Sustainable Leadership

Sustainable Leadership Plot Summary

Introduction

The business world stands at a critical inflection point where traditional profit-centric models are giving way to a more integrated approach that balances economic outcomes with environmental and social impacts. This transformation represents not merely a shift in corporate strategy but a fundamental reimagining of leadership itself. The challenges facing our world—from climate change and resource depletion to social inequality—demand leaders who can navigate complex systems, engage diverse stakeholders, drive innovation, and maintain long-term vision even in the face of short-term pressures. What distinguishes sustainable leaders from their conventional counterparts is not just their commitment to environmental or social causes, but their ability to translate that commitment into tangible business results. Through in-depth research and compelling case studies spanning industries and geographies, we encounter executives who demonstrate that this new paradigm of leadership is not only possible but essential for future success. These pioneers show that when sustainability becomes embedded in strategic decision-making rather than relegated to corporate social responsibility departments, it drives competitive advantage, attracts talent, spurs innovation, and creates resilience. Their approaches vary widely, but each exemplifies how the integration of people, planet, and profit objectives leads to transformative outcomes that conventional business models cannot achieve.

Chapter 1: The Urgent Need for Sustainable Leaders in Business

The business world faces unprecedented pressure to respond to escalating environmental and social challenges. The evidence is compelling: we're on track for a 3.5-degree Celsius rise in temperature this century based on current commitments, while 14 million tons of plastics enter our oceans annually. Meanwhile, the global pandemic exposed vulnerabilities in health care access, supply chains, and employment security. These crises are testing the legitimacy of major commercial enterprises and the executives who lead them. Stakeholder expectations have fundamentally shifted. Customers, employees, investors, and suppliers are challenging companies to address climate change, resource depletion, and social inequities. A 2020 global marketing survey found that more than half of respondents believed capitalism in its current form does more harm than good. Yet by 2021, trust in news sources and government agencies had plummeted, leaving businesses as the only institutions trusted as both competent and ethical according to 61% of respondents. An astounding 86% of people surveyed said CEOs must lead on societal issues. This mandate creates both a responsibility and an opportunity. Far from being a peripheral concern, sustainability has emerged as the defining business issue of our time. The traditional view that sustainability represents a cost or risk to be managed has given way to recognition that within these challenges lie extraordinary opportunities for value creation. The Business and Sustainable Development Commission has identified $12 trillion worth of annual market opportunities connected to achieving sustainability goals in food, cities, energy, health, and well-being. Leading investment firms have recognized this shift. BlackRock, with $9.46 trillion in assets under management as of 2021, announced that businesses must "not only deliver financial performance, but also show how it makes a positive contribution to society." Meanwhile, Netherlands-based Robeco has integrated environmental, social, and governance goals across more than $204 billion in assets. With sustainability becoming a key criterion for capital allocation, companies with strong sustainability credentials have a competitive advantage in attracting investment. To meet these challenges, corporations need leaders with vision, courage, and determination. Duke Energy CEO Lynn Good exemplifies this approach. Following a coal ash spill in 2014, she transformed a crisis into an opportunity to accelerate the utility's transition to cleaner energy. Rather than treating sustainability as a separate initiative, she integrated it into Duke Energy's core strategy: "Our climate strategy and business strategy are exactly the same," she explained. Under her leadership, the company decreased carbon dioxide emissions by 44%, sulfur dioxide emissions by 98%, and nitrogen oxide emissions by over 83%, while announcing plans to achieve net-zero methane emissions and exit coal completely by 2035. The shift toward sustainable leadership isn't just about doing what's right—it delivers concrete business benefits through innovation, improved products, greater operational efficiencies, and enhanced brand value. Companies that embrace this transformation gain a significant edge in attracting both financial and human capital in an increasingly competitive marketplace. The evidence shows that sustainability is not a trade-off with profitability but rather an essential driver of long-term business success.

