How can you identify sustainability innovation pioneers and laggards?

Look for a consistent commitment to eco-friendly practices, such as renewable energy adoption, circular economy initiatives, and carbon footprint reduction. Pioneers often engage in transparent reporting and hold relevant certifications. Assessing supply chain sustainability and adherence to industry standards provides valuable insights. Monitoring innovation in product design, resource efficiency, and waste reduction can highlight pioneers. Laggards may lack such initiatives and exhibit a resistance to change. Stay informed through industry networks, reports, and case studies, enabling you to recognize and support sustainability leaders while encouraging others to improve their practices.

Identifying sustainability innovation pioneers often involves the following - Companies' initiatives, transparency, and impact: Pioneers will be those consistently adopting eco-friendly practices, engaging in circular economy models, and transparently reporting on sustainability metrics. Laggards may lack such commitments, may only be passively compliant, show fragmented progress in integrating sustainable practices. Scrutinizing industry rankings on global ESG platforms such as DJSI, CDP, Sustainalytics, MSCI, certifications, and stakeholder reviews can help distinguish pioneers from laggards.

There is a massive opportunity for disruption in space as we move towards huge transparency from corporations. We will see new markets created where innovators are turning the traditional modes of operation on their heads. Imagine if a business said, 'We won't just count what we are doing against the SDG goals; we will look at our employees and help them be better and do better by the planet' Now, that's a company I would seek out to (a) work for and (b) buy from. At the moment, there is a tick-box mentality, and that will not make new markets...disruption will. These innovators will be able to address the root cause of our challenges - we need *hope*, and we need *inspiration* for long-lasting solutions to be more sustainable.

As in other areas in management, we need a healthy mix of all four types of sustainability innovators. The precise emphasis and nature of this mix will largely depend on the business context and industry. For example, the construction industry, for decades, has extensively developed incremental innovations, such as energy efficiency and waste sorting. However, although showing promise, it is still in the early stages of achieving full architectural and radical innovations, such as fully circular solutions or zero-emission construction equipment.

To identify sustainability innovation leaders and laggards, consider: Types: Leaders, Followers, Compliers, Laggards. Indicators: Carbon footprint, renewable energy use, circular economy practices, product lifecycle assessments, and sustainable optimism perspectives. Tools: AI, LinkedIn insights, sustainability indexes, life cycle assessments, social media monitoring. Benefits: Market leadership, cost savings, positive brand reputation. Challenges: Regulatory issues, market rejection, supply chain vulnerabilities. Considerations: Industry-specific challenges, collaboration opportunities, innovation partnerships. Leverage AI and community insights for a holistic assessment of an individual or company's sustainable innovation performance.

An unusual indicator of sustainability innovation performance could be "Employee Well-Being and Job Satisfaction." While this may not be a traditional metric directly tied to environmental or economic factors, it is relevant for several reasons: The S in ESG Innovation and Creativity Employee Advocacy Retention and Recruitment Reduced Burnout and Turnover Reputation

Sometimes all you need is a dipstick study 1) Scan Leadership Messaging - Review recent executive interviews, earnings calls and press releases for how they position sustainability - as risk mitigation or strategic growth driver? How regularly do they talk about it? 2) Verify Initiative Participation - Search if they actively participate in high-profile multi-stakeholder efforts like the Carbon Disclosure Project, SBTs, B-Corp Cert or the Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance. 3) Check Job Openings - Growing teams signal increasing internal integration and investment. 10-minute scan of public messaging, external initiative activity and current hiring needs can provide directional indications. Lagging firms will have gaps across these areas.

To assess a company's sustainability innovation performance, examine both inputs (resources, culture, R&D spending) and outputs (patents, revenues, environmental benefits). Comparing these factors across companies reveals efficiency and effectiveness in generating sustainability innovations.

By comparing the inputs and outputs of different companies, I identify, for example, the following indicators that are more efficient and effective to evaluate sustainability innovation. - Number of Proof of Concepts with impact on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) / Total Number of Proof of Concepts - Number of Proof of Concepts with impact on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) scaled-up successfully / Total Number of Proof of Concepts scaled-up successfully

Dive deep into their various report. The true innovation is written between the lines. Many orgs can't lay out the full picture because of time and risk but they often still want to tell that future story but in a subdued manner.

Sustainability laggards and early adopters can be distinguished based on the time it takes to adopt new technologies, regulations and policies. Early adopters often have a high risk tolerance which allows them to innovate faster than the laggards. Early adopters often become industry leaders because they set industry trends and determine best practice. It's important to note however that the is a place for both in this system, laggards provide a reality check, help with equity & inclusivity and overall help build consensus in the sustainability agenda.

