S 01 | Ep 26 Sustainability in Action

Transforming Businesses for Positive Impact

Laura Gitman is a global expert on corporate sustainability with two decades of experience in strategy consulting. She has advised senior executives at global companies on sustainability issues. Laura has also been a leader in BSR’s organizational growth and impact. She launched BSR’s financial services practice and New York office, and she is currently the Chief Impact Officer — the first in the organization’s 30-year history.

Key Takeaways

(05:27-8:40) Sustainability and Justice in the Global Economy

(08:41-10:12) Sustainability and Profitability: A Balancing Act

(10:13-16:30) Sustainability Communications: Collaboration, Innovation, Impact

(16:31-24:02) ESG Impact: Communicating for Change

(24:03-24:48) Sustainability Transformation Challenges

(24:49-33:21) Sustainability and Compliance Trends

(33:22-36:42) Sustainable Investing: Trends and Challenges

(36:43-41:48) ESG Investing: Trends and Challenges

(41:50-49:08) Sustainability and CSR: BSR's Unique Approach

(49:33-52:50) Effective Communication for Business Leaders

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Sustainability &
Business Impact

Laura Gitman, Chief Impact Officer at BSR, engaged in a discussion with Alex, highlighting the critical role of sustainability and justice in today's global economy. The conversation emphasized the necessity for businesses to not only prioritize sustainability but also to ensure their actions are consistent with their stated values, exploring the potential for profitability and sustainability to be complementary. They further delved into innovative and collaborative strategies for sustainability communications, aiming for more digestible, practical, and engaging content through interactive formats. A key point of discussion also centered on the importance of understanding the broad impact of environmental, social, and governance factors across an organization and its supply chain, recognizing impact reports as vital instruments for driving meaningful change.

1. Sustainability and Justice in the Global Economy

Alex and Laura discussed the work of Laura's organization in promoting sustainability and justice in the global economy. Laura explained that the organization works directly with large businesses, providing thought leadership, advice, and opportunities for networking and collaboration. She emphasized the importance of embedding sustainability principles in all aspects of business, regardless of the individual's job title or function, and highlighted the need to consider both environmental and social impacts.

If you think about what sustainability is at it's core, it's thinking about your impacts and the way the world impacts you in a broader perspective... — Laura Gitman

2. Sustainability and Profitability: A Balancing Act

Alex and Laura discussed the importance of companies aligning their actions with their stated goals and values, particularly in terms of sustainability. Laura emphasized that profitability and sustainability can coexist and should not be seen as a trade-off. She also highlighted the need for companies to prioritize areas where they can make the most impact. Alex praised Salesforce as a successful example of a company that has managed to do good while doing business. Laura also pointed out that while many companies have set ambitious sustainability targets, they often struggle to meet them due to continued growth and increasing emissions. She views this as an opportunity for companies to reimagine capitalism and industry to collectively achieve a sustainable future.

They might talk about sustainability, but then they go do what is profitable. So I don't want us to imply that there needs to be a trade-off between those and it is perfectly acceptable for it to be profitable and sustainable... — Laura Gitman

3. Sustainability Communications: Collaboration, Innovation, Impact

Laura and Alex discussed the importance of collaboration and innovation in sustainability communications. Laura expressed her desire for her organization to be a thought leader and to share best practices and guidance more engagingly and digitally. They acknowledged the need to make content more digestible, searchable, practical, and shareable to have a wider impact. They also talked about their evolving approach to events, focusing on more interactive and problem-solving formats.

We really look for companies to move the needle on the areas that are most material for them, that are core to who their business is, and so companies that are setting ambition, holding themselves accountable, with targets of where they're looking to go and what the progress has been, being transparent around when they're not achieving that... — Laura Gitman

4. ESG Impact: Communicating for Change

Alex and Laura discussed the importance of understanding the impact of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors across an organization and its supply chain. Alex emphasized that impact reports alone are not enough to bring about change and stressed the need to communicate the message broadly. Laura acknowledged the challenge of tailoring messages to different audiences and industries but highlighted the value of specific and practical content. They agreed that thought leadership should be both broad and specific, providing a framework and drilling down into particular domains.

We've been really pleased to to be able to partner with you in that Journey. it's that we are not an organization that thinks about um that kind of innovation or communication first... — Laura Gitman

5. Effective Communication for Business Leaders

Laura emphasized the need for leaders to communicate authentically and in a way that aligns with their business and customers' language. She also stressed the significance of two-way communication that allows for input and dialogue. Alex highlighted the value of embedding forms in internal communications to encourage employee participation and highlighted the importance of moving away from a command and control structure.

I think that the companies that do it well don't think about this as a one-directional communication, but about engagement. It's an opportunity to put information out there so that your employees, customers, and business partners can realize the opportunities to help you and to give ideas, innovate, and collaborate. — Laura Gitman

Check the episode's Transcript (AI-generated) HERE.