Chapter 2: The Sustainable Mindset: Core Qualities of Transformative Leaders

Sustainable leadership begins with a distinctive mindset—a way of perceiving business that differs fundamentally from conventional approaches. This mindset encompasses a purpose-driven orientation underpinned by innovative spirit and the belief that business must create positive impact beyond profit generation. João Paulo Gonçalves Ferreira, CEO of Natura &Co's Latin America division, exemplifies this perspective through his leadership of a company long committed to environmental and social responsibility principles. João Paulo's sustainable mindset was cultivated through formative experiences. Early in his career, he confronted the devastating environmental and social impacts of a manufacturing facility in Patos de Minas, Brazil. Rather than accepting these conditions as inevitable byproducts of industrial activity, he focused on responsible waste disposal, community engagement, and worker education. This experience shaped his understanding that business success depends on creating value for all stakeholders—a philosophy he carried into his leadership at Natura, where sustainability isn't merely an adjunct to business strategy but its foundation. Sustainable leaders possess four distinctive qualities that enable them to translate their mindset into action. First, they practice multilevel systems thinking, understanding the complex interconnections between economic, societal, and environmental factors. During the COVID-19 pandemic, João Paulo demonstrated this capacity by implementing solutions that considered multiple stakeholders simultaneously—protecting employees and sales representatives while maintaining business continuity and serving communities. His team redesigned operations to address disrupted supply chains, redirected manufacturing capacity to meet changing consumer needs, and provided financial support and health resources to their network. Second, sustainable leaders excel at stakeholder inclusion, actively engaging diverse constituencies rather than merely managing them. João Paulo fosters inclusiveness throughout Natura, ensuring sustainability considerations permeate every level of the organization. He extends this collaborative approach externally, participating in a global consortium with competitors like Henkel, L'Oréal, Unilever, and LVMH to develop industry-wide environmental assessment standards. "Complex problems cannot be tackled by any single entity," he explains. "There is a point where we need to collaborate with many different entities at different levels." Third, these leaders embrace disruptive innovation, challenging traditional approaches and testing boundaries. They seek scientific insights to move beyond current best practices toward future requirements. João Paulo has spearheaded initiatives like Natura's agroforestry system for palm oil cultivation, which combines responsible farming with forest management to enhance biodiversity. "We learned that biodiversity is good for the process, the people, and the product," he notes. This commitment to innovation extends to Natura's bold acquisitions of international brands like The Body Shop, Aesop, and Avon—strategic moves that expanded the company's global footprint while disseminating its sustainable values worldwide. Finally, sustainable leaders practice long-term activation, setting ambitious goals and maintaining course despite obstacles. Under João Paulo's leadership, Natura unveiled commitments to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2030 (twenty years ahead of UN targets), increase diversity by 30%, achieve gender parity and equal pay by 2023, and ensure 100% of packaging materials are reusable, recyclable, or compostable. These aren't mere aspirations but concrete targets with specific timelines and accountability mechanisms. What makes João Paulo and leaders like him remarkable is their ability to integrate these four qualities into a coherent leadership approach that delivers tangible results. Their success demonstrates that sustainability isn't an impediment to business performance but rather its enabler. By embedding these principles throughout their organizations, they create a foundation for innovation, resilience, and value creation that benefits shareholders while addressing critical environmental and social challenges.