Two other, more general approaches: Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA): EIA is a tool used to evaluate the potential environmental effects of a proposed project, plan, or policy. It involves identifying, predicting, and assessing the impacts on the environment and provides valuable insights into how sustainable and environmentally friendly a particular innovation or initiative is. Social Return on Investment (SROI): SROI is a framework used to measure and communicate the social, environmental, and economic value generated by an organization's activities. It goes beyond financial metrics by assigning a monetary value to the social and environmental outcomes of a project or initiative.

During my PhD time, I was part of a large research project in collaboration with the industry to pioneer zero-emission neighborhood and smart city solutions. The Technology Readiness Level (TRL) framework served as our primary tool for registering, measuring, managing, and controlling all sustainability innovations. In certain domains, adjustments to the model were necessary to align with process innovations, including business models, procurement processes, and collaboration.

Sustainability innovation can be assessed through tools like Global Innovation Index (GII), Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI), Corporate Knights Global 100, and B Impact Assessment. GII ranks countries on innovation potential, DJSI evaluates global companies on economic, environmental, and social criteria, Corporate Knights ranks sustainable corporations, and B Impact Assessment measures social and environmental impact, with a focus on innovation for impact.

Being a sustainability pioneer can bring the following benefits, provided they are well exploited - Branding improvement --> Pricing power - Product & services visibility --> Volume - Employee engagment & Talent attraction The fact that this is about Sustainability should bring also the general benefits a good Sustainability strategy brings : - Cost and resource effiency - Embedded in Company culture

Being a sustainability innovation pioneer benefits your business and society by offering a competitive edge, reducing costs and risks, enhancing brand image, attracting talent, and contributing to global goals. It meets changing stakeholder needs, improves resource efficiency, builds trust, and creates growth opportunities. Addressing environmental and social issues demonstrates responsibility and generates positive impacts for your industry and society.

Sustainability is key to success: Governments worldwide are implementing stricter regulations and standards related to sustainability and environmental practices. Organizations that do not keep pace with these evolving regulations may find themselves facing legal consequences and financial penalties. Non-compliance with environmental laws, emissions standards, or ethical sourcing requirements can result in lawsuits, fines, and disruptions to business operations. Being a laggard in sustainability innovation exposes companies to regulatory and legal risks. Also Consumers and stakeholders are becoming increasingly conscious of sustainability issues. Organizations that lag behind in adopting sustainable practices may face reputational damage.

Economic Sustainability is closely linked to Environmental and Social Sustainability, otherwise Sustainability is not only linked to environmental and social aspects but also to economic ones. If you have a future-proof economic approach you have a guarantee for the environment and society and vice versa. This point is not fully understood, therefore you are a laggard in sustainability innovation, you do not understand that this can have serious consequences for your company and society.

Being a laggard in sustainability puts you simply at risk to losing your license to operate as regulations, standards and financing are more and more taking those into account. To all those you can also add the fact that your competition may be moving first and this costs you the opportunity of a first mover advantage. To this you can add the opposite effects of what was written in the paragraph above.

Over 3 decades in sustainability I’ve seen leaders become laggards and vice versa. There’s only one absolute way to tell, and it’s not the rankings or reporting. Nor the purpose or PR. Companies lead on sustainability IF they have a rock-solid business case. Everything else is decoration. If a corp knows their profit and success depends on sustainability they will lead. If they think sustainability is ‘elective’ they’ll drop ESG when things get hard. Looks for brands that need their sustainability performance to perform as companies!

Its very easy. Ask them what sustainabilty means to them. You will be able to tell immediately whether they are a leader or a laggard (or maybe that's just me!). Do they speak with honesty, passion, determination, integrity and are they aware there is a long journey ahead? Or do they tell you they have loads of projects going on, and its all sorted? Do they tell you how what the Sustainability Lead or team are doing, or what the WHOLE company is doing? The leaders know how hard this is, but are excited about it (they won't falter, its a given). The laggards are blagging it. They say enough to get by but have no depth. Some will admit this and want to learn (we like working with them!) others are not willing to.

20 years in Sustainability - There is a huge amount of distraction in the alphabet soup of ESG and reporting. Laggards become leaders when they realise that Sustainability = Resilience. We consistently see that ‘box ticking’ alone misses the point. Understanding all material risks and creating a robust strategy for resilience with a collaborative approach for embedding across the entire up and down stream ecosystem equates to leaders in sustainability.

In my experience, pioneering innovators in some areas can also be laggards in others. In the end, if sustainability innovation does not permeate the core business and business model of a company or a group, then it is difficult to call it a sustainable business. One example : a financial institution growing its sustainable finance product lines while keeping a major role in financing fossil fuels cannot claim that it is a sustainability leader.

Look at the leadership. The tone in any organisation is always set at the top. Is the leadership fostering a culture where ESG and sustainability are imbued into the DNA of the company? If not, the company is only adopting ESG and sustainability practices to manage its myriad risks and not to be a truly climate and nature positive organisation. Leaders who are not integrating sustainability into their DNA are risking being disrupted as markets, finance requirements, stakeholders' and shareholders' shift.