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Will of the Many: Getting sustainability out of its silo
Will of the Many: Getting sustainability out of its silo
Many companies are establishing sustainability-focused departments or specific roles to help address issues; however, by creating these silos, businesses are hindering the widespread adoption of sustainable practices that are needed to make a difference. Instead, businesses need to make sure every department, team, and individual is taking an active part in delivering sustainability goals. Only then will sustainability strategies deliver the impactful and purposeful results needed.
‘Sustainability’ in itself is an umbrella term that incorporates many different focus areas and methods for making the world a better place. For businesses setting a sustainability strategy, it can be easy to get lost in the generalisations; however, every organisation should have a different idea of what sustainability means, because different businesses impact the planet in different ways
Sustainability professionals – especially those at a director/head of level - are crucial to setting up the internal structures and cultural changes that will stop businesses from always looking backward at the data they’re collecting and looking forward to see how a business will fundamentally change in the future, uncovering new potential areas of growth and respond to new physical, economical and reputational challenges.
“Sustainability resonates with my ethical, social, and environmental values; my ambition to influence systems, organisations, or policies for better sustainability outcomes; and desire to contribute to a cause that positively impacts people and the planet.”
No two sustainability teams are alike, with many reporting into different functions, which in turn can change how sustainability is viewed across a business.
According to edie’s latest Business Tracker survey, more than one in three businesses have their sustainability function report into the chief executive, giving a top-down involvement in climate action that can help embed ESG actions across other functions and the workforce.
Almost one in 10 reports to the chief financial officer, a trend that could well increase as more businesses disclose non-financial climate data in alignment with reporting standards. While “other” was the top-picked choice, this still tends to reflect a C-Suite position.
Regardless of where the sustainability team reports into, our survey found that 80% of chief executives are engaged with climate action, of which half are “highly engaged”.
Sustainability is also a key facet for multiple other departments. Our survey found that 30% of boards, 20% of chief financial officers, and 15% of legal departments are “highly engaged” with the sustainability agenda of their organisation. Across all functions, businesses are weighted towards being engaged with sustainability, rather than disengaged, as the table below demonstrates.
Q. To what extend are the following departments engaged with your sustainability efforts?
As mentioned in the Executive Summary, our latest Sustainable Business Tracker survey found that one in three businesses (32%) see a “lack of funding/investment” as the biggest challenge to their sustainability ambitions right now. This is closely followed by a “short-term profitability mindset”, cited by 24%.
There is a dissonance between the level of engagement with existing sustainability efforts and a willingness to improve resources so that sustainability teams can further embed actions across the business.
“Eventually the board will retire, and I'll be in charge and able to make the changes needed.”
This is reflected in the priorities that businesses are currently focusing on. We asked sustainability professionals what areas of priority were being actioned to deliver decarbonisation, and the results suggest that reporting and engagement – low-hanging fruit that can be done without stretching budgets – are taking prominence right now.
Supply chain engagement and reporting and disclosure ranked joint first for “business critical” activities right now, cited by 20% of respondents. This was closely followed by Scope 3 reductions. The survey results point to organisations prioritising frameworks, systems, and engagement processes to deliver success, rather than investments in onsite solutions and supply chain systems right now.
A quarter of businesses do not view “onsite, low-carbon solutions” as a priority right now, while one-third of businesses are not viewing electric vehicles as a priority investment area.
Carbon offsets remain unappealing to the majority of businesses. In total, just 21% viewed offsets as a priority (with only 8% viewing it as business critical), whereas 64% do not view it as a priority in their approach to decarbonisation.
Implementation, then, is very much an approach of engagement and data insight, which could spur more focused investment decisions down the line.
With this action/ambition gap growing wider, it is refreshing to see that sustainability professionals are still satisfied with their job role (with an average ranking of 7/10 being scored in our survey). Additionally, sustainability practitioners remain stubbornly optimistic about the future, with 47% believing that their organisation will achieve its long-term sustainability goals, and only 21% answering no.
“It's an amazing role and the way that I'm supported in my immediate business unit is amazing - North Star decisions are aligned with full support from the top so after a previous similar role in a different company I know how lucky I am to be in a supported sustainability role where I'm trusted and backed up.”
ESG Winter
A quick scan across news sites paints a picture that corporate climate action is either in hibernation or a full-on crisis. Bloomberg describes a “rampant backsliding on climate pledges”.
Aside from some high-profile companies dropping net-zero commitments, there’s also a sense of confusion as businesses wait for new frameworks such as the updated Net-Zero Standard, expected to arrive in 2026.
For many in the climate sphere, alarm bells are ringing, with concerns that the sustainability and ESG agenda has lost its shine and is being pushed to the bottom of corporate agendas.
Indeed, we asked sustainability professionals whether they were concerned that they were operating in an ESG Winter, where appetite is at its lowest. More than one-third of sustainability professionals are “very concerned” that we are in an ESG winter, with a further 38% “somewhat concerned.
Additionally, more than 50% of sustainability professionals are either somewhat or very concerned that sustainability has reverted to being viewed as a “nice to have” rather than an integral part of business strategy.
Fortunately, there is no suggestion that this ESG winter will see UK businesses weaken their own sustainability targets. When asked “How concerned they were that their organisation could weaken ESG goals? only 6% answered “very concerned” and 20% stated “somewhat concerned.” Almost half (40%) are not at all concerned about this.
Q. Given that some organisations have weakened their climate targets in recent months, how do the following statements apply?
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