How can you develop a sustainability strategy for a corporation?

Such an assessment of the “triple bottom line” impact of the organization and its supply chain stakeholders is only of secondary importance to developing the sustainability strategy. The primary assessment ought to be, but rarely is, the assessment of the stated “purpose” of the organization and comparing that with the ecological and social capacity of the organization and related stakeholders. It could be that the stated purpose is incompatible with a “nature positive” future. Whether this is or is not the case, the ecological and social capacity and potential, needs to be examined to see whether there is a “higher ecological purpose” that might be targeted by the organization.

There is so much more to this step than just assessing the current situation. In fact, this step is likely a long-term and ongoing assessment. As part of assessing the current situation, a business must begin measuring its actual environmental impact (SASB, GRI, etc can be great starting points to identify what to measure). Stakeholder input is critical, but a company is unable to manage its climate or ESG impacts if it does not have a sense of its scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions or other ESG impacts.

The tools & frameworks mentioned are relevant, but of secondary importance. The future corporation is one that survives the ecological crisis at hand. Such surviving organizations will be integrative, holistic and enduring in their ecological value offering. To reach this state, organizations need to prioritize and develop roles of ‘Integrators’ and to do this they need stronger strategies to increase the "social capacity" in the business, that is the ability of the business to enable its parts and its containing systems to do things that they could not otherwise do. This means that social systems should increase the variety of both the means and ends available to their parts and the systems of which they are a part.

Additionally, the sustainability goals must align with the overall business strategy. In fact, if these goals are not in alignment there is a high risk of greenwashing or failure to achieve these goals. Every component of the sustainability strategy must be in alignment with the overarching strategy: from the value chain to marketing to operations. Goals should be bold but achievable. Third party verifiers or partners are excellent because they ensure accountability and rigor in setting the goals.

In addition to creating sustainability roles from entry-level to C-Suite, it is important that “non-sustainability” roles are accountable to achieving sustainability goals. Tying executive bonuses or other incentives to meeting sustainability goals is an excellent tool to ensure accountability.

All would agree that sustainability is an integrative, holistic and enduring process; but what might be harder to appreciate is that in practice this means that not all our businesses can succeed, conventional business will lose out to those based on ecological and social markets. Further, organizations requires more than ‘strategic plans’, they need dynamic ’integrators’ and ‘change agents’ who will work to create ecological projects for clients and communities. But even this is not enough, they need to harness the hearts and minds of all staff and to value, stimulate and reward their ‘ecopreneurship’. Creating ecological exemplar projects, not only of the business “product” but also of the very organization and it peoples own lives.

To create a sustainability strategy it's important to embrace the concept of sustainability. Start by creating a plan that outlines goals involving all relevant stakeholders, in the process. Incorporate eco friendly practices into your operations. Foster a culture of responsibility and innovation. It's crucial to prioritize impacts on both the environment and society. It is essential for corporations to take the lead in paving the way, towards a future that's more socially conscious.