What are the best ways to develop a long-term sustainability vision?

Crafting a lasting sustainability vision is a dynamic journey that kicks off with defining your organization's values and rallying key stakeholders for a truly inclusive approach. Dive into a sustainability assessment to spot improvement areas and set tangible goals that resonate with both your mission and global well-being. Keep the momentum alive through transparent reporting, staying savvy on regulations, and a commitment to continuous improvement for a future that's not just sustainable but thriving.

Developing a long-term sustainability vision involves assessing current status, engaging diverse stakeholders, setting clear goals, integrating sustainability into operations, encouraging innovation and collaboration, communicating transparently, monitoring progress, leading by example, measuring impact, and adapting strategies as needed. This approach creates a comprehensive and enduring path towards a sustainable future.

To forge a lasting sustainability vision, define clear goals, aligning environmental, social, and economic factors. Assess current practices, involve stakeholders for diverse insights, and foster a culture of innovation. Embrace transparency through effective reporting. Collaborate with peers, NGOs, and governments for collective impact. Prioritize circular economy principles, invest in education, and adapt continually. Regularly revisit and refine the strategy to stay attuned to evolving challenges and opportunities.

Understanding the current state of business is very important before starting any new initiatives or goals. There will be existing sustainable practices that needs to be considered. Benchmarking the current ecosystems with SDGs, amd industry sustainability practices should be done as the first step towards implementing the sustainability journey or improving the sustainability journey.

First step in conducting sustainability material assessment is to clearly identify organization's internal and external stakeholders. Designing an assessment survey around a list of material issues of the organization (in the space of environment & social) is the key step towards for the success of the assessment. Followed by rounds of stakeholder engagements for analyzing and strategizing around the material issues.

Defining a long-term sustainability vision begins with a thorough status quo analysis of your business: Assessing current practices, environmental impact, and stakeholder engagement and identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to your business. By building on strengths and addressing gaps and weaknesses, risks and opportunities can be addressed. A commitment to ecological practices, ethical standards, and social responsibility can be a strong driver for company culture: Communicating this vision transparently and leading by example will inspire collaboration and foster strategies to evolving challenges for long-term success.

A sustainability vision should reflect each unique context and capabilities, and involve a continuous process of learning and adaptation. Understanding your current situation will include assessing elements material to your sector. This could include energy consumption, waste production, resource utilization, and social contributions. Where are you at present and where do you wish to be?

A sustainability vision can also be described as an environmental philosophy, so putting the two together, you can determine the domains of environmentalism you support most, maybe even multiple, and implement those problem-solutions into your own personal outlook on life. This is about having a deep understanding of yourself and your passions. What are your values, beliefs, perceptions, ideas and then sum the main points of each up. To be visionary is to see the future, so construct a detailed lifestyle/worldview you wish to see someday. That is what carries you - your being, essence, your character. Knowing the self and your mission is what determines your decision-making for a lifetime.

I think large companies should initiate a strategic sustainability assessment, a compass for navigating the complexities of sustainable development. This involves a meticulous analysis of ESG Parameters. Leveraging advanced digital tools, companies can precisely measure emissions, track resource consumption, and engage stakeholders for valuable insights. The assessment reveals a baseline for current sustainability performance, identifies critical gaps, and prioritizes impactful actions. By integrating stakeholder feedback and fostering transparency, these enterprises position themselves as leaders in responsible business practices, aligning with global sustainability goals and making a positive impact on both society and the environment.

To define a vision of long-term sustainability any organization must meet two major requirements: where it intends to arrive and where it starts from. For this reason an organization need to clearly understand their situation in terms of environmental and social impact with a detailed and precise assessment. Secondly, it must rely on an in-depth knowledge of the scenarios linked to sustainability and specifically the sustainability relating to the sector in which it operates. The long-term vision of sustainability is determined by these two factors primarily

A long-term sustainability vision must be based in: 1) a systemic understanding of the outer context - on how humanity’s worsening ecological overshoot and social undershoot are about to play out, among broader macro trends, and what that scenario means for human-made systems. 2) Translating this outer context into impacts on one’s industry and business, and both the fiduciary and ethical responsibility. That is, into best available courses of action that can transform a business to be able to generate profits through systems value creation - while operating within the 9 planetary boundaries and above the 12 social foundations. And into collective systemic transformation agendas the execution of which underpins such a transformation.

