As I reflect on 2017, one of the positive changes I noticed was the breaking down of silos. As the walls between sustainability, corporate social responsibility and other corporate functions start to crumble, leaders are better able to extend their influence and...
I spend a fair amount of time thinking about the future of sustainability jobs. In one of my earliest articles for Talent Show, I detailed four job trends that felt most opportune for our industry in 2012: sustainability drivers went beyond the consumer; large...
The workplace is dramatically changing. A growing cadre of activist employees means CSR and sustainability professionals must start thinking of employee engagement as "fulfillment" rather than a tactical roadmap of actions. That means going well beyond laying out an...
In early June, several CEOs declared their disagreement with President Donald Trump’s decision to exit the Paris climate agreement and announced their departure from his Strategic and Policy Forum. These CEOs represent companies who have committed to address climate...
I’ve often written about the work and research of Coro Strandberg, a consultant who works with businesses and government and industry associations to create policies for a sustainable future. I highlighted her Green Team Continuum — as I like to call it, CSR 4.0 —...
There’s increasing evidence that sustainability jobs are becoming a large and growing portion of the U.S. workforce across multiple sectors. A 2016 GreenBiz survey (PDF) stated that 75 percent of the participating firms had dedicated sustainability budgets and 40...
It’s clear that the sustainability profession is evolving with many sustainability professionals quietly but gradually expanding their scope and responsibility — programmatically and strategically. Furthermore, companies surveyed by GreenBiz for its annual State of...
Late last year, I sent a short survey to my network of (mostly) sustainability executives across a range of small and large organizations covering multiple sectors. My objective was to understand how the corporate sustainability role is shifting to include a greater...
Post-election, we all are facing more volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity. As a result, the sustainability professional’s work has just become even more important. Let’s take a look at a few items on the 2017 laundry list: We have a new, controversial...
I have written quite regularly about our VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity) world and how this relates to the sustainability professional. Change is hard. Navigating it is necessary for success. Leith Sharp, director of Executive Education for...