What are the best ways to develop a long-term sustainability vision?

Crafting a lasting sustainability vision is a dynamic journey that kicks off with defining your organization's values and rallying key stakeholders for a truly inclusive approach. Dive into a sustainability assessment to spot improvement areas and set tangible goals that resonate with both your mission and global well-being. Keep the momentum alive through transparent reporting, staying savvy on regulations, and a commitment to continuous improvement for a future that's not just sustainable but thriving.

Developing a long-term sustainability vision involves assessing current status, engaging diverse stakeholders, setting clear goals, integrating sustainability into operations, encouraging innovation and collaboration, communicating transparently, monitoring progress, leading by example, measuring impact, and adapting strategies as needed. This approach creates a comprehensive and enduring path towards a sustainable future.

To forge a lasting sustainability vision, define clear goals, aligning environmental, social, and economic factors. Assess current practices, involve stakeholders for diverse insights, and foster a culture of innovation. Embrace transparency through effective reporting. Collaborate with peers, NGOs, and governments for collective impact. Prioritize circular economy principles, invest in education, and adapt continually. Regularly revisit and refine the strategy to stay attuned to evolving challenges and opportunities.

Understanding the current state of business is very important before starting any new initiatives or goals. There will be existing sustainable practices that needs to be considered. Benchmarking the current ecosystems with SDGs, amd industry sustainability practices should be done as the first step towards implementing the sustainability journey or improving the sustainability journey.

First step in conducting sustainability material assessment is to clearly identify organization's internal and external stakeholders. Designing an assessment survey around a list of material issues of the organization (in the space of environment & social) is the key step towards for the success of the assessment. Followed by rounds of stakeholder engagements for analyzing and strategizing around the material issues.

A long-term sustainability vision must be based in: 1) a systemic understanding of the outer context - on how humanity’s worsening ecological overshoot and social undershoot are about to play out, among broader macro trends, and what that scenario means for human-made systems. 2) Translating this outer context into impacts on one’s industry and business, and both the fiduciary and ethical responsibility. That is, into best available courses of action that can transform a business to be able to generate profits through systems value creation - while operating within the 9 planetary boundaries and above the 12 social foundations. And into collective systemic transformation agendas the execution of which underpins such a transformation.

Three reasons why I believe corporate sustainability should be integrated into a businesses strategy include: 1) Transitioning to a low-carbon economy: Sustainability aligns with the global shift towards a low-carbon and circular economy, ensuring companies are prepared for the future economic landscape. 2)Adaptability and resilience: Integrating sustainability fosters innovation and agility, enabling companies to adapt to changing regulations, technologies, and consumer preferences. 3) Securing long-term license to operate: Companies that demonstrate responsible and sustainable practices are more likely to secure license to operate (both from people and planet), ensuring their long-term viability.

Understanding sustainability. There's no such ting as short-term/long term sustainability. Either there is or there isn't sustainability at any given time. Knowing that, you can start by acknowledge that you, and your family, and everyone/everything that you car about are on the same boat, so the less sustainable we are, the harder your life will be. It's about understanding that's not about businesses, or whatever, it's about you. It will affect you and your beloved ones, regardless where you live or how much money you make. Now that sustainability became a personal issue, you can set your values and purposes, and see if what's being done fits them or not, them take the proper actions.

Identify the core values and principles that are important to your organization or community. This will guide your sustainability efforts and ensure they align with your overall mission. Your purpose and values should be aligned to any corporate strategy purpose and values, which should reflect your unique context and capabilities.

Developing a robust sustainability vision involves defining clear goals, engaging stakeholders for diverse insights, assessing current practices, benchmarking against industry standards, integrating sustainability into core strategies, fostering innovation, establishing metrics for tracking progress, prioritizing education and training, emphasizing continuous improvement, and fostering collaboration with industry peers for collective progress. This holistic perspective ensures a well-rounded and enduring commitment to sustainability.

Sustainability is the biggest business opportunity of this decade. Therefore it is extremely important to make sustainability a cornerstone of the bigger business strategy. Especially the higher the average footprint of your industry the bigger the opportunity to innovate & become a leader of tomorrow. Companies making sustainability one of their business strategy cornerstones = business leaders of this decade!

In vielen Nachhaltigkeitsstrategien werden Ziele mit Ma?nahmen verwechselt. Das Implementieren einzelner Ma?nahmen ist kein Ziel, sondern sollte zu einem Ziel führen. Beispiel: Den Strombetreiber zu wechseln oder eine Solaranlage zu installieren ist kein Ziel, sondern eine geplante Ma?nahme. Das Ziel dazu k?nnte etwa "Strom aus 100% Erneuerbaren Energien" lauten. Eine klare Abgrenzung und Definition von lang- und kurzfristigen Zielen und entsprechenden beabsichtigten Ma?nahmen ist wichtig, um klare Handlungsschritte vor Augen zu haben.