Three reasons why I believe corporate sustainability should be integrated into a businesses strategy include: 1) Transitioning to a low-carbon economy: Sustainability aligns with the global shift towards a low-carbon and circular economy, ensuring companies are prepared for the future economic landscape. 2)Adaptability and resilience: Integrating sustainability fosters innovation and agility, enabling companies to adapt to changing regulations, technologies, and consumer preferences. 3) Securing long-term license to operate: Companies that demonstrate responsible and sustainable practices are more likely to secure license to operate (both from people and planet), ensuring their long-term viability.

Understanding sustainability. There's no such ting as short-term/long term sustainability. Either there is or there isn't sustainability at any given time. Knowing that, you can start by acknowledge that you, and your family, and everyone/everything that you car about are on the same boat, so the less sustainable we are, the harder your life will be. It's about understanding that's not about businesses, or whatever, it's about you. It will affect you and your beloved ones, regardless where you live or how much money you make. Now that sustainability became a personal issue, you can set your values and purposes, and see if what's being done fits them or not, them take the proper actions.

Identify the core values and principles that are important to your organization or community. This will guide your sustainability efforts and ensure they align with your overall mission. Your purpose and values should be aligned to any corporate strategy purpose and values, which should reflect your unique context and capabilities.

Developing a robust sustainability vision involves defining clear goals, engaging stakeholders for diverse insights, assessing current practices, benchmarking against industry standards, integrating sustainability into core strategies, fostering innovation, establishing metrics for tracking progress, prioritizing education and training, emphasizing continuous improvement, and fostering collaboration with industry peers for collective progress. This holistic perspective ensures a well-rounded and enduring commitment to sustainability.

To develop a long-term sustainability vision, start by defining clear environmental, social, and economic goals, foster a culture of responsibility, and integrate sustainability into business practices. Understanding organization's impact across all dimensions (environmental, social, economic), prioritizing collaboration with stakeholders, and integrating sustainability into every aspect of organization's strategy. Cultivate a commitment to continuous improvement and global stewardship, ensuring a resilient and sustainable future.

Involucrar la sostenibilidad al modelo de negocio. No se trata de una iniciativa más, es un trabajo interdisciplinario, colaborativo que hace parte del trabajo de todos en la organización. A mi me ha sido útil tener un proyecto que involucre diferentes frentes: los colaboradores, los proveedores, la rentabilidad, la tecnología. Tener acciones reales, concretas, tangibles que ayuden a sentir la sostenibilidad y a lograr afianzarla en nuestro actuar. Ser y parecer, uniendo lo social, lo ambiental y lo económico.

Purpose lies within good practice to help the environment. But to be effective, you must commit to more purposeful actions. I turned a career in resource projects with research, innovating, and developing projects to work with nature, providing cleaner energy in Africa's developing world. Solutions required solving the problems of energy deficits and costs. Renewable energy sources exist like Hydropower from run-of-river as solutions, but for others, one needs a more inquiring mind, innovation, and funding to back ideas for community-backed turnarounds. One example is harvesting renewable natural gas, threatening to erupt from a lake, to provide cheap power and cooking gas for millions of homes for decades, which impacts all 17/17 SDGs.

I've just seen an advert from a luxury German car brand - stating they're revolutionising their products by making them electric. They neglect to mention the fundamental truth. Which is that we need to be making & selling fewer cars, not more. That we need a fully functioning, integrated public transport system that is affordable. That we need to redesign cities away from "car focussed" to becoming "people focussed". But of course. They're a car-maker. And they want to sell more cars. And be profitable. And make money for shareholders. EVs aren't the solution. They are part of the problem. And until we see the full picture - you will not have sustainability.

