Sustainability toolkits

The Center for Sustainable and Inclusive Business develops tools to help leaders and organizations navigate shifting sustainability trends and priorities.

Sustainability toolkits

The Center for Sustainable and Inclusive Business develops tools to help leaders and organizations navigate shifting sustainability trends and priorities.

Sustainability Signals^™

Sustainability Signals^™ is an in-depth pedagogical tool used in our programs to help participants navigate shifting sustainability trends and priorities. The tool enables participants to keep track and make sense of events and trends shaping environmental, social and governance (ESG) priorities.

Sustainability Signals^™ is both a web-based tool and physical card deck. It is flexible and can be used independently to familiarize participants with the sustainability trends/signals influencing the world or in combination with other sessions for visioning exercises, competitive analysis, and stress testing business models. It can be used in live and online programs in sessions spanning 10-400+ participants.

Environmental

New models for a circular economy

Rising concerns about waste and resource depletion have led companies to move from the take-make-waste economic model, toward a closed loop system or circular economy.

Environmental

Renewable energy at scale

Growing affordability and flexibility have facilitated major uptake in different kinds of renewable energy. Renewables are predicted to make up around 24% of total energy production by 2030, largely wind and solar.

Social

Diversity and inclusion awareness

The business case for diversity and inclusion continues to grow. Ensuring greater representation of women and under-represented minorities is the area of focus for companies seeking to increase diversity. But measuring DM efforts remains a challenge.

Governance

Investor focus on ESG

Sustainable investing includes environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors in portfolio selection and management. Increasingly investors are seeking evidence that companies are addressing sustainability issues that may affect performance.

SUSTAINABILITY TOOLKIT no. 1

How to make the business case for a sustainability strategy

Why any successful sustainability strategy needs to be underpinned by a solid business case.

By Knut Bjarne Haanaes, Frédéric Dalsace and Jules Wurlod

SUSTAINABILITY TOOLKIT no.2

Let’s be clear: ESG is not ‘woke’ and it’s different from sustainability

The important distinction between sustainability and ESG – and why this matters for businesses.

By Julia Katharina Binder

SUSTAINABILITY TOOLKIT no.3

Reframing sustainability: from risk to opportunity

A risk-focused mindset could be preventing businesses from developing the ambitious strategies they need to capitalize on the opportunities of sustainability.

By Natalia Olynec and Julia Katharina Binder

SUSTAINABILITY TOOLKIT no.4

The crucial role of the board in driving sustainable business transformation

Board members often feel ill-equipped to tackle ESG challenges, but there are concrete steps they can take to get on top of the sustainability agenda.

By Knut Bjarne Haanaes and Salvatore Cantale

SUSTAINABILITY TOOLKIT no.5

Materiality: from reporting requirement to strategic insight

How to carry out a materiality assessment – and how the insights it provides can be used to drive a company’s entire business strategy.

By Julia Katharina Binder

Future Back

Companies are often held back in developing ambitious sustainability strategies due to other pressing priorities. Using our Future Back approach, we support organizations in shaping a sustainable future. This tool urges executives to temporarily disengage from daily concerns to envision an aspirational future where ambitious sustainability goals have been met. From there, we work backward, laying out steps needed to reach that aspirational future.

Contact Knut Haanaes to learn how Future Back could work for your organization.