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DELIVERING SUSTAINABILITY GAINS AT OUR CLIENTS, FIRM, AND COMMUNITIES
The path forward for developing and delivering on a meaningful sustainability initiative is far from clear. Data shows that the overwhelming majority of corporate sustainability initiatives are vapor – focused on simply checking boxes and reporting rather than delivering meaningful change. Not because they weren’t well intentioned, but because companies rush headlong into measurement and policy design without taking a step back to evaluate fit for purpose, establish a supporting business case, orient around clear and sequential priorities and build the organizational muscles and sinew (not just in the Sustainability team but across Supply Chain, Facilities, HR, etc.) to truly embed sustainability into their DNA. Governance matters. Sustainability isn’t a set of tasks for one group or committee, it’s a capability. One that must cut across, rally and meet the needs of the broader organization and its external stakeholders. Pulling on them not only for their thoughts and perspectives but also to support and drive day-to-day execution.
Our approach corrects for the known and solvable factors that cause most sustainability initiatives to fail. Addressing not only what to measure and how to measure it. But, more importantly, why those measures are important, how they deliver value to our clients' broad internal and external stakeholders and what changes are needed to not only report on sustainability but to deliver measurable, meaningful impact across those sustainability goals (e.g., more resilient business operations, costs deferred via circular economy, incremental revenue and margin capture through sustainable brand innovation, etc.). As a result, we're able to provide full cycle support across conducting materiality assessments, designing a sustainability strategy, defining the change management requirements for operationalizing that strategy and working shoulder-to-shoulder to embed sustainability into our clients' operations.
The sustainability capabilities we build for clients aren't just a boilerplate version of sustainability initiatives deployed at competitors and the best-in-class but, rather, ones that learn from what those third parties have done well (and poorly), translating that insight into a strategy and approach that is authentic to our clients, the footprint they uniquely possess and the impact they are capable of. With an eye not only towards reporting and box-checking but towards building true leadership through measureable impact.
In addition, we’ve incorporated ESG concerns tightly into our firm’s culture and business practices. Internally, we’ve focused on decarbonizing our own footprint (e.g., LEED Gold certified office space, public transportation accessibility, etc.), ensuring pay equity across genders, achieving diversity and inclusion through our hiring practices, and remaining selective about the clients and industries we choose to work with. Externally, we continue to actively engage on ESG issues within our communities, through pro bono work and volunteerism (incl. at the Board level) with organizations like Leadership Greater Washington to bring attention to, convene, and help facilitate impact on key issues (e.g., housing inequality, food scarcity, environmental sustainability, community health, etc.) affecting the communities in which we live, work, and play.
- What globally recognized sustainability frameworks should we leverage and which specific metrics should we use to guide our efforts?
- Which issues are most material to our business and those of our stakeholders?
- Do we have the governance model and structure needed to drive our sustainability program forward?
- How do we frame our business case and ensure that sustainability efforts can attract required investment going forward?
- How do we stagger and phase those investments to drive immediate gains for ourselves, the environment, our people and our communities even while laying the groundwork for longer-term more transformative change?
- Strategic Planning
- Organizational Development / Capacity Building
- Best Practices Identification and Application
- Performance Measurement and Management
- Performance Dashboarding
- Balanced Scorecards
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