breaking news Financing Sustainable Transformation – What CEOs Need to Know

As climate change continues to have catastrophic impacts, the business world has begun to take note. Climate-induced wildfires, massive storms and deadly heat waves have woken up the corporate world to the harsh planetary realities of climate change.

Businesses are increasingly prioritize sustainable changes in the way they operate, with sustainability and the environment impact is becoming a priority for leaders around the world.

Sustainability First: Leadership Vision

At the VP and executive suite level, ESG initiatives were a top and growing priority for leaders across the board. survey at 64%, ahead of other initiatives such as optimizing the customer experience (59%), driving revenue (56%) and research and development (53%), according to a new global survey conducted by The Harris Poll (January 2022).

Leaders in all industries are prioritizing sustainability. Interestingly, 71% of retail leaders and Consumer Packaged Goods are stepping up their efforts to sort ESG efforts from their organisms. The supply chain and logistics, manufacturing and financial services sectors are next suit.

Companies in the growth phase are particularly invested, with 74% of them making ESG one of their main objectives. priorities.

Authenticity, impact measurement and green hypocrisy

There seems to be a big gap between companies’ perception of their sustainable development efforts and their real ability to measure and quantify them, which is a cause for concern. The majority of companies do not have measurement tools in place to quantify their sustainability efforts nor use these metrics to optimize for results. What transform organizational sustainability? The answer is technology.

Businesses need technology solutions – cloud, AI/ML, satellite imagery, data analytics – now more than ever to simplify their ability to act on sustainable development. Deeptech integrated with sustainability measurement tools such as the plastic/carbon footprint calculator, life cycle analysis (LCA),

Environmental Management System (EMS), supply chain mapping will help organizations optimize sustainability efforts and report real progress.

Obstacles to overcome

Lack of investment in the right technology is a significant barrier to achieving true sustainability because technology is key to transforming operations, socializing initiatives more broadly, and measure and report on the impact of sustainability efforts. Without the good technology, companies can struggle to accurately track and analyze their sustainability progress, hampering their ability to make meaningful improvements and ultimately achieve their goals. sustainability goals.

Another crucial barrier to achieving true sustainability is the lack of understanding and knowledge of the matter. Without understanding the complexity of the challenges of sustainable development, businesses can struggle to implement effective solutions and prioritize sustainable initiatives.

This highlights the need for increased education and awareness of managers and employees on the importance and impact of sustainability.

Beacons of Hope

Fortunately, many companies are still in the early stages of their sustainability journey, focusing on the planning and initial implementation phases of sustainability programs. Technology the industry is taking the lead with 68% of executives planning aggressive investments in sustainability. Retail trade follows at 55% and financial services at 54%.

Visionary leaders prioritize investments in the right technology to overcome obstacles and drive powerful business transformations towards a sustainable future. They are the future – like are their organizations.

-The author, Bhagyashree Jain, is the founder of The Disposal Company, an Accenture-backed Sustainability-Tech startup. She is a recognized name in the field of waste management and climate technology and is also an ESG consultant to young startups, companies and investment companies. The opinions expressed are personal.