Definir el Propósito Empresarial es clave, ya que a partir de allí, se podrá establecer la Estrategia de Sostenibilidad y por lo tanto, desarrollar las Acciones acertadas, con impacto y con aportes puntuales a la Estrategia. Adicionalmente, implica desarrollar y transformar el Modelo de Negocio incorporando el Propósito y por lo tanto la Sostenibilidad, de manera coherente e integral en sus actividades empresariales.

Sustainability is the biggest business opportunity of this decade. Therefore it is extremely important to make sustainability a cornerstone of the bigger business strategy. Especially the higher the average footprint of your industry the bigger the opportunity to innovate & become a leader of tomorrow. Companies making sustainability one of their business strategy cornerstones = business leaders of this decade!

In vielen Nachhaltigkeitsstrategien werden Ziele mit Maßnahmen verwechselt. Das Implementieren einzelner Maßnahmen ist kein Ziel, sondern sollte zu einem Ziel führen. Beispiel: Den Strombetreiber zu wechseln oder eine Solaranlage zu installieren ist kein Ziel, sondern eine geplante Maßnahme. Das Ziel dazu könnte etwa "Strom aus 100% Erneuerbaren Energien" lauten. Eine klare Abgrenzung und Definition von lang- und kurzfristigen Zielen und entsprechenden beabsichtigten Maßnahmen ist wichtig, um klare Handlungsschritte vor Augen zu haben.

Setting up tangible goals and targets is the next crucial step. These objectives must adhere to the SMART criteria—being specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. Additionally, goals should be ambitious and motivating, challenging the organization to strive for excellence. Correspondingly, targets should be quantifiable, verifiable, and trackable, aligning with industry and sector best practices and standards. This strategic approach not only provides a roadmap for progress but also ensures that the organization is pushing its boundaries to meet high standards and contribute meaningfully to its sector.

Die Ziele müssen verfolgbar sein. Das erfordert Daten. Ein entsprechendes Reporting ist erforderlich, das sich an den Best Practices in der Industry orientiert. Aktuell ist die Herausforderung, dass es eine Vielzahl von Rating agencies gibt, die eine inhaltlich große Abweichung voneinander haben. Die Empfehlung: orientieren sie sich nur an 2-3 der wichtigsten rating agencies.

The purpose of an organization must then be reflected in the ability to define coherent objectives and adequate KPIs to measure and report the company's path towards these objectives. But the ability to achieve these objectives and measure them with clear and recognized KPIs is credible to the extent that it is supported first and foremost by reliable data and by adequate digital technologies for data collection and data analysis

This is where you'll make the difference between a defensive approach (the usual, comfortable management of a negative externality) and a proactive approach. Stakeholders are allies, and the more you consult them, the faster you'll move forward. There are over forty different stakeholders, so keep them all informed and involved. Make sure you have a team that is not going to filter subjects simply from one angle or one time horizon.

Involve employees, customers, suppliers, and the local community. Their insights and engagement are critical for setting relevant goals and gaining buy-in to implement this.

You should consider the following groups of stakeholders for a long-term sustainability vision: 1. Regulators - how does your company's vision align with the current and upcoming regulations? Does it support NDCs? 2. Customers - what are the consumer sentiments and how can your company satisfy the present and anticipate future sentiments? 3. Employees - what aspect of sustainability improves your employer branding and makes your company a desirable place to work? 4. Communities - how do operations affect nearby communities? How can your company mitigate/reduce negative impact and create a positive impact? The order of priority could be slightly modified based on the values and mission, however, regulators better always come first.

Estar alineado con todas las partes interesadas logrará que se puedan ejecutar los planes enfocados en los objetivos de manera consistente. Subestimar la importancia de alguno de los stakeholders podría ser un error que provocaría el fracaso en la ejecución.

Economy, Environment and Social are three intertwined pillars of Sustainability. No economy can progress in long term without Enivronmental aspects not addressed that matters to People.

