The following is an excerpt from a column by Michelle Wicmandy (Forbes Council Member) for Forbes online. Read the whole column here.
Sustainability rarely fails in the executive suite because leaders oppose it. More often, it fails because sustainability information never enters the decisions that determine risk, capital allocation or performance.
The issue is less about sustainability itself and more about communication. Sustainability simply exposes the gap. It introduces new forms of risk, data and trade-offs into existing decision systems. ESG (environmental, social and governance) provides the information layer used to assess risk and long-term value. Sustainability reflects the business outcome.
Core management routines prioritise clarity, comparability and accountability. They reward consistency, control and confidence in decision making. Sustainability initiatives, by contrast, often sit alongside these systems rather than embedded within them.
Leaders face a proliferation of frameworks, reporting standards and metrics. Many lack interoperability and decision relevance. Sustainability discussions move into parallel reporting processes, isolated teams or long-term vision statements, and remain disconnected from operational decisions.
When sustainability aligns with core decision systems, it stops feeling like “extra.” PwC research underscores this shift: Nearly 80% of investors now consider ESG an important factor in investment decisions.
Read the rest here.