Chapter 3: From Born to Made: Developing Sustainable Leadership Skills

The journey to sustainable leadership follows diverse pathways. Some leaders, like Ilham Kadri, CEO of Belgian specialty chemicals multinational Solvay, were shaped by formative experiences that instilled sustainability values from an early age. Growing up in modest circumstances in Morocco, where resources were scarce and water contamination led to a life-threatening illness, Kadri developed an innate appreciation for resource conservation and environmental protection. These early influences inform her current leadership, where she drives initiatives like Solvay One Planet with ten ambitious environmental and social targets, including gender parity and expanded parental leave policies. However, sustainable leadership skills aren't exclusive to those born with particular dispositions or life experiences. Our research identified three distinct pathways: "born believers" (45%) whose passion developed from childhood, "the convinced" (43%) who gradually recognized sustainability's strategic importance during their careers, and "the awoken" (12%) who experienced pivotal moments of realization. This distribution suggests that sustainable leadership can be cultivated regardless of one's starting point. Several factors facilitate this development. Sustainable leaders are three times more likely than their peers to have worked in multiple continents, exposing them to diverse contexts and environmental challenges. As L'Oréal CEO Jean-Paul Agon noted: "I have been at L'Oréal for 40+ years and have had the opportunity to work in many countries. This has allowed me to see many different situations and how important the environment and sustainability is all over the globe." This international experience provides a broader perspective on how business decisions affect different communities and ecosystems. Cross-functional experience also proves crucial. Sustainable leaders are twice as likely to have worked in multiple roles compared to a Fortune 500 control group. Many have supply chain and operations experience, where they witness firsthand the environmental and social impacts of business decisions. PepsiCo Latin America CEO Paula Santilli emphasized the value of this perspective: "When you are standing in a line seeing the amount of waste coming up—you almost get a heart attack. We understand that there is industrial waste, but our job is to minimize it." These operational insights transform abstract sustainability concepts into tangible imperatives. Sustainability leadership requires continuous learning and adaptation. Even Kate Brandt, Google's chief sustainability officer who grew up near San Francisco with a deep appreciation for nature, experienced a learning curve transitioning from government roles to corporate sustainability. At Google, she had to develop new skills to integrate sustainability across the business without the clear timelines and structures she had known in public service. Her experience demonstrates that even those with strong sustainability credentials must continually evolve their approaches. Transformative moments often accelerate this development. For Mads Nipper, now CEO of renewable energy company Ørsted, a pivotal experience came while at Lego, when a young boy's passionate defense of the brand revealed its deeper purpose beyond profit. Later, at pump manufacturer Grundfos, he recognized the potential to reduce global electricity consumption while improving access to clean water. These realizations shifted his perception of business impact from narrow commercial outcomes to broader societal contributions. Dolf van der Brink, CEO of Heineken, underwent a similar evolution following his father's death from brain cancer. This personal loss prompted spiritual growth and a desire to integrate his philosophical interests with his business career. During his subsequent role leading Heineken's operations in Mexico, he demonstrated that sustainability and financial performance could be mutually reinforcing rather than competing objectives. His effectiveness in embedding sustainability across the business ultimately led to his appointment as CEO. These pathways share common elements: exposure to diverse perspectives, firsthand experience with sustainability challenges, openness to learning, and moments of insight that connect personal values with professional responsibilities. Whether born with sustainability instincts or developed through experience, these leaders share a commitment to integrating environmental and social considerations into core business strategy. Their journeys suggest that sustainable leadership can be cultivated through intentional development experiences, exposure to different contexts, and reflection on the broader purpose of business in society.

Chapter 4: Bold Innovation: How Sustainable Leaders Drive Transformational Change

