Corporate sustainability is facing growing headwinds. From geopolitical tensions to shifting political support, companies are navigating a world where sustainability commitments are increasingly being scrutinized and sometimes rolled back. Yet these challenges also open the door for a profound rethink: moving beyond box-ticking, ESG reporting, and risk avoidance to embrace sustainability as a driver of competitive advantage, innovation, and long-term value creation.
This conviction powers the IMD TOGETHER Community, a network of IMD alumni, practitioners, and sustainability leaders from every continent and sector. Working side by side, they explore how to keep the global corporate sustainability agenda moving forward, even in turbulent times.
The IMD TOGETHER Community’s webinar series provides a space for frank dialogue and actionable insight. This year, it has tackled topics ranging from redesigning sustainability strategies for mass appeal to embedding circularity at the core of business, strengthening climate accountability, gaining regulatory insights, and incorporating innovative tech.
With more thought-provoking sessions ahead, the series aims to inspire alumni and business leaders to keep up with the sustainability conversation and to shape its future.
“When regulators step back on sustainability, businesses must step forward, embedding it into their strategies to drive resilience, long-term success, and lasting positive impact. At TOGETHER, we unite IMD leaders to shape a sustainable future and put sustainability at the heart of business,” said Pavel Sanin (EMBA 2016), co-leader of the TOGETHER Community.
“Inspire. Connect. Engage. Through Real Learning and Real Impact, the IMD TOGETHER Community is shaping the sustainable ecosystem of the future,” added co-leader Charlotte Van Hautekerke (EMBA 2018).
Integrating sustainability into business cultures
Speaking earlier this year, Natacha Raymond, Sustainability Manager for Saudi Arabia’s NEOM, and IMD Professor of Strategy and Marketing Goutam Challagalla argued for the need for course correction in corporate sustainability practices. They emphasized the shift to “Sustainability 2.0” and the importance of designing sustainability strategies that appeal to customers who do not necessarily care about sustainability. Using the US agricultural corporation John Deere as an example, Challagalla highlighted the role of innovation in creating value for businesses through environmental strategies. “Too many companies were going down the wrong path on sustainability,” he explained. “You have to reverse the classic question. The wrong question is, ‘How do we become more sustainable?’ The right question is: ‘How do we create more customer value through sustainability?’” One example is John Deere’s use of computer vision technology in its tractors, which has led to a 70% reduction in fertilizer and pesticide use, benefiting both the farmer and the environment. Sustainability, Challagalla noted, is often a secondary driver of purchase. To succeed, sustainability should be integrated into company culture rather than treated as a separate initiative, and it should focus on creating customer value. Sustainability strategies should not be based solely on appealing to “green” customers, he said, because such an approach is not scalable. “You should actually design a sustainability strategy to appeal to those customers who don’t care about sustainability,” he said. “That’s what we mean by driving customer value through sustainability. This is not so obvious. Most companies are designing strategy based on green customers. That’s about the worst thing you can do. It will never scale. It becomes a niche, and eventually people get tired of that niche.”Bringing circularity into the sustainability practice
Another guest in this year’s webinar series was Professor of Sustainable Innovation and Business Transformation Julia Binder, who discussed the challenges and opportunities of implementing circular economy practices in businesses. She emphasized the need to move beyond seeing sustainability as a risk and view it as an opportunity for growth and profitability. Binder discussed how to unlock circular business models as a potential solution for delivering both competitive advantage and long-term resilience. While enthusiasm around initiatives like the EU Omnibus Package has decreased, with some feeling relieved and others discouraged by the US pushback, there is an urgent need to reinvigorate the conversation. Companies, she said, must go beyond treating sustainability as risk management and instead embrace it as a driver of growth and profitability. Binder outlined various steps to make the circular economy more actionable and highlighted the importance of considering broader environmental issues beyond climate change, such as biodiversity, water, and biochemical flows. This was vital, she stressed, underscoring how critical circularity is for the global economy given the alarming rate of material consumption. She also emphasized the need to align impact cases with business cases, leverage digital technologies, and build ecosystems to seize circular economy opportunities.Corporate commitments and environmental metrics
Gabe Shawn Varges, a corporate governance expert who advises boards and CEOs on sustainability and compliance, spoke to the community in February and emphasized the importance for companies to make public commitments to net-zero or long-term emissions reduction goals. He noted that 80% of publicly listed companies globally have made such commitments. He pointed out that while some companies have rethought their commitments due to concerns, including anti-competitive cooperation, the majority still communicate their sustainability goals. Varges also raised concerns about the weighting of environmental metrics in compensation and the potential mismatch between long-term climate goals and short-term financial priorities. “Each of us ought to review our climate strategy, recognize that if we don’t have one, if there isn’t a clearly articulated climate strategy, then we would be in a minority today,” he said. “As we see more governments and administrations becoming more cautious and perhaps more reactive to the area of sustainability, we may have made a mistake in leaving it to governments to take the lead. Because if climate mitigation is important and good for business, we really wouldn’t need regulation to make progress, would we?” In April, the group also heard from IMD alum and board advisor Erik Meijer, who discussed the evolving ESG landscape, including the impact of policy changes in the US. Meijer emphasized the importance of stakeholder engagement and the need for systemic approaches in new business models. The session included exercises for participants to rate their perception of the current ESG situation and identify the biggest challenges they face.More is on the way…
In the coming months, the TOGETHER Community will host fresh conversations with leading thinkers and business innovators. Whether you’re an IMD alum or a business leader eager to shape the future, these sessions are your chance to hear bold ideas, challenge your thinking, and connect with peers driving real change. Join us – and be part of the conversation that’s redefining sustainability for the next decade.