Setting up tangible goals and targets is the next crucial step. These objectives must adhere to the SMART criteria—being specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. Additionally, goals should be ambitious and motivating, challenging the organization to strive for excellence. Correspondingly, targets should be quantifiable, verifiable, and trackable, aligning with industry and sector best practices and standards. This strategic approach not only provides a roadmap for progress but also ensures that the organization is pushing its boundaries to meet high standards and contribute meaningfully to its sector.

Die Ziele müssen verfolgbar sein. Das erfordert Daten. Ein entsprechendes Reporting ist erforderlich, das sich an den Best Practices in der Industry orientiert. Aktuell ist die Herausforderung, dass es eine Vielzahl von Rating agencies gibt, die eine inhaltlich gro?e Abweichung voneinander haben. Die Empfehlung: orientieren sie sich nur an 2-3 der wichtigsten rating agencies.

The purpose of an organization must then be reflected in the ability to define coherent objectives and adequate KPIs to measure and report the company's path towards these objectives. But the ability to achieve these objectives and measure them with clear and recognized KPIs is credible to the extent that it is supported first and foremost by reliable data and by adequate digital technologies for data collection and data analysis

This is where you'll make the difference between a defensive approach (the usual, comfortable management of a negative externality) and a proactive approach. Stakeholders are allies, and the more you consult them, the faster you'll move forward. There are over forty different stakeholders, so keep them all informed and involved. Make sure you have a team that is not going to filter subjects simply from one angle or one time horizon.

Involve employees, customers, suppliers, and the local community. Their insights and engagement are critical for setting relevant goals and gaining buy-in to implement this.

You should consider the following groups of stakeholders for a long-term sustainability vision: 1. Regulators - how does your company's vision align with the current and upcoming regulations? Does it support NDCs? 2. Customers - what are the consumer sentiments and how can your company satisfy the present and anticipate future sentiments? 3. Employees - what aspect of sustainability improves your employer branding and makes your company a desirable place to work? 4. Communities - how do operations affect nearby communities? How can your company mitigate/reduce negative impact and create a positive impact? The order of priority could be slightly modified based on the values and mission, however, regulators better always come first.

Estar alineado con todas las partes interesadas logrará que se puedan ejecutar los planes enfocados en los objetivos de manera consistente. Subestimar la importancia de alguno de los stakeholders podría ser un error que provocaría el fracaso en la ejecución.

Economy, Environment and Social are three intertwined pillars of Sustainability. No economy can progress in long term without Enivronmental aspects not addressed that matters to People.

In my experience developing a Sustainable Communications Strategy is the key to successfully sharing your vision. The MarComms Team will be required to support on this, as this will require input from both internal and external stakeholders. This should be undertaken on an annual basis to tie in with key milestones and also global call to action dates. Transparently report your progress and activities. This builds trust and credibility and can inspire others to take action.

I so appreciate the ‘celebration’ part - so often forgotten in corporate culture - we rush through our lists and need to take time to reflect.

Es ist unbestritten, das Kommunikation entscheidend in jedem Ver?nderungsprozess ist. Nachhaltigkeit ist jedoch ein dankbares Thema, das Begeisterung auf breiter Ebene weckt und damit Innovation freisetzt. Damit die Innovation zielgerichtet verl?uft, bedarf es dreier Dinge: 1. Aufkl?rung: zum Thema, der Vision, den Zielen. 2. Training: unternehmensweites Training aller Mitarbeiter, denn letztlich liegt die Verantwortung auf jedem Einzelnen. 3. Updates: konstantes Statusupdate und Feedback über alle vorhandenen Kommunikationskan?le 4: Inspiration: Gründen sie Communities of Interest für einen inspirierenden Austausch zu erzeugen. 5: Feiern: Feiern sie Umsetzungserfolge! Jedesmal!

With stakeholders and regulators increasingly more focused on sustainability and claims companies make, it can be challenging to pin down what effective communication looks like in sustainability. For investors, effective sustainability communication focuses on transparency, and less on inspirational messages. Importantly, there should be clarity on the role sustainability plays in the business, and how it can value-add to stakeholders.