Nachhaltigkeit ist kein Thema, das man alleine umsetzen kann. Es betrifft alle Stakeholder der gesamten Wertschöpfungskette. Von Zulieferern, zu Verkaufspartnern bis hin zu Kunden. Ebenfalls betroffen sind weitere Partner wie Energieversorger, Telekommunikationsprovider und Finanzinstitute und ähnlichem. Diese sollten in ihren Aktivitäten ebenfalls den Nachhaltigkeitszielen ihren Unternehmens verpflichtet werden und darauf einzahlen. Das erfordert ebenfalls wieder die Transparenz, über einen entsprechenden Datenaustausch über Unternehmensgrenzen hinweg.

I'd add that it’s also important to be prepared to modify your vision based on stakeholder insights. Maybe this is implicit in the above, but worthwhile calling out. Many organisations lose trust because they are not prepared to accommodate alternative views.

Crafting a sustainability vision is not a solitary endeavor; it thrives through collaboration with stakeholders. These include employees, customers, suppliers, investors, regulators, and communities—those impacted by or impacting your business. Stakeholder engagement offers invaluable insights, feedback, support, and legitimacy for your vision. Utilizing methods like surveys, interviews, workshops, and forums facilitates meaningful interactions, ensuring diverse perspectives contribute to the development of a robust and inclusive sustainability vision. By involving stakeholders in the process, businesses not only enrich their understanding but also foster a sense of shared responsibility and commitment to the envisioned sustainable future.

In my exp. the easier ways is saminar. You can use the online saminar to engage with your stakeholder such as supplie or customer to understand more about sustainability. Show them the sustainability trend and push them to set the sustainability goal for ourselves.

In my experience developing a Sustainable Communications Strategy is the key to successfully sharing your vision. The MarComms Team will be required to support on this, as this will require input from both internal and external stakeholders. This should be undertaken on an annual basis to tie in with key milestones and also global call to action dates. Transparently report your progress and activities. This builds trust and credibility and can inspire others to take action.

I so appreciate the ‘celebration’ part - so often forgotten in corporate culture - we rush through our lists and need to take time to reflect.

Es ist unbestritten, das Kommunikation entscheidend in jedem Veränderungsprozess ist. Nachhaltigkeit ist jedoch ein dankbares Thema, das Begeisterung auf breiter Ebene weckt und damit Innovation freisetzt. Damit die Innovation zielgerichtet verläuft, bedarf es dreier Dinge: 1. Aufklärung: zum Thema, der Vision, den Zielen. 2. Training: unternehmensweites Training aller Mitarbeiter, denn letztlich liegt die Verantwortung auf jedem Einzelnen. 3. Updates: konstantes Statusupdate und Feedback über alle vorhandenen Kommunikationskanäle 4: Inspiration: Gründen sie Communities of Interest für einen inspirierenden Austausch zu erzeugen. 5: Feiern: Feiern sie Umsetzungserfolge! Jedesmal!

With stakeholders and regulators increasingly more focused on sustainability and claims companies make, it can be challenging to pin down what effective communication looks like in sustainability. For investors, effective sustainability communication focuses on transparency, and less on inspirational messages. Importantly, there should be clarity on the role sustainability plays in the business, and how it can value-add to stakeholders.

Effectively sharing your sustainability vision is vital, requiring clear, consistent, and compelling communication with both internal and external audiences. Employ diverse channels—reports, websites, social media, newsletters, and events—to reach and inspire stakeholders. Enhance understanding by using stories, visuals, and data to illustrate progress and impact. Communication, in this context, is not a one-way street but a dialogue that welcomes feedback and encourages active participation. By fostering open communication through various mediums, businesses can strengthen their connection with stakeholders, ensuring a shared understanding and commitment to the sustainability journey.

Die Kommunikation der Nachhaltigkeitsperformance und -vision wird in viele Unternehmen vernachlässigt bzw. ist oft zu schnell extern gerichtet – und dann anfällig für Greenwashing. Hier gilt es klar abzutrennen, was sich an interne Stakeholder (also z.B. Mitarbeitende) richtet – u.a. geplante Maßnahmen –, und was sich für die externe Kommunikation (z.B. an Konsument:innen) eignet – u.a. umgesetzte Maßnahmen. Besonders die interne Kommunikation ist essentiell, um die Implementierung der eigenen Nachhaltigkeitsstrategie voranzutreiben und die verschiedenen Stakeholder dazu zu motivieren, daran mitzuwirken.