Sustainable leaders distinguish themselves through their willingness to pursue audacious goals even without knowing precisely how they'll achieve them. These "moonshooters" recognize that incremental improvements to business-as-usual practices cannot deliver the scale and pace of transformation needed to address urgent environmental and social challenges. Instead, they commit to bold action and disruptive innovation, confident that solutions will emerge through creative problem-solving and collaboration. Svein Tore Holsether, CEO of fertilizer conglomerate Yara International, exemplifies this approach. When Yara commissioned the world's first autonomous, emission-free container ship, the Yara Birkeland, many questioned the $15 million investment in unproven technology that faced regulatory and operational uncertainties. Yet for Svein, the greater risk lay in maintaining the status quo: "I'd rather be fired for taking too much of a risk and making a mistake than not acting soon enough." This pioneering vessel will replace 40,000 truck trips annually, eliminating 1,000 tons of carbon emissions while demonstrating what's possible for an industry responsible for 3% of global carbon emissions. Similarly, shipping giant Maersk's CEO Søren Skou committed $2 billion to twelve clean containerships without knowing where the green fuel would come from. These vessels cost 15% more than traditional ships and require fuel more than double the company's existing $5 billion annual expenditure. Despite these uncertainties, Søren considered it "a risk worth taking." His bold move catalyzed action throughout the value chain, with major customers like Unilever, Amazon, and Ikea subsequently pledging to use only carbon-neutral logistics services by 2040. This willingness to embrace ambiguity differs fundamentally from recklessness. These leaders conduct careful analysis and calculation but understand that the greater hazard lies in inaction. As Hywel Ball, United Kingdom Chair of EY, observed, companies must set "big, hairy, audacious goals" because stakeholder expectations and market conditions are changing so rapidly that timidity is no longer viable. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Hywel demonstrated this mindset by continuing to hire when competitors implemented freezes, maintaining EY's progress toward diversity targets despite economic uncertainty. Sustainable moonshots often require fostering organizational cultures that welcome unconventional thinking. Anand Mahindra, chairman of Indian multinational conglomerate Mahindra Group, attributes his company's sustainability innovations to creating an environment where mavericks thrive. When a senior engineer approached him about developing an emission-free vehicle before retirement, Anand provided funding without hesitation. Though this initial electric tuk-tuk project faced setbacks, it established a precedent that inspired further innovations, including waste-to-energy plants and investments in sustainable transportation. "Your strategy has to support serendipity," Anand explains. "We must create an environment—a maverick culture—where all ideas are welcome." Chinese entrepreneur Zhang Yue, founder of Broad Group, demonstrates similar courage through his revolutionary building technologies. His tubular steel slabs, which replace reinforced concrete, could reduce emissions in construction and transportation sectors by two to five times. Zhang's vision extends to building sustainable urban communities, including a prefabricated skyscraper assembled from recyclable components. Though regulatory approval has delayed some projects, his company has successfully constructed a 10-story apartment building in just over a day, demonstrating the transformative potential of his approach. Effective sustainable leaders balance ambitious vision with pragmatic execution. Kasper Rorsted, CEO of Adidas, learned this lesson when developing the company's Parley shoe made from recycled ocean plastic. Initially, the product struggled to gain traction because the team focused exclusively on perfecting the product without adequately marketing its environmental benefits. Recognizing this oversight, Kasper set an even more ambitious target: making 9 out of 10 Adidas products from reusable materials by 2025. This public commitment created accountability and motivated his team to overcome resistance. "Make it simple, make it public, and drive the behavior," he advises, likening sustainability targets to a finish line in sports. "Great athletes don't play to not lose, they play to win." These examples reveal how sustainable leaders combine optimism with pragmatism, vision with execution, and ambition with accountability. They understand that transformational change requires challenging conventional wisdom, fostering cultures of innovation, and making bold commitments that catalyze action throughout their organizations and value chains. Their courage to pursue ambitious goals without complete certainty about the path forward ultimately accelerates progress toward more sustainable business models.

