drive long-term value creation [45], [46]. The latest UK Corporate Governance Code encourage directors to consider environmental sustainability in their business decisions [47]. A study of corporate sustainability indicates that 53% of firms that have “High Sustainability” assign formal responsibility for sustainability to the board of directors, and only 22% of companies in the “Low Sustainability” group [48].

2.2.4 Skills development and training

Companies must equip their workforce, board, and leaders with the right sustainability skills through targeted training and skills development to position them to lead the sustainability-led transformation [49]. For example, Bain & Company has partnered with several universities worldwide to deliver its consultants 17,000 hours of sustainability training [50]. A Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Microsoft survey results indicate that 60 % of employees on sustainability teams were upskilled and developed internally to uptake sustainability roles. In comparison, 94% of workers said training the existing workforce on sustainability-related skills helps build trust in an organization’s sustainability goals [51].

2.2.5 Business case for sustainability

The fundamental business case for sustainability is that sustainability can drive competitive advantage, enhance a company’s brand reputation and resilience, and improve financial, social, and environmental performance [52]. Also, the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) suggests that the business case for sustainability has three strategic elements: brand reputation, business models, started assets, and three operational aspects of prices and regulations, operational disruption, and productivity and engagement [53]. Etsy, AstraZeneca, Lego, Levi Strauss, and Starbucks have successfully delivered sustainability goals based on people, the environment and profit and embedded them into the business strategy [54].

2.2.6 Partnership & advocacy

Multistakeholder partnerships are essential for driving systemic changes, disrupting the status quo, creating long-term, sustained challenges, a shared vision, expectations, and understanding, and fostering transparency and open communication. The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), goal 17 advocates for companies and institutions to partake in transformative partnerships to achieve sustainable outcomes and address opportunities for market-driven initiatives [55]. For instance, the Business Coalition for a Global Plastics Treaty and the Business for Nature coalition unite businesses and NGOs to push for more ambitious policies [56].

2.3 Leadership skills and effective/successful execution

Leadership commitment shows up in the skills and competence. The third step of landing the sustainability-led transformation is to combine purpose, collaboration, and a deep understanding of critical actions to drive positive change, and are summarised by the following leadership skills needed for execution themes:

2.3.1 Leadership skills needed for execution

1. Visionary, strategic, and systems thinking

Visionary leaders can provide strategic direction and cultural change, establish a clear long-term vision, and maintain a competitive edge [57], [ 58]. Paul Polman, the former CEO of Unilever, is a classic example of a visionary leader who demonstrated an unwavering commitment to spearheading the company’s ambitious Sustainable Living Plan to improve environmental impact, improve livelihoods, and enhance overall well-being. Nonetheless, Polman persevered against sceptics and critics arguing that Unilever’s sustainable efforts may not be rewarded in the marketplace. Polman has paved the way for a new generation of visionary leaders to prioritize sustainability as a path to long term company success [59].

1. Break down silos within the organization.

Sustainable transformation needs leaders that have the skills to establish clear sustainability targets and accountability that can then be cascaded within and across the organization, with business units working collaboratively to break down silos and drive complex, systemic challenges such as efficient resource utilization and climate change. Leaders at all decision-making power/process levels must be committed and aligned and demonstrate sustainability-aligned behaviours. [60], [61].

1. Storytelling and motivation

Leaders must use compelling storytelling to make transformation tangible, creating a sense of urgency. They must highlight and use the impacts to motivate, inspire, and engage employees. Stories allow leaders to develop peer-to-peer inspiration, sustain momentum, and efficiently communicate the vision and progress [62], [63].

1. Building trust and credibility with competence

Leaders must build trust in order to drive sustainable organization transformation by demonstrating competence, honesty, and reliability, encouraging and empowering others by fostering a safe environment for employees to take risks, share information, be receptive to constructive criticism, and demonstrate expertise and capabilities that convince employees of the scale of transformation at hand [64].

1. Influencing without authority

Leaders of sustainability-led transformation often cannot rely solely on their formal position or authority. Instead, they employ an effective influence strategy that assesses stakeholders’ needs and priorities and builds personal power through credibility, relationships, and communicating shared values [65], [66].

1. Reporting and communication to stakeholders

Leaders must build strong, collaborative relationships with stakeholders to drive sustainable transformations. They must demonstrate progress and impact, communicate the value proposition, and prioritize stakeholders based on their impact, influence, and interest in the organization’s sustainability initiatives [67], [68].

2.3.2 Observe, learn, and adapt

Delivering sustainability-led transformation requires leaders to navigate technological and financial uncertainty and long timeframes. As a result, leaders of sustainable transformation must observe and adapt very quickly based on valuable feedback and evolving conditions to coordinate diverse stakeholders towards the shared vision. In other words, the speed of implementation of sustainability-led transformation may be faster, and so is the speed of adaptation [69], [70].

3.0   Summary

This paper provided an overview of the main topics businesses and organizations can use to deliver a sustainability-led business transformation that suits firms, people, communities, and the wider environment. The paper has been written in clear language, which is an aide memoir for the sustainability leader eager to know more and practice with the design, enabling factors, and leadership skills.

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