Published 3 January 2025 in Sustainability ⢠8 min read ⢠
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When sustainability is discussed in boardrooms and exco meetings, the focus often gravitates toward strategy. Bold goals, decarbonization roadmaps, and ESG frameworks dominate the conversation, but something essential is usually missing: leadership.
The success of any sustainability initiative depends not just on strategy but the people who bring it to life and the commitment behind it. Leadership is the glue that binds vision to execution, turning plans into actions and ambitions into tangible outcomes. Yet, it receives far less attention than it deserves.
Much has been written about the strategic aspects of sustainability, such as how organizations can reduce emissions, address resource scarcity, or meet evolving ESG targets. However, behind every successful sustainability transformation are leaders who possess the vision, resilience, and emotional intelligence to navigate their organizations through complex, interconnected challenges.
Corporate sustainability has moved beyond compliance or moral obligation. It is about surviving and thriving in an era defined by three major challenges: climate change, resource shortages, and social unrest. Addressing these issues is an opportunity to build competitive advantages. Companies that mitigate climate risks, foster innovation through resource efficiency, and address social issues responsibly are more likely to earn trust, attract top talent, and secure their market positions.
Yet, sustainability efforts are too often limited to ESG programs focusing primarily on risk management. While these programs are vital, true sustainability goes further. It requires a shift in perspective, moving from mitigating harm to actively creating value for people and the planet. Leaders play a critical role in making this shift happen, embedding sustainability as a core organizational value and mobilizing teams to turn it into action.
Leadership of this kind requires more than technical expertise or adherence to frameworks. Leaders must embody a combination of head (strategic foresight), heart (emotional commitment), and hands (practical action). This means fostering a shared vision, building trust, and addressing sustainability â internally through self-awareness, mindfulness, and emotional intelligence, and externally by seeking insights and collaborating across ecosystems. Leadership becomes an ongoing interplay between strategy and action, continuously reinforced through an “infinity loop” of adaptation and commitment. Itâs about bringing inspiration to sustainability, not just fear and obligations.
The question is no longer whether sustainability is essential but how leaders can bring it to life in their organizations. In this article, we offer leadership insights from Leading the Sustainable Business Transformation: A Playbook from IMD, where colleagues share perspectives and recommendations on making sustainability a success. The book looks at strategic and leadership imperatives, but here we focus on leadership as the missing piece of the puzzle.
Sustainability requires cultural, systemic, and communicative shifts led by committed individuals. From our work with leading companies, we see that business leaders who succeed in this mission focus on three areas:
Cultural transformation is the foundation of sustainability. Without a culture that embraces long-term thinking and collective accountability, even the most innovative strategies will struggle to gain traction. As Jean-François Manzoni and Anand Narasimhan remind us in the playbook, leadership in sustainability begins with the ability to lead and manage change effectively.
Many leaders find that change initiatives often fail despite their best efforts. This is usually not because the strategy is flawed but because the human aspects of change are complex and challenging. Effective leadership requires a deep understanding of the emotions, fears, and motivations that drive behavior. Leaders must create a shared vision and build trust within their teams, fostering an environment where change is not just accepted but embraced.
Trust is paramount. Employees need to see that leadership is purposeful, authentic, committed, and aligned with the companyâs core values. This calls for transparency, consistency, and a willingness to engage employees at all levels. Leaders like Feike Sijbesma, the former CEO of DSM Firmenich (then DSM), exemplified this by embedding sustainability into the companyâs purpose, ensuring employees felt a personal connection to the mission.
Albrecht Enders and Michael Watkins emphasize that, next to an âinner journeyâ, leaders need to embark on an âouter journeyâ â seeking external perspectives to stress-test their leadership approach. For example, Skanska runs âdiscovery expeditionsâ, where executives visit sites (like a sustainable construction project in Seattle) to gain insights that inform their practices.
In addition, sustainability requires a fundamental shift in power dynamics: from âpower overâ to âpower with,â as Susan Goldsworthy reports. Leaders must foster collaborative environments where employees feel empowered to take ownership of sustainability goals, cultivating a culture of inclusion and innovation. However, achieving this transformation is often challenging due to entrenched organizational habits, short-term thinking, and resistance to change.