Chapter 5: Embedding Sustainability Across Organizations and Ecosystems

Translating sustainability commitments into organizational reality requires strategic embedding of sustainable practices throughout company operations, culture, and extended value chains. Farzanah Chowdhury, managing director and CEO of Green Delta Insurance in Bangladesh, demonstrates this principle through her Nibedita initiative—an affordable insurance scheme designed specifically for women. Beyond providing coverage, the platform offers financial education resources, health counseling, and even a panic button for emergency situations, addressing the unique vulnerabilities women face in a patriarchal society. Farzanah recognized that sustainable development goals must first be embedded internally before external impact can be achieved. When she encountered initial resistance to women-focused insurance products from her male-dominated leadership team, she built a coalition of female managers and executives around Nibedita's purpose. She then aggressively recruited diverse candidates who didn't necessarily have insurance experience but possessed "empathy and emotional intelligence" and "wanted to improve." This internal cultural shift ultimately enhanced business results as more men embraced products serving marginalized communities after witnessing their positive impact. Successful embedding requires bridging perception gaps between leadership and employees. Research reveals a significant "say/do divide"—while 43% of C-suite executives claim their organization has implemented and communicated a sustainability strategy, only 29% of employees agree. Similarly, 51% of executives believe their CEO is personally committed to sustainability progress, compared to just 26% of employees. This disconnect often stems from viewing sustainability primarily as a branding exercise rather than a value creation opportunity, an approach that fails to engage employees or drive meaningful change. Closing this gap starts with authentic leadership. Executives must demonstrate that sustainability informs their decision-making and personal conduct, especially regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I). Captain Thomas Lindegaard Madsen, an employee-elected board member at shipping giant Maersk, observed how the company's progress on climate goals aligned with its advancement on LGBTQ rights. After years of advocacy, Maersk finally participated in Copenhagen Pride in 2018 and introduced rainbow-colored shipping containers worldwide, signaling its commitment to inclusivity. This cultural shift enhanced innovation by enabling employees to bring their authentic selves to work. Engaging frontline employees proves equally crucial. At Duke Energy, senior vice president Regis Repko leveraged his 30+ years of operational experience to help the utility transition to cleaner energy. He carefully selected team members willing to "challenge the status quo" and "catalyze a team of people to go after a big complex assignment." Recognizing employees' concerns about job security amid plant closures, he created pathways for workers to retrain and transfer to new roles. By demonstrating that sustainability offered career opportunities rather than threats, Regis built workforce commitment to the company's environmental goals. Selection and development practices further reinforce sustainability embedding. Peter Vanacker, CEO of LyondellBasell, makes candidate authenticity central to hiring decisions. At his previous company, Neste, sustainability passion was assessed through detailed questioning and scenarios. "It was so critical for us, that if we thought the person is skilled but not authentic, we would not hire them," Peter explained. Once hired, all employees underwent approximately 24 hours of sustainability training, regardless of position. Extending sustainability beyond organizational boundaries requires ecosystem-building. Julie Sweet, Chair and CEO of Accenture, recognized that her firm couldn't credibly advise clients on sustainability without leading by example. Under her leadership, Accenture committed to net-zero emissions by 2025 and integrated sustainability across client services. To drive accountability, she added sustainability as a performance category for 500 top leaders and created a priority-setting framework requiring all 9,000 managing directors to select personal sustainability goals against which they would be measured. Unilever CEO Alan Jope similarly emphasizes sustainability integration through the company's "Compass" framework, which guides decisions across expanding spheres of influence—from internal operations to value chain partners, brand initiatives, and broader societal engagement. "Sustainable business isn't a strategic priority," Jope insists. "It is our strategy." This perspective transforms sustainability from a peripheral consideration to the central organizing principle for business decisions. Embedding sustainability ultimately requires reframing it as core to organizational identity and purpose rather than an add-on initiative. By aligning leadership behaviors, operational decisions, talent management practices, and stakeholder relationships around sustainability principles, organizations can transform commitments into concrete actions that drive both business performance and positive impact.

