Our Thoughts on Sustainability for the C-suite

Talk about sustainability is everywhere, particularly in the lead-up to COP28. The impacts of climate change are becoming more pronounced, and we see a growing need to accelerate from “business as usual” to “business at net zero.” How do we do that? Here’s what you need to know.

What’s top of mind for CEOs

Many leaders are asking themselves about the role they can play in taking on environmental and social challenges. With the release of our new report, The Visionary CEO’s Guide to Sustainability, we examine where businesses are in meeting their sustainability commitments and reflect on conversations with thousands of executives around the world. Our research shows that around 75% of business leaders do not believe they’ve effectively embedded sustainability into their firm and that fewer than 40% of major companies are on pace to reach their sustainability goals. We explain the three critical questions to ask yourself in your next strategy cycle, how you can use the levers of technology, policy, and behavior to enact change, and how to start moving the needle on sustainability progress by making it a team challenge.

Exploring the impact of brand purpose

ESG concern has become a top purchasing criterion for more than half of global consumers, our research finds, and buyers are cutting ties with brands that have poor DEI and social records. This shift has led us to update our Elements of Value? with seven sustainability-related values. So, what impact do ESG elements have on brands? Brands that scored the highest in those seven elements had five times the revenue growth of the lowest scorers. We explain how consumer goods companies can not only embed sustainability values into their products, activities, and innovation models, but how they can make those values part of their core marketing efforts by taking four specific actions.

What do consumers really want?

Diving further into buyer preferences, our Global Consumer Lab studied consumers’ views on sustainability and their influence on buying behavior. Surveying more than 23,000 people globally, we uncovered some unexpected variations in consumer behavior and how that’s changing the way companies do business. Globally, 64% of consumers surveyed reported high levels of concern about sustainability. The majority said that their worries have grown over the past two years, prompted by extreme weather. There is market variation, however: 79% of consumers in fast-growing markets like Indonesia, China, and India are concerned, compared with 55% in developed markets like the US and Europe. What does this mean for companies? It’s time to create a future-proof and flexible strategy, acknowledge the need to deaverage consumers, test and learn what works, and get out in front of regulations. Read the other surprising findings from our survey.

Learn how we guide our clients on sustainability decisions

While our Beyond the Bio podcast typically focuses on our guests’ journeys to Bain, Keith Bevans sat down with Debra McCoy to discuss how she helps clients make impactful investing decisions. Debra talks about her early interest in public health and driving change on a broader scale; after starting her career at Bain, she boomeranged back in 2021 to lead sustainability investing in our Sustainability practice. With companies’ commitment to the environment and social issues increasingly in the spotlight, Debra outlines how she helps guide our clients toward sustainable operating and investing choices. She explains that, for some leaders, these could be considerations they’ve always had, while other operators may have to ask themselves whether they need to adjust their decision making.

Pop quiz! How sustainably are you living?

We’ve talked a lot about sustainability in business, but where do you fall on the spectrum of living sustainably? We’ve created an interactive quiz that breaks it down into six archetypes, while also sharing the results of our global sustainability survey. So, are you a sideline sitter or an eco-vangelist? Somewhere in between? Take the quiz and comment below with your results! Did they surprise you?

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More of our recommended readings on sustainability:

Sustainability at Bain

The Transformative Impact of Bain’s Environmental, Social and Governance Capabilities

Corporate Climate Stocktake 2023

Building a Resilient Global EV Supply Chain Amid Uncertainty

Amid Climate Change, How Will Insurers Preserve and Generate Value?

Why Bain Created a Role Focused on Our Sustainability

Elements of Value? is a registered trademark of Bain & Company, Inc.