Business of Tomorrow – Making Corporate Sustainability Moderation

The first 100% women panel of this 2-day summit. It was fist discussed that the terminology of sustainability is still not understood as many still confuse it with CSR. They shared that sustainability is about value creation and not only environment. For many companies sustainability is not a priority since we still focus on profit while we need to focus on generating value. This panel was loudly applauded as the views shared were pertinent to the practical approaches that need to be adopted and the challenges to accurately show the value of sustainability.

Sustainability going mainstream – what are the practical ways?

• Choose the SDGs goals that align to the business and get the management on board
• Set clear targets (SMART objectives)
• Measure and put in place the solutions that target at reducing the impact
• Collect data and stories about the projects that are already being implemented and share them.

How can a company redefine profit?

• Redefine what creates value to the company and how all components work together.
• Create equity in the company.
• Personal purpose, culture and values should be at the forefront during recruitment of staff.

Key takeaways

• Remaining positive on the impact that is being made is essential.
• We need to strive at shifting the mindset of the companies and we should start at an early stage.
• Not going sustainable has a high cost and the advantages of going sustainable can bring tremendous results.
• Let us walk the talk about collaboration and implement and generate value.
• Private sector should lead and the government will have no option than following the steps.
• Short win can encourage the board and we definitely need to educate the shareholders.
• Karen Basiye rightly summarised that Sustainability is a journey not a destination