A compelling example comes from the Brazilian energy company Eneva, which transitioned from external engineers to hiring locally in the Amazon. This decision reduced costs, strengthened community ties, and fostered local development. As Robert Hooijberg observed in his analysis of Enevaâs approach, this shift went beyond operational benefits â it helped the company adopt a more sustainable mindset, embedding shared value creation into its business practices. By prioritizing local engagement and collaboration, Eneva demonstrated how inclusivity and empowerment can drive change within the organization and the community.
No organization can achieve sustainability in isolation. The complexity of global challenges like climate change, resource depletion, and social inequality requires collaboration across industries, sectors, and geographies. Leaders must build ecosystems that unite diverse stakeholders, from suppliers and customers to governments and NGOs. Building these ecosystem partnerships is not only a prerequisite for successfully transforming toward sustainability but also a source of competitive advantage and long-term value, as Mark Greeven and Howard Yu point out.
Take AI and digital transformation. Didier Bonnet and Michael Wade explain that it is mindset more than any technological imperative for embracing digital that will drive sustainability impact. That is a true leadership opportunity. Oyku Isik and Jose Parra Moyano argue that AI can drive sustainability performance if leaders embrace future opportunities instead of reinforcing pre-existing, unsustainable practices.
Peter Bakker, President of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, has championed the role of ecosystem partnerships in driving systemic change. Under his leadership, WBCSD has brought together corporations to address challenges from carbon reduction to circular economy practices.
Effective ecosystem leadership goes beyond forming alliances â it involves creating adaptive networks that can respond to evolving challenges and become engines of transformation. For example, Wärtsiläâs Sustainable Technology Hub is a platform where academia, industry, and policymakers collaborate to innovate decarbonization solutions.
As well as taking decisive action, leaders must âtalk the walkâ â crafting narratives that inspire alignment and engagement among all stakeholders. Without clear, compelling communication, even the most ambitious initiatives can fail to gain the buy-in needed.
As Heather Cairns-Lee explains, effective communication involves storytelling that connects sustainability to the organizationâs mission and values, not just sharing progress reports or setting public sustainability targets. Logitechâs Carbon as a Calorie initiative, led by Prakash Arunkundrum, illustrates the power of a well-crafted narrative. By equating carbon emissions to the calorie count on food labels, Logitech made the abstract concept of carbon footprints relatable and actionable for consumers. This metaphor empowered customers to make informed decisions, aligning their purchasing behaviors with sustainability goals while reinforcing Logitechâs commitment to transparency and environmental responsibility.
Skepticism or resistance must also be addressed. Leaders should engage in dialogue, demonstrate the business case for sustainability, and make the benefits relatable. By crafting authentic, inspiring, and actionable narratives, leaders can foster trust, build alignment, and ensure that sustainability becomes an integral part of their organizationâs identity.
There is no one-size-fits-all formula for sustainable leadership. Every organization faces unique challenges and opportunities depending on its industry, geography, and stakeholders. However, through our work with executives, we have found that successful leaders share a common set of skills and attributes that enable them to navigate complexity, inspire collective action, and drive meaningful transformation.
It is not a one-time effort but a continuous, iterative process. It requires resilience to overcome setbacks, adaptability to respond to evolving challenges, and vision to align short-term actions with long-term goals. By cultivating these qualities and tailoring their approach to the unique contexts of their organizations, leaders can ensure that sustainability becomes and remains a core part of their organizationâs DNA rather than just a goal.
First, cultivate resilience to navigate the complexities of sustainable transformation. Resistance, setbacks, and uncertainty are inevitable, but strong leaders view these as opportunities to learn and adapt rather than obstacles. Resilience also requires a long-term perspective, balancing short-term operational demands with future-focused investments.
Second, foster collaboration by creating networks of trust and inclusion. This involves breaking down silos, both within organizations and across sectors, to unlock the collective strength of diverse stakeholders. Collaboration is not just a means to an end â it is a way to build adaptive and resilient systems in the face of change.
Third, inspire action through clear, purpose-driven communication that connects sustainability to the organizationâs mission. By aligning internal teams and external stakeholders, effective leaders build momentum for lasting impact.
Finally, challenge the status quo. Transformative change often involves stepping outside of traditional business models, taking calculated risks, and redefining what success looks like.
Leadership is the missing piece in the sustainability puzzle. When integrated with strategy, culture, and action, it unlocks the potential for businesses to thrive in harmony with society and the planet. The future demands nothing less.
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