For startups, messaging is essential in securing climate funding. For corporations, messaging is key to validating its existence via the media. Each depends on the clarity of the message and fit, with the hoped-for public image and perception. Sustainability communication can translate to perceived success if it's not debunked as false. Crafting corporate sustainability messaging has become an industry in itself, characterized by countries and companies buying pulpits at Davos, and COP2x. Access to the stage and media purveys the essential illusion of climate commitment and sincerity. Storytelling is a route for startups, a compelling narrative of real-world achievements can be a short-circuit to viral attention and essential funding.

Para mim , a melhor forma de desenvolver uma visão de sustentabilidade a longo prazo é desenvolvendo a competência de visão holística. Olhar para o problema considerando todos os pontos que podem contribuir positiva ou negativamente , ajuda a não negligenciar características importantes do negócio e auxilia a tomar decisões mais conscientes.

Green Covenants can help Green Governance that can lead to creating Green Citizenship organically including all internal and external stakeholders.

A criação de projetos sustentáveis vai além do olhar econômico, incorporando perspectivas sociais para garantir a realidade das ações. A transparência é fundamental, atraindo terceiros para políticas sustentáveis e servindo de exemplo para outras empresas. Esses projetos não devem ser encarados como exclusivos da entidade, mas como contribuições para toda a sociedade, destacando a importância de práticas sustentáveis compartilhadas.

This is the most important part. You will be wrong many times. Whether it's initial strategy, data collection, or company culture. The real progress in sustainability is when it's treated as an infinite game; a decades long endeavor with many mini-steps along the way.

A sustainable vision should be dynamic, not static. Regularly review and adapt it to changing internal and external conditions, challenges, and opportunities. Monitor and evaluate performance against goals and targets, reporting achievements and challenges. Embrace a culture of continuous improvement and innovation, learning from both successes and failures. This dynamic and flexible approach ensures that the sustainability vision remains relevant, responsive, and resilient in the face of evolving circumstances. By fostering a commitment to adaptability, businesses can proactively navigate challenges, capitalize on opportunities, and demonstrate a steadfast dedication to long-term sustainability.

Continuous improvement is the other great asset of any sustainability path. An organization start from a more or less critical situation and never arrive. The organization improve, if possible continuously and if there are steps backwards they are not necessarily negative as long as they always teach something. Seeking feedback is fundamental and the ability to evaluate it based on the context is crucial to achieving objectives but also to defining new ones

O projeto de práticas sustentáveis não deve ser estático, mas sim dinâmico, em constante construção e desenvolvimento. Deve refletir as mudanças nos valores e objetivos econômicos, adaptando-se para permanecer relevante ao contexto em evolução. Essa abordagem flexível garante que as práticas sustentáveis estejam sempre alinhadas com as transformações da sociedade e do cenário econômico, promovendo uma sustentabilidade mais efetiva e atualizada.

I agree. Due diligence of the goals you set is a key factor in your sustainability strategy success. Sustainability reporting comes in handy here because every year as you conduct the update of your materiality assessment you know which topics are becoming even more relevant to your business model. This is very often a base of readjusting your long-term sustainability goals. Don't forget to engage various groups of stakeholders to get a full picture of your negative impacts.

Be open to listening and incorporating knowledge from a representative range of stakeholders supports the constant review of the company's sustainability strategy, as well as participating in global forums ( such as COP) that discuss proposals for implementing the ESG and sustainability agenda in companies and institutions conected to global challanges.

Best ways to develop long term sustainability vision: 1. Get Materiality Assessment done and identify key material topics that are critical for your businesses for long term sustainability. 2. Do risk assessments - both Physical and Transition risks. 3. Build strategy for identified key material topics and incorporate the related risk and have mitigation & adaptation plan for each of the risks. Also allocate financials for mitigating and adapting against those risks. 4. Keep on upgrading in terms of digitalizing and incorporation of AI for perfect results. 5. Keep eye on the Global Geo-Politics, global legislation related to ESG topics and act accordingly.