Chapter 6: The Financial Case: How Sustainability Creates Business Value

The relationship between sustainability and financial performance has evolved dramatically, with mounting evidence that environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations drive rather than diminish business value. This shift became starkly evident in February 2022, when over 300 multinational corporations rapidly divested from Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, despite billions in assets and revenue at stake. Companies from Shell and bp to Apple, Disney, and McDonald's prioritized ethical considerations over short-term financial interests, recognizing that association with a pariah state had become untenable for stakeholders. This unprecedented corporate response reflects a fundamental transformation in how businesses view their role in society. Jim Hagemann Snabe, chair of Siemens and Maersk, challenges the traditional assumption "that sustainability is a cost...taking money away from shareholders to use it on the planet." Instead, forward-thinking boards increasingly recognize that sustainability drives innovation, attracts talent, builds resilience, and enhances reputation—all factors that contribute to long-term financial performance. Board leadership proves critical in driving this transition. Research shows that 74% of nomination and governance committee chairs from leading global companies provide sustainability oversight, with most considering sustainability competencies important or extremely important when selecting board directors (63%) and senior executives (77%). Gaurdie Banister Jr., chair at Russell Reynolds Associates and board member at several major corporations, observes that sustainability "is no longer a nice-to-have; it's a must-have...a part of who you need to be." Effective boards maintain strategic focus rather than viewing sustainability merely as compliance. AstraZeneca chairman Leif Johansson emphasizes that ESG issues belong "in the strategy headline" alongside governance and talent management. He discourages appointing single-purpose directors focused exclusively on sustainability, arguing instead that all board members must engage with these strategic issues. This integrated approach helps boards evaluate sustainability investments appropriately, considering their incremental impact rather than focusing solely on absolute costs. Capital markets increasingly reward this perspective. BlackRock, with $9.46 trillion in assets under management, has made sustainability central to its investment strategy. Asset manager Neuberger Berman has rapidly accelerated ESG integration across its portfolio, from 25% of assets in 2016 to 86% in 2021. CEO George Walker demands concrete evidence of progress beyond rhetoric: "Don't just tell us that your employees are your number one asset; show us. Show us your retention rates; show us your workforce composition." The firm's "NB Votes" initiative publicly discloses voting rationales on key issues including diversity, human capital management, and climate change. This transparency creates powerful incentives for companies to demonstrate meaningful sustainability progress, as George explains: "When an investor is willing to speak up on an issue and explain its viewpoint well in advance of a shareholder vote with not only its vote intention but with a rationale note...it really starts to get attention." Companies increasingly connect sustainability directly to financial mechanisms. EY secured an ESG-linked revolving credit facility where interest rates depend on performance against carbon reduction, diversity, and societal targets. Finnish renewable energy company Neste incorporates sustainability metrics into its project evaluation, giving higher priority to initiatives that advance carbon emission reduction goals. PepsiCo applies environmental criteria to all capital expenditure requests over $5 million, evaluating each proposal's contribution to the company's climate objectives alongside financial returns. At Natura, the Brazilian beauty company, sustainability performance directly impacts compensation. "If we don't meet those [sustainability targets], it hurts our pockets," explains CEO João Paulo Ferreira, recalling how in 2011 the company met financial targets but missed sustainability goals, resulting in no bonuses that year. The company has since issued a comprehensive P&L statement integrating commercial activities with sustainability goals, demonstrating their inseparability. Accurate measurement and standardization remain challenges. Several initiatives aim to address this gap, including the stakeholder capitalism metrics developed by over 50 multinationals during the World Economic Forum's Sustainable Development Impact Summit. These comprehensive metrics cover people, planet, prosperity, and governance dimensions, creating comparable data points across regions and industries. As Hywel Ball, United Kingdom Chair of EY, observes: "Whatever the metrics, suddenly this gets very real, very quick." The financial case for sustainability ultimately rests on the recognition that long-term business success depends on addressing environmental and social challenges rather than exacerbating them. Companies that integrate sustainability into their strategy, operations, and culture gain competitive advantages through innovation, talent attraction, resource efficiency, risk reduction, and access to capital. This alignment of purpose and profit creates a virtuous cycle where financial performance enables greater sustainability investment, which in turn drives stronger business results.

