How Executives Can Spearhead ESG and Improve Corporate Sustainability Efforts
Company executives hold a special responsibility to incorporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations into their business. With their ability to focus on strategic growth and drive innovation, they can lead by pioneering sustainability initiatives. Here are three actionable ways executives can consider improving the corporate sustainability efforts in their organisation.
1. Incorporate ESG into your business operations
With climate change becoming a daily headline in many parts of the world, ESG is an important issue that requires visionary leadership from the corporate sector. To enable sustainable decision making, the following considerations should be made.
Environmental considerations include:
- climate change mitigation and adaptation,
- pollution prevention
- developing a circular economy.
Social considerations include:
- human rights
- equal opportunities
- inclusiveness
- investment in human capital and communities
Governance considerations include:
- Management structures
- Employee relations
- executive remuneration
In the longer term, businesses that make sustainability a priority can enjoy a range of corporate benefits: from strengthening brand value to attracting valuable talent, all while increasing efficiency and meeting evolving consumer demand.
In short, business leaders’ ability to weave ESG considerations into company policies and culture sets a solid foundation for future-orientated growth.
2. Build an effective strategy for sustainability
Laying the foundations for sustainability poses a unique strategic challenge for executives: how can resource-saving, efficiency, and employee buy-in all be achieved on different scales, stages, and timelines?
Here are 3 key business management areas that emerge as a priority when posed with the challenge of laying the right sustainability foundations.
Engineer sustainable operations.
With the adoption of many new sustainability standards in architecture, technology, and consumer electronics, sustainability can be engineered into the daily operations of the workplace. Business leaders can implement a company-wide strategy of ensuring that the purchase of equipment and property prioritises high-performance while also meeting environmental standards.
Many companies, including Fujifilm, also have institute certification programs such as Green Value Products developed based on ISO14021 Self-declared Environmental Claims. These serve as concrete and comprehensive assessment criteria for the use of resources throughout the whole lifecycle.
Sustainability involves the judicious use of resources during and throughout the whole lifecycle of a product. It can be implemented by following the three Rs of reduce, reuse, and recycle. Despite this simple approach, you can engineer a significant shift in the workflow and mindset of businesses towards greater environmental awareness over time.
For many businesses, recycling is an accessible way to introduce green technological innovation. Our Integrated Recycling System is aimed at reducing the environmental impact of our products throughout their life cycle. This is based on the idea that used products are valuable resources, not waste.
Inspire a sustainability mindset among employees.
Every leader knows that a big vision needs the energy and unified efforts of a team to be truly successful in the long term. In the case of sustainability development, it is essential to reshape company culture, such that employees’ mindset and behaviours build momentum for effective social change.
To do this, business leaders can consider deploying a bottom-up approach that nurtures internal employees’ leadership skills and draws on the company’s collective intelligence. One example is to host internal workshops and training sessions, where employees and partners co-design a more sustainable workplace amidst current challenges to the business environment.
A company’s readiness to provide the necessary conditions for employees’ creativity and competence to thrive can also help strengthen their corporate sustainability efforts. To this end, when pandemic-related issues caused a major disruption to business-as-usual, we responded with agility by introducing work-style reforms. These reforms in communication and remote working were in line with the ultimate goal of building “a sustainable society with job satisfaction.”
Harness the power of Information.
Finally, corporate sustainability leadership requires ambition and direction to extend from internal operations and company culture towards building sustainability-focused partnerships with suppliers and consumers.
Information serves as the most powerful resource for changing patterns of consumption across the entire supply chain. When used strategically, it supports a compelling business case for the viability of balancing competitiveness with environmental and ethical aims.
Using measurable aims through sustainable procurement frameworks, business leaders can solidify the incorporation of ESG considerations across a company’s value chain. With information, they can also clearly define areas of growth to guide strategic improvements. For instance, Fujifilm has identified ethical procurement as a priority area for sustainability. This includes investing in holistic partnerships with a global network of suppliers through regular dialogues, due diligence, self-checks and code of conduct protocols.
3. Support green leadership
Innovating your business for greater sustainability is an investment that serves the greater good. As we have seen, it is also a tangible and achievable goal. Engineering everyday operations with sustainable alternatives, instilling sustainability as a companywide commitment, and utilising the power of information to implement good behaviours across the supply chain are actionable priorities that visionary leaders can focus. With dedication and commitment, you can provide the much-needed inspiration to accelerate corporate sustainability efforts well beyond your own company to positively impact the industry and beyond.
Learn more about our sustainability goals and progress here.
Contact FUJIFILM Business Innovation Sales Representative to learn more.