Presentation of this book co-written by Jan van der Kaaj, associate partner at CXOs & Co.
Contrary to popular belief and the optimism generated by the ambitious global targets set in the Paris Agreement and the UNs Sustainable Development Goals, the implementation of corporate sustainability programs has been slow at best, sloppy and ineffective at worst. Less than a third of global companies have developed clear business cases or supported value propositions for their approaches to sustainability. With many initiatives stuck in storytelling or cherry-picking mode, the need for the executive level to start thinking about transformation towards a more sustainable business model is rising as rapidly as the levels of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. Winning Sustainability Strategies inspires companies towards a more effective design and implementation of sustainability programs based upon a stronger sense of focus dubbed "Vectoring".
A practical framework
Based upon practitioner cases as well as big data analysis from the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, Winning Sustainability Strategies offers a practical framework as well as access to a range of DIY resources for identifying the relative performance of sustainability programs, how to identify and locate inhibitors and how to overcome them. The framework, and its associated four fundamental archetypes, delivers valuable insights for sustainability practitioners and C-suite executives.
Vectoring: the design of award-winning sustainability strategies
Capitalizing on the experience of a large collection of award-winning sustainability champions, such as DSM, Patagonia, Unilever, Umicore and Novozymes, and years of experience consulting with executive teams and companies effecting similar changes, Winning Sustainability Strategies reveals how to design and implement a stronger sense of focus and obtain more forward thrust in sustainability programs. This proven combination of direction and speed is dubbed “Vectoring”.
A key strategic tool
As such, vectoring becomes a key strategic tool with numerous applications, such as:
Designing and executing new sustainability programsEmbedding the UN Sustainable Development Goals into the company’s core strategyAssessing the impact of sustainability programs on competitiveness and valuation.
The ultimate objective of vectoring is to provide a clear, potent framework that offers directions for executives to help shift their companies from integrated reporting to truly integrated sustainability thinking.
About the Authors
Benoit Leleux
Benoit Leleux is the Stephan Schmidheiny Professor of Entrepreneurship and Finance at business school IMD in Lausanne, Switzerland, where he was also director of the MBA program (2006-2008) and director of Research and Development (2004-2008). He is currently the co-Director of the Foundations for Business Leadership program (FBL).
Jan van der Kaaij
Jan van der Kaaij co-founded his advisory firm in 1997. Today Finch & Beak has grown into a European consultancy specialized in accelerating sustainability. Jan managed numerous consulting projects for major companies such as McDonalds, SwissPost and DSM. Since 2004 he is associated with IMD Lausanne on sustainability.