Chapter 7: Next-Generation Leadership: Empowering Future Sustainable Leaders

The future of sustainable business transformation lies with emerging leaders who are driving change from below and building momentum throughout organizations. Blanca Brambila Perez exemplifies this next generation of talent. After experiencing her father's kidnapping in Mexico, she committed herself to making positive change, eventually becoming director of sustainability at Heineken Mexico. Under her leadership, the company implemented water conservation initiatives that established Mexico as Heineken's global model for water efficiency, achieving production with just 2.6 liters of water per liter of beer. Blanca's impact was so significant that when Dolf van den Brink became Heineken's CEO, he appointed her global head of circularity at the Amsterdam headquarters to "inspire and nudge global and OpCo teams to step it up." This promotion reflects a critical insight: next-generation leaders are driving sustainability action because they have both passion and practical experience implementing solutions. Research covering 9,000 respondents across 11 countries found that 40% of next-generation leaders had personally taken on three or more initiatives to improve environmental outcomes for their organizations within just two years. These emerging leaders approach sustainability as intrinsic to business rather than an add-on consideration. Many were shaped by educational experiences that instilled environmental and social awareness from an early age. When Devon Murphy joined Visa's marketing department, she quickly became an advocate for articulating the company's purpose more clearly, researching how purpose-driven companies outperform their peers financially. Her presentations at department town halls helped Visa better communicate its positive impact, leading to her advancement from associate to department manager while still early in her career. Young consumers similarly influence corporate priorities through their purchasing decisions and family discussions. Julie Sweet, Chair and CEO of Accenture, credits her children's school lessons on climate change for sparking her own environmental commitment: "They were born into it, so it was those conversations at mealtimes that sparked my own passion and commitment to climate goals." Leif Johansson, chairman of AstraZeneca, still recalls his teenage daughter challenging him about Electrolux's CFC emissions decades ago, asking him to "use your intelligence to argue what can and should be done rather than try to defend the wrong thing." Organizations that harness this generational energy gain significant advantages. At Heineken Mexico, Dolf van den Brink created a sustainability competition for employees under 30, where Hector Garcia Montemayor, a procurement specialist concerned about water waste, developed a circular uniform program that recycled truckers' uniforms. His innovation reduced water consumption by applying circular economy principles to an overlooked aspect of operations. The contest sent winners to participate in the Nudge Global Impact Challenge, connecting them with 100 other young sustainability leaders worldwide. Empowering these "generation of nudgers," as Dolf called them, requires deliberate strategies. Peter Vanacker, former CEO of Neste, conducted quarterly "Way Forward" surveys that assessed employee sentiment about the company's purpose, with 80-90% participation. These insights helped leadership understand priorities and concerns, particularly among younger associates. The company also held open workshops where employees at all levels could contribute to sustainability discussions. Attracting and retaining this talent requires more than financial incentives. Charles O. "Chad" Holliday Jr., former chairman of Bank of America, shared how a young executive in a hard-to-abate industry declined a promotion with higher pay because he felt he was making an impact in his current role: "I'd rather stay in this job no matter what else I could do because I want to see this through." This commitment reflects changing priorities where purpose often outweighs compensation. Developing sustainable leaders demands authentic engagement. Laurence Debroux, board member of Novo Nordisk and former CFO of Heineken, advocates "clarity of purpose not just as a communication exercise but as part of a deep soul search of what the company and its people are here for." Leaders must demonstrate humility, seeking input from younger colleagues and acknowledging when they need help. Most importantly, organizations must accelerate these emerging leaders rather than waiting for them to advance through traditional career paths. As Laurence observed, "The next generation of sustainable leadership is up at the door, knocking, and saying we are not going fast enough." By identifying high-potential individuals with sustainability passion and providing them with resources, training, and opportunities to implement their ideas, companies can multiply their impact. Hector Garcia Montemayor expressed this potential impact poetically: "I am trying to be the spark that starts the flame, the fire that catches." The organizations that nurture these sparks—giving them the oxygen they need to ignite—will lead the sustainable business transformation that our future demands. By recognizing that sustainability success is inextricably linked to attracting and empowering young talent, companies can accelerate progress toward environmental and social goals while strengthening their competitive position in an evolving marketplace.

Summary

The transformation toward sustainable business represents the most profound shift in leadership practice since the industrial revolution. At its core lies a fundamental reconception of the purpose of business: from a narrow focus on maximizing shareholder returns to a more integrated approach that creates value for multiple stakeholders while addressing critical environmental and social challenges. What distinguishes this evolution from earlier corporate responsibility movements is its integration into core business strategy rather than peripheral philanthropy. Sustainable leaders demonstrate that far from representing a trade-off with profitability, sustainability drives innovation, enhances resilience, attracts talent and capital, and creates competitive advantage. The sustainable leaders profiled throughout this analysis share distinctive qualities that enable their success. They practice multilevel systems thinking, understanding complex interconnections across economic, social, and environmental domains. They actively include diverse stakeholders in decision-making rather than merely managing them. They pursue disruptive innovation, challenging conventional approaches and embracing uncertainty. And they maintain long-term vision, making bold commitments and staying the course despite setbacks or pressure from short-term-oriented stakeholders. These capabilities can be developed through cross-functional experience, international exposure, continuous learning, and deliberate cultivation of sustainability mindsets throughout organizations. By identifying, empowering, and accelerating emerging leaders who already demonstrate these qualities, companies can build sustainable leadership capacity that extends far beyond current executives. The evidence presented across diverse industries and geographies demonstrates conclusively that this approach creates superior outcomes for business, society, and the natural world upon which both depend.

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Clarke Murphy

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