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Sustainability and ESG trainings: Present focus and future needs
Ulrich Lichtenthaler • 2. März 2023
Despite the massive attention to sustainability and ESG, many firms still underestimate the opportunities for innovation beyond reducing CO2 emissions.
Over the past months, I have given multiple trainings and facilitated several workshops about ESG and sustainability. The target groups included sustainability and corporate responsibility experts as well as managers and executives from different functional areas, such as supply chain management, marketing, digitalization, innovation, and change management. The firms included large multinationals as well as small and medium-sized companies. Here are some key insights that I have gained from the trainings and workshops. These insights reflect the present role of sustainability, but they also highlight the need for further adapting most firms’ sustainability management.
1. High general awareness – but often limited to reporting needs
The general awareness for the relevance of sustainability and ESG has dramatically increased over the past years – not only among sustainability experts, but among most managers and executives across business functions. At the same time, many persons primarily consider ESG and sustainability management as a duty and mandatory task with respect to reporting requirements. In contrast, the opportunities that may be associated with the sustainability transformation for the specific jobs and tasks of persons across different functions and units within companies are often neglected.
2. Focus on resource efficiency – but innovation largely neglected
The sustainability initiatives of most companies focus strongly on resource efficiency in terms of optimizing existing processes and procedures. On the one hand, this strategic approach is important because it usually leads to efficiency gains quite quickly, usually within months rather than years. On the other hand, this efficiency focus often limits a more substantial sustainability transformation which would consider positive sustainability and which would result from major innovations and change in terms of completely new products, services, processes, and business models. Thus, most firms focus on a BLUE SKY STRATEGY at the expense of a GREEN GRASS STRATEGY.
3. Climate change and circularity – but social dimension only partly addressed
The key sustainability topic for most firms at present is the reduction of CO2 emissions in the context of climate change. In addition, the transformation towards a circular economy receives much more attention today relative to its relevance a few years ago. While this present focus on environmental sustainability is quite a natural strategic move, it partly comes along with relatively limited attention to several social sustainability topics, which are expected to gain further importance over the next years.
To offer a comprehensive and balanced perspective, my trainings and workshops usually involve at least the following topics: relevance of sustainability, fundamental knowledge about ESG and sustainability, transformation and sustainability management, and opportunities for innovation and new business. In terms of methods, the trainings combine the interactive communication of new content, intensive discussions, case studies, small group exercises, and initial steps for transferring the new knowledge to the participants’ own job context based on useful frameworks, such as the SUSTAINAIBLITY INNOVATION MAP. Ideally, the end of my training session is the start of implementation. For a free initial discussion about a specific sustainability and ESG training, workshop, or keynote (in English or German) for your organization, please contact me here.
1. High general awareness – but often limited to reporting needs
The general awareness for the relevance of sustainability and ESG has dramatically increased over the past years – not only among sustainability experts, but among most managers and executives across business functions. At the same time, many persons primarily consider ESG and sustainability management as a duty and mandatory task with respect to reporting requirements. In contrast, the opportunities that may be associated with the sustainability transformation for the specific jobs and tasks of persons across different functions and units within companies are often neglected.
2. Focus on resource efficiency – but innovation largely neglected
The sustainability initiatives of most companies focus strongly on resource efficiency in terms of optimizing existing processes and procedures. On the one hand, this strategic approach is important because it usually leads to efficiency gains quite quickly, usually within months rather than years. On the other hand, this efficiency focus often limits a more substantial sustainability transformation which would consider positive sustainability and which would result from major innovations and change in terms of completely new products, services, processes, and business models. Thus, most firms focus on a BLUE SKY STRATEGY at the expense of a GREEN GRASS STRATEGY.
3. Climate change and circularity – but social dimension only partly addressed
The key sustainability topic for most firms at present is the reduction of CO2 emissions in the context of climate change. In addition, the transformation towards a circular economy receives much more attention today relative to its relevance a few years ago. While this present focus on environmental sustainability is quite a natural strategic move, it partly comes along with relatively limited attention to several social sustainability topics, which are expected to gain further importance over the next years.
To offer a comprehensive and balanced perspective, my trainings and workshops usually involve at least the following topics: relevance of sustainability, fundamental knowledge about ESG and sustainability, transformation and sustainability management, and opportunities for innovation and new business. In terms of methods, the trainings combine the interactive communication of new content, intensive discussions, case studies, small group exercises, and initial steps for transferring the new knowledge to the participants’ own job context based on useful frameworks, such as the SUSTAINAIBLITY INNOVATION MAP. Ideally, the end of my training session is the start of implementation. For a free initial discussion about a specific sustainability and ESG training, workshop, or keynote (in English or German) for your organization, please contact me here.