To develop a powerful sustainability vision, focus on these key points: Know your why: Define your purpose and values. What drives you to make a lasting impact? Start with self-awareness: Analyze your current environmental, social, and economic footprint. Set ambitious yet achievable goals: Aim for transformative change, but keep it realistic. Embrace collaboration: Involve stakeholders and foster a culture of innovation. Track progress and adapt: Continuously learn, improve, and refine your vision. Remember, a strong vision is ambitious, well-defined, and aligned with your values. Let's build a thriving and sustainable future together!

In addition to the steps outlined, consider the following to further refine your sustainability vision: Undertake a peer review and research and learn from best practices within your industry. Understand how competitors and leaders are addressing sustainability challenges. Do a regulation landscape review to stay informed about current and upcoming legislation related to sustainability in your region and industry. Compliance can be a significant driver for action. While immediate actions are crucial, think about the long-term implications of your sustainability strategies. Ensure they are scalable and adaptable to future changes. Establish mechanisms for regular feedback from stakeholders for continuous improvement.

Connect environmental, social, & economic aspects. Don't make decisions in echo chambers. Engage stakeholders – employees, communities, investors – in open dialogue. Hear their concerns, understand their needs, & let them co-shape your vision. Begin with achievable, impactful actions – reducing waste, optimizing energy use, supporting local businesses. Don't wait for monumental achievements to acknowledge progress. Celebrate milestones – carbon footprint reductions, community partnerships, employee engagement initiatives – to keep the momentum going. Bring the vision to life through compelling narratives – case studies, employee testimonials & community impact stories

1. Leadership Commitment 2. Stakeholder Engagement 3. Integrated Planning 4. Metrics and Measurement 5. Innovation Culture 6. Education and Training 7. Adaptability 8. Risk Management 9. Partnerships and Collaboration 10. Transparency and Communication 11. Incentives and Recognition 12. Regulatory Compliance

Make sure that sustainability becomes part of everyone's role! Sustainability can't be managed strategically and maintained in the long-term unless HR, Ops, Finance, Legal and all other parts of the business understand their responsibilities within their own departments. Set up a RASCI framework to provide clarity on what each department has to do. - Responsible - Accountable - Support - Consulted - Informed

Developing a long-term sustainability vision is like setting a clear destination on a fun road trip. You know where you want to go ("the what" and "the why"), but the route ("the how") might change along the way because the world is always evolving. To reach our sustainability goals, we must begin with the little things, like involving every team and unit in our efforts. In this adventure, the key is to keep the spirit of sustainability alive throughout the entire organization, not just on paper. It's like making sure everyone in the car enjoys the trip, not just reaching the destination. This way, our long-term vision stays fresh, exciting, and adaptable to whatever surprises the journey brings.

1- Conduct a materiality assessment to identify and prioritize sustainability issues that are most significant to your business and stakeholders. 2- Integrate sustainability into your business model and strategy, ensuring it's a fundamental aspect of your organization's long-term vision and not just an add-on. 3-Design the strategy to be scalable and flexible to adapt to changing business environments, stakeholder expectations, and advancements in sustainability practices. 4-Regularly engage with stakeholders to understand evolving expectations and incorporate their feedback into your strategy.

It involves careful planning and integration into the core values and strategies of an organization. Other aspects to consider are tip management commitment, stakeholder engagement, clear and measurable goals and a mindset of continuous improvement.

Developing a long-term sustainability vision is like setting a clear destination on a fun road trip. You know where you want to go ("the what" and "the why"), but the route ("the how") might change along the way because the world is always evolving. To reach our sustainability goals, we must begin with the little things, like involving every team and unit in our efforts. In this adventure, the key is to keep the spirit of sustainability alive throughout the entire organization, not just on paper. It's like making sure everyone in the car enjoys the trip, not just reaching the destination. This way, our long-term vision stays fresh, exciting, and adaptable to whatever surprises the journey brings.