Effectively sharing your sustainability vision is vital, requiring clear, consistent, and compelling communication with both internal and external audiences. Employ diverse channels—reports, websites, social media, newsletters, and events—to reach and inspire stakeholders. Enhance understanding by using stories, visuals, and data to illustrate progress and impact. Communication, in this context, is not a one-way street but a dialogue that welcomes feedback and encourages active participation. By fostering open communication through various mediums, businesses can strengthen their connection with stakeholders, ensuring a shared understanding and commitment to the sustainability journey.

This is the most important part. You will be wrong many times. Whether it's initial strategy, data collection, or company culture. The real progress in sustainability is when it's treated as an infinite game; a decades long endeavor with many mini-steps along the way.

A sustainable vision should be dynamic, not static. Regularly review and adapt it to changing internal and external conditions, challenges, and opportunities. Monitor and evaluate performance against goals and targets, reporting achievements and challenges. Embrace a culture of continuous improvement and innovation, learning from both successes and failures. This dynamic and flexible approach ensures that the sustainability vision remains relevant, responsive, and resilient in the face of evolving circumstances. By fostering a commitment to adaptability, businesses can proactively navigate challenges, capitalize on opportunities, and demonstrate a steadfast dedication to long-term sustainability.

Continuous improvement is the other great asset of any sustainability path. An organization start from a more or less critical situation and never arrive. The organization improve, if possible continuously and if there are steps backwards they are not necessarily negative as long as they always teach something. Seeking feedback is fundamental and the ability to evaluate it based on the context is crucial to achieving objectives but also to defining new ones

O projeto de práticas sustentáveis n?o deve ser estático, mas sim dinamico, em constante constru??o e desenvolvimento. Deve refletir as mudan?as nos valores e objetivos econ?micos, adaptando-se para permanecer relevante ao contexto em evolu??o. Essa abordagem flexível garante que as práticas sustentáveis estejam sempre alinhadas com as transforma??es da sociedade e do cenário econ?mico, promovendo uma sustentabilidade mais efetiva e atualizada.

I agree. Due diligence of the goals you set is a key factor in your sustainability strategy success. Sustainability reporting comes in handy here because every year as you conduct the update of your materiality assessment you know which topics are becoming even more relevant to your business model. This is very often a base of readjusting your long-term sustainability goals. Don't forget to engage various groups of stakeholders to get a full picture of your negative impacts.

Best ways to develop long term sustainability vision: 1. Get Materiality Assessment done and identify key material topics that are critical for your businesses for long term sustainability. 2. Do risk assessments - both Physical and Transition risks. 3. Build strategy for identified key material topics and incorporate the related risk and have mitigation & adaptation plan for each of the risks. Also allocate financials for mitigating and adapting against those risks. 4. Keep on upgrading in terms of digitalizing and incorporation of AI for perfect results. 5. Keep eye on the Global Geo-Politics, global legislation related to ESG topics and act accordingly.

To develop a powerful sustainability vision, focus on these key points: Know your why: Define your purpose and values. What drives you to make a lasting impact? Start with self-awareness: Analyze your current environmental, social, and economic footprint. Set ambitious yet achievable goals: Aim for transformative change, but keep it realistic. Embrace collaboration: Involve stakeholders and foster a culture of innovation. Track progress and adapt: Continuously learn, improve, and refine your vision. Remember, a strong vision is ambitious, well-defined, and aligned with your values. Let's build a thriving and sustainable future together!

In addition to the steps outlined, consider the following to further refine your sustainability vision: Undertake a peer review and research and learn from best practices within your industry. Understand how competitors and leaders are addressing sustainability challenges. Do a regulation landscape review to stay informed about current and upcoming legislation related to sustainability in your region and industry. Compliance can be a significant driver for action. While immediate actions are crucial, think about the long-term implications of your sustainability strategies. Ensure they are scalable and adaptable to future changes. Establish mechanisms for regular feedback from stakeholders for continuous improvement.

Connect environmental, social, & economic aspects. Don't make decisions in echo chambers. Engage stakeholders – employees, communities, investors – in open dialogue. Hear their concerns, understand their needs, & let them co-shape your vision. Begin with achievable, impactful actions – reducing waste, optimizing energy use, supporting local businesses. Don't wait for monumental achievements to acknowledge progress. Celebrate milestones – carbon footprint reductions, community partnerships, employee engagement initiatives – to keep the momentum going. Bring the vision to life through compelling narratives – case studies, employee testimonials & community impact stories

1. Leadership Commitment 2. Stakeholder Engagement 3. Integrated Planning 4. Metrics and Measurement 5. Innovation Culture 6. Education and Training 7. Adaptability 8. Risk Management 9. Partnerships and Collaboration 10. Transparency and Communication 11. Incentives and Recognition 12. Regulatory Compliance