C.EO tells us that prioritizing multiple, often competing objectives is the biggest challenge. Where once you could focus on your business and value chain, you now have to negotiate with a much wider range of stakeholders with far more diverse interests. CEOs also said that investors will not support long-term strategic initiatives of companies unless they meet the future needs of investors, customers, regulators and employees and provide investors with above-market returns. thinking about.
As global volatility increases and the geopolitical order continues to evolve, such external factors must be taken into account. This mandate brings unprecedented complexity and competing priorities to CEOs.
Sustainability—meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs—is a growing focus for CEOs and their stakeholders. Decisions about a company’s sustainability performance influence talent acquisition and retention, access to capital, and consumer choice. New regulations translate the need for sustainability into economic shocks, especially in energy.
The recently enacted U.S. Inflation Reduction Act will not only change the cost-effectiveness dynamics of many decarbonization strategies, but it will also affect internal operations and likely herald a shift in the energy mix. CEOs also want their competitors to grow and grow through sustainability-related products and services and by focusing their business systems on new profit pools created by the global shift to a more sustainable economy. We see it increasing customer loyalty. Like digital before it, sustainability seems to be an overarching strategic concern.
As such, CEOs have widely embraced the need to incorporate sustainability into their strategies to create value and renew competitive advantage. But while existing frameworks describe the elements of sustainable business, they do little to show how to get there. CEOs are left with the question: “How can sustainability be integrated into the company’s strategy to create competitive advantage while creating superior value for stakeholders, including financial investors?” .
