“A sustainability leader is someone who inspires and supports action towards a better world.”
— University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership
Why do we need sustainability leadership now?
As the Philippines races to become a rapidly growing economy in the Asia-Pacific region despite continuing geopolitical tensions and human development challenges, there is a need for leaders across the private, public and civil society spaces at all levels to practice sustainability leadership.
With my continuing engagement with Stanford University’s Distinguished Careers Institute, I have had the privilege of working with Bill Barnett, a business and environmental sustainability expert, and Pamela Matson, an inter-disciplinary sustainability scientist. Their insights are key in this piece.
5 KEY POINTS OF SUSTAINABILITY LEADERSHIP
Sustainability leadership from an emerging country perspective entails five key points:
1. The definition of sustainability must be reframed.
Matson defined sustainability as “a realization that our ability to prosper now and in the future requires increased attention not just to economic and social progress but also to conserving Earth’s life support systems: the fundamental environmental processes and natural resources on which our hopes for prosperity depend.”
From a “global south” perspective, we have heard pushback on this idea, with some saying that economic and social progress (the people) must be prioritized rather than the environment (planet). The harshest critics even go to the extent of questioning why developing countries need to share the burden of protecting the environment when their share of pollution is relatively small compared to the developed markets. This is not to mention the fact that these nations are late entrants in their human development journeys.
In the Philippine milieu, “wicked” challenges, such as income inequality and social injustice, remain and the ideals of political reform, national cohesion, and moral/spiritual renewal seem to be elusive. Sustainability leaders include these in their broader agenda.
2. Leadership is critical in the context of this reframed definition.
In the Philippines, while there may be companies with sustainability practices driven by either their own meaningful and significant initiatives from within or their global sustainability policies (with the latter mainly driven by global/regional headquarters), some organizations are struggling to incorporate sustainability as part of their business strategy. Worse, a few others may even resort to having sustainability programs for its sheer public relations value. As a case in point, some businesses appoint CSOs (Chief Sustainability Officers) which either add significant value or create necessary “optics.” A few other enterprises may have significant knowledge gaps that impede their entry into this relatively white space, and some have a narrow view (e.g., purely environmental without consideration for promoting the social good) that severely restricts their capacity to create real broad-based impact for all their stakeholders.
That is why leadership is critical to ensure that a company’s sustainability policy and practice leads to the actions that result in sustainable development for the benefit of all its stakeholders.
3. Clarity on outcome: shared prosperity.
Upgrading an existing sustainability function or establishing one requires clarity on the organizational outcomes hoped to be achieved.
According to Matson, it is inclusive social well-being. Over at the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP), Shared Prosperity, as embodied in a Covenant, may well be the outcome that we seek. A movement called Diwa-Kapwa, led by some MAP members, CEOs, and human resources leaders, actively champions organizations that place people first. As a result, extraordinary performance is generated by these companies. Shared Prosperity for all stakeholders naturally follows.
4. Sustainability Leadership must focus on technical, behavioral, and moral dimensions.
Organizations with developed sustainability functions design and implement relevant sustainability solutions that are an integral part of their business strategy. These solutions seek to address a particular social, economic, or environmental problem that is in the company’s radar. According to Barnett, it is critical that in the crafting of these solutions, technical, behavioral, and moral lenses must be adopted.
There is a tendency to view it solely from a technical point of view. Innovative solutions are arrived at by applying science and using new knowledge. Some notable examples include electric vehicles, the green revolution in the 20th century, and removing the ozone depleting chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). With the advent of game-changing solutions, we must also be vigilant for any unintended consequences.
From a behavioral perspective, the sustainability challenges faced have been the result of organizational and individual behaviors in the past that did not serve the common good. Policies and practices that promote positive behaviors must be implemented to ensure that sustainable development becomes a reality with the help of the citizenry and all sectors involved. Take the case of Manila’s Pasig River — factories in the past have dumped waste into this river (organizational behavior) and some informal settlers may have utilized the river and its tributaries as their personal cesspools (individual behavior). Future sustainable solutions need to drive new positive behaviors.
The moral lens could not be underestimated as well. Effective sustainability solutions require effective governance, which I believe is already gaining traction in a lot of areas in government. But there is room to further grow. If some provincial or local government units wish to drive a higher level of direct investment, the proverbial “red tape” must be eliminated and the ease of doing business must be embedded.
5. Sustainability Leadership incorporates management excellence.
Leaders drive for results, outcomes, and completion of deliverables. But this is not enough. To enable long-term success, sustainability leaders equally push for the development of institutional capabilities of the organization that they are a part of. Capabilities include having a vision, competent and committed people, a culture of excellence, a forward-looking innovative mindset, openness to game-changing technologies, agile organizations, and efficient routines and workflows. While we have usually placed this under the bucket of management excellence, McKinsey goes to the extent of calling it “organizational superpowers.”
QUO VADIS?Certainly, the world will be a better place with sustainability leaders around. In the Philippines, they could catapult the country into a steeper growth trajectory.
Dr. Ramon “Mon” B. Segismundo is a member of the Management Association of the Philippines’ Shared Prosperity Committee. He is a 2023-2024 fellow of Stanford University’s Distinguished Careers Institute. He holds a Doctorate in Business Administration from Singapore Management University. He is CEO of Singapore-based OneHRX.