Stakeholder capitalism is emerging as a collective priority given the clear interdependence of healthy societies, economies, and the environment. Despite COVID-19 disruptions, two in five organizations are continuing their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) journey and one in five have even accelerated the shift towards an ESG and multi-stakeholder approach. Yet, as organizations busily reinvent themselves, it is clear they need to anticipate and fulfill unmet needs; globally, 24% of the workforce are not confident they can afford the healthcare their family needs, for instance.
Organizations want and need to ensure sustainability is at the heart of business transformation — from company purpose, work standards and investment strategies to circular economy aspirations, environmental impact and supply chain standards.
The challenge is for organizations to live by their pledges to new work standards. How? By ensuring that these statements are the start of a journey towards becoming sustainable at the core — in other words, transforming to deliver every area of the business in line with sustainability principles. To do this, organizations need to:
- Embed sustainability in their purpose and culture
- Transform for sustainability
- Establish people sustainability as the “social” in ESG
- Differentiate themselves through sustainable investments
Sustainable business is no longer an isolated, single sphere of responsibility, but rather a multi-stakeholder agenda and part of a collective social and environmental ecosystem.