Why Do Sustainability Leaders Struggle to Communicate Value?

Many struggle to articulate how sustainability supports value creation, but there are ways to improve.

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Photo by Sophie Dale / Unsplash

Almost any way you slice it, data shows that a consensus has emerged in terms of consumers and business leaders understanding the importance of sustainability. Yet getting internal and external buy-in on corporate sustainability remains an uphill battle.

Most people globally recognize climate change as a serious threat to humanity, according to Our World in Data. And a majority of people in the world's seven largest economies think businesses should focus on tackling climate change as much as or even more than economic challenges, according to an Ipsos survey commissioned by Mars

In many respects, business leaders agree. Already, 51% of global CEOs say that changing weather patterns has caused or is causing them to plan operational changes, according to Gartner. And over two-thirds see sustainability as a growth opportunity.

Similarly, in an international Morgan Stanley survey, 85% of sustainability decision makers at companies with over $100 million in revenue see sustainability as a value creation opportunity.

With consensus like this, you would think that getting budget for sustainability strategies is easy and that companies could roll out almost any sustainability initiative to a welcoming audience. However, that hasn't been the case for many situations.

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