Sustainability

To deliver both quick wins and long-term success, sustainability leaders need the backing of strong, cohesive teams with the right competencies. Based on our research at Egon Zehnder International, six key competencies govern the success of sustainability teams: balance, alignment, resilience, energy, openness and efficiency. But the relative significance of these team skills shifts as companies move through the various phases of implementing sustainability initiatives.

After a period of corporate inertia and resistance in many sectors, more and more businesses are recognizing the need to engage with the issue of sustainability. Calls to action are coming from all sides, but how should companies respond? Corporate approaches that relied either on minimum regulatory compliance or on public relations initiatives are now seen to lack the broader strategic and commercial relevance required for success. What does it take to lead an organization on this journey? What does it take to define, promote and implement comprehensive, strategic, and commercially relevant sustainability initiatives? And what experience and competencies should CEOs look for when appointing senior executives to lead such initiatives?