A new business landscape calls for a whole new way of strategizing: Companies need to prepare for the PUMO world – Polarized, Unthinkable, Metamorphic, and Overheated. The February 2025 showdown between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House led to considerable shock and surprise across the globe, yet it is just another example of how fundamentally the world has changed in recent years. In this context, existing frameworks for understanding the broader business landscape are insufficient, for example VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous) and BANI (Brittle, Anxious, Nonlinear, Incomprehensible). Firms constantly operate in contexts where these characteristics are nearly default settings. Consequently, these frameworks may still be helpful, but their marginal benefit is limited. They are not enough to successfully maneuver the global business landscape, where new challenges demand a novel approach with fresh business logic. Enter the PUMO framework (Polarized, Unthinkable, Metamorphic, Overheated), which enables a more relevant and actionable approach to succeeding in a shifting and turbulent environment. Polarized: Coping with major divides For several years, there has been a growing polarization about political, economic, social, and environmental topics. Rather than capturing multiple facets across a continuum, there is a tendency towards extremes with limited relevance of the middle ground. Stakeholders may expect firms to take clear positions, and just having a neutral spot regarding some topics becomes increasingly difficult. Multinational companies have the additional challenge of coping with contrasting demands based on different regional contexts worldwide. Beyond political, ESG , and AI topics, there may be specific business decisions that require a clear yes/no. Will a company decide in favor of supporting one major digital platform or another – and what implications will this have for its business in different regions across the globe? Such decisions may boost business and loyalty in some areas while leading to major challenges and problems in others. Thus, leaders need to understand the variety of divides and navigate them with strategic clarity. Unthinkable: Anticipating the unimaginable If companies try to prepare for the unexpected based on contingency plans, this may be a start, but it certainly is not enough. In recent years, we have witnessed a growing number of events, crises, and disruptions that traditionally would have been considered beyond the realm of possibility. Situations that are hard to predict or completely unpredictable may send shockwaves through the system of markets, industries, and business ecosystems. As difficult as it may be, companies need to prepare by trying to anticipate the unimaginable. Supposedly unthinkable news cannot be regarded as extremely rare exceptions, but they are an integral part of doing business. Firms need to react by strengthening their flexibility, nurturing their resilience, and broadening their strategic options. In addition, leaders need to be able and willing to fundamentally pivot and rethink their strategies at short notice while tactically adapting to specific situations in real time, and they may strategically prepare for this.
Nachhaltigkeit geht weit über regulatorische Berichtspflichten hinaus – sie bietet große Chancen für New Business, Innovation und vieles mehr!
As sustainability and ESG are on top of many firms’ strategic agendas, there is a growing need for specialized trainings, workshops, and keynotes.
Nachhaltigkeit und ESG stehen bei vielen Unternehmen ganz oben auf der Tagesordnung, daher wächst der Bedarf an spezialisierten Schulungen, Workshops und Vorträgen.
ChatGPT und generative KI werden uns nicht überflüssig machen – auch wenn die aktuelle Berichterstattung genau diesen Eindruck erweckt. ChatGPT hat uns allen verdeutlicht, wie schnell sich manche Felder künstlicher Intelligenz (KI) aktuell weiterentwickeln. Auch wenn einige dieser Entwicklungen schon seit Jahren erwartet wurden, ist die Geschwindigkeit vieler Verbesserungen selbst für manche ExpertInnen erstaunlich. Der aktuelle offene Brief des Future of Life Institute, der von über 1.000 Personen unterzeichnet wurde, ist daher grundsätzlich nachvollziehbar. Darin wird insbesondere auf die Risiken von KI hingewiesen und eine sechsmonatige Pause für das Trainieren leistungsfähiger KI-Lösungen gefordert. Eine ausreichende Beachtung der Risiken von KI ist unbedingt erforderlich, auch wenn die aktuelle Berichterstattung dazu oft zu kurz greift. Noch erstaunlicher ist aus betriebswirtschaftlicher Sicht jedoch das Medienecho der letzten Wochen und Monate zu den Auswirkungen von KI auf die Arbeitswelt, das sowohl in klassischen Medien als auch bei Social Media zu beobachten war. Dort wird häufig gefragt, ob wir als Menschen noch schlau genug sind im Vergleich zur KI. Auch wird diskutiert, ob KI künftig die meisten Führungskräfte ersetzen wird. Besonders oft steht also wieder einmal die Frage im Mittelpunkt, wie viele Personen