“One thing worse than a lack of progress is the illusion of progress”
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If the COVID-19 crisis has shown us anything, it is that business is becoming serious about sustainability transformation. Whether it be the disruptions caused to supply chains or the business models themselves, organisations have taken note of the risks and opportunities connected to their impact on society and the environment.
Raised ambition
Within Norway, Sustainability Hub Norway (S-HUB Norway)’s 2021 State of Sustainability Survey confirms that the shifting regulatory landscape and increasing corporate commitments to tackle decarbonisation leading up to COP26 has meant that the ambition to tackle sustainability continues to remain at the highest levels ever seen. 87% of respondents have confirmed that their company has integrated sustainability into their core business strategy, with 81% stating that their executive management is focused on sustainability and 82% agreeing that their organisation is focusing on up to 4 topics to create the best impact. Of the impact areas themselves: climate, society (including equality and health) and supply chains are ranked as the 3 most significant impact areas for organisations. Overall, greater corporate ambition on sustainability has been rewarded this year by greater levels of staff loyalty (70% in 2021 vs 60% in 2020).
Raised ambition
Within Norway, Sustainability Hub Norway (S-HUB Norway)’s 2021 State of Sustainability Survey confirms that the shifting regulatory landscape and increasing corporate commitments to tackle decarbonisation leading up to COP26 has meant that the ambition to tackle sustainability continues to remain at the highest levels ever seen. 87% of respondents have confirmed that their company has integrated sustainability into their core business strategy, with 81% stating that their executive management is focused on sustainability and 82% agreeing that their organisation is focusing on up to 4 topics to create the best impact. Of the impact areas themselves: climate, society (including equality and health) and supply chains are ranked as the 3 most significant impact areas for organisations. Overall, greater corporate ambition on sustainability has been rewarded this year by greater levels of staff loyalty (70% in 2021 vs 60% in 2020).
Integration challenges
But as the survey delves into engagement on sustainability within organisational layers and departments, we note that key barriers remain to sustainability integration, including: the need to align sustainability performance with business performance (only 31% confirm that sustainable business performance is firmly integrated to their quarterly business performance reviews); an absence of quantification of the potential Return On Investment of sustainability (only 12% of companies are measuring the ROI of sustainability); a current lack of financing of sustainability (only 4 out of 10 surveyed stated that more than half of company sales come from sustainable products or services); and a growing competency gap (focused in particular around sustainability reporting and measurement) running in parallel with a complex regulatory environment.
Leadership commitment
Despite these obstacles, there is still cause for optimism. Company Boards and Executive Management are showing willingness to take action with 87% of companies surveyed confirming the desire to invest more in new opportunities within sustainability over the next 5 years, and 82% of companies stating they will work extensively on sustainability innovations in the upcoming 3-5 years, racing to close the competency gap. Furthermore, as new laws and regulations like the Norwegian Transparency Act or the European Taxonomy regulations are implemented in 2022, it's unlikely that the pace of change towards environmental and social sustainability transformation will level out.
The S-HUB journey
In 2021, S-HUB has continued to work with its community of members and functional sustainability networks to debate what the Futures of Sustainable Business could look like. Survey responses from our S-CFO network and newly launched S-CPO network made it clear that technology and innovation are game changing opportunities which, while requiring the transformation of internal governance systems (and expansion of responsibilities) to harness their potential for good, will help to internalise sustainability and provide much needed capacity to resolve the sustainability challenge.
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Cross sector benefits of harnessing tech for good abound. As identified previously by the S-FOOD network, the potential value unlocked by AI in helping design out waste in a circular economy for food is up to $127 billion a year in 2030. Moving into 2022, S-HUB will therefore aim to scale up these opportunities by working with members to scope out a possible Tech & Sustainability Network in partnership with Accenture (register here for 27th Jan scoping session) seeking to understand how technology and innovation can help accelerate sustainability transformation and impact in the corporate sector.
In March, S-HUB will celebrate its 5-year anniversary. Kicking off the event with an all network debate on regenerative leadership, members and non-members will be invited to exchange ideas and explore new ways of leading and redesigning organisations for positive impact helping to continue this journey of exploration on how to transition from sustainability ambition to integration. As the S-HUB network strategic boards update their programmes of work for 2022, recurring topics connected to issues such as climate change or inequality emphasise the complexity of issues facing business in the 21st century. The pandemic provided us with only a slight insight into the crisis that we could experience should we fail to redress the state of the global commons. Let's step up and act on it together. |
The S-HUB Community
Interested in becoming a member of S-HUB? Find out more about joining S-HUB and connecting through our activities with a community of organisations engaged in sustainability transformation then please click here:
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About the author:
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Marc is a sustainability expert with 10 years of experience advising organisations in both the public and the private sector on a variety of projects from the circular economy to sustainable finance. Marc has an LLM in Environmental Law and a prior background as a corporate lawyer. Prior to joining S-HUB he worked as a Policy & Engagement Lead for IEMA, a global membership organisation for sustainability professionals with over 17,000 members. During his time at IEMA, Marc led several expert networks on the circular economy and sustainable finance and published practical guidance on a wide range of topics including the role of disruptive technologies in sustainability. |