durch KI ihren Job verlieren werden. Diese Frage ist auf den auf den ersten Blick vielleicht nachvollziehbar, weil durch KI-basierte Automatisierung in den nächsten Jahren tatsächlich in nennenswertem Umfang Jobs verloren gehen werden. Insbesondere werden auch solche Büro-Jobs betroffen sein, die bisher noch nicht automatisiert werden konnten. Dadurch sind mit offensiven Schlagzeilen sicherlich hohe Klickzahlen zu erreichen. Außerdem werden auch Arbeitsplätze in der Medienbranche automatisiert werden, wodurch sich die Berichterstattung zusätzlich erklären lässt. Integrierte Intelligenz strategisch oft wichtiger als eigenständige KI Dennoch wird viel zu oft ein einseitiger Schwerpunkt gelegt und damit auch ein falscher Eindruck vermittelt. Der wirklich entscheidende Teil der Entwicklung für die meisten Unternehmen und ebenso für die meisten Arbeitskräfte liegt in der Kombination von KI mit menschlicher Arbeit – und eben gerade nicht in der vollständigen Automatisierung von Jobs durch KI. In den letzten Jahren kamen verschiedenen Studien immer wieder zu ähnlichen Ergebnissen. Der Grundtenor ist dahingehend identisch, dass sich deutlich mehr Jobs verändern werden als komplett wegzufallen (vor allem, wenn die Zahl der Arbeitsplätze berücksichtigt wird, die durch KI zusätzlich entstehen). Diese Kombination von menschlicher mit künstlicher Intelligenz wird auch als integrierte Intelligenz bezeichnet.
The GREEN GRASS STRATEGY goes beyond traditional sustainability, and it refers to developing innovative solutions for a ‘net positive impact’. What is the GREEN GRASS STRATEGY? The GREEN GRASS STRATEGY is a sustainability strategy that focuses on innovation and new business opportunities rather than limiting sustainability programs to resource efficiency and the optimization of established processes. As such, the GREEN GRASS STRATEGY goes beyond traditional sustainability concepts that often focus on avoiding harm (no net loss) to consider positive sustainability and to embrace doing good (net positive impact). The GREEN GRASS STRATEGY enables you to leverage sustainability for innovation and value generation, and it can be systematically developed with the SUSTAINABILITY INNOVATION MAP , which helps firms to achieve a competitive advantage by systematically pursuing sustainability innovations in all ESG dimensions – environment, social, and governance.
Generation Z – and what is next? Many of today’s students are ‘sustainable natives’ and expect companies to make a positive contribution to solving ecological and social problems. In an international survey of more than 27,000 people, GlobeScan found in 2020 that for 60% of younger participants, climate change and social inequality are top priorities, combined with the expectation that companies should contribute to solving these challenges. Very importantly, the young generation expects positainability , i.e. making a positive contribution and not just reducing negative effects of doing business, for example by reducing CO2 emissions. To implement this positive sustainability approach, companies would need to pursue a GREEN GRASS STRATEGY . So far, however, many companies are hardly prepared for the future changes due to the ideas of those persons that will be starting their careers in the next few years. In fact, this new generation of ‘sustainable natives’ presents new challenges and opportunities for companies (as I have explained in more detail in a recent article in the Haufe Personalmagazin ). In particular, the following typical perspectives of this ‘Generation PI’ – Positive Impact – have to be considered. 1. Sustainable natives Many current students are ‘sustainable natives’ because they perceive sustainability as a core topic since their early youth. In contrast to the extensive public discussions about ‘digital natives’, the role of ‘sustainable natives’ has been mostly ignored so far. 2. Doubtful prospects Typical for ‘Generation PI’ are doubts whether their future standard of living will remain as good as their current situation and as the life of their parents, especially due to climate change. 3. Expected limitations Many current students expect restrictions on possible behaviors to enable a more sustainable economy and society in the future, for instance bans or massively increasing prices for air travel or the consumption of less sustainable food. 4. Positive contribution Beyond the goal of no-net-loss, ‘Generation PI’ is ready to make a positive contribution in terms of a net-positive-impact. Here, companies need to focus on major innovations rather than limiting themselves to reducing CO2 emissions in established processes.
Positainability – or positive sustainability – refers to the combination of doing good and avoiding bad to arrive at innovative solutions.
On May 28, 2022, Liverpool FC with the manager Juergen Klopp have the chance to win another Champions League title after beating Chelsea to win the FA Cup 2022.
How to use the proven tool that helps firms across industries to systematically pursue sustainability innovations.
