Business Strategies for SustainabilityExecutive MBA Session 6
Global megatrends highlighting the long term business importance of
sustainability related issues and the potential career implications
Content developed and presented by Howard Connell
December 3, 2015
The increasing business importance of sustainability is
part of a decades long continuum
1960s – 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s
Silent Spring
(R. Carson – ‘62)
World Climate
Conference (‘79)
Nike sweatshop boycotts
& public commitment to
change (‘92 – ’98)
Ray Anderson &
Interface
commitment (‘94)
Copenhagen
World Summit
UN Commission for
Sustainable
Development
UN Millennium
Development Goals
UN Sustainable
Development Goals
U.S. Clean Air (’70) &
Clean Water (‘72) Acts
Brundtland
Report
Rio Agenda 21
Ecology of
Commerce
(‘93)
Rio +10 Rio +20 COP21
Kyoto Protocol
Dow Jones Sustainability
Index (‘99)
Post-WW II increases
in industrial growth,
environmental
damage, and cultural
awareness
Nixon creates
US EPA (‘70)
US Resource
Conservation and
Recovery Act
Greenpeace & Friends
of the Earth enviro
NGOs formed – ’69 – ‘71
Porter & Kramer
Creating Shared
Value (HBS ‘06)
CalPERS
shareholder
activism begins
Sustainability
Accounting
Standards Board
Consulting firms
increasing focus
(McKinsey, Deloitte,
Accenture, EY, PwC)
Walmart
sustainability
commitment (‘05)
That continuum highlights the tip of mounting
pressures that began as population growth exploded
in the past 100 years
Source: http://www.paulchefurka.ca/Population.html
Source: http://www.theoildrum.com/node/8936
Energy, used here as a proxy for overall consumption
and resource demand, shows the impact of population
growth combined with the industrial revolution
Population will increase ~15% but global consumption
will increase by over two-thirds as an ever growing
consumer class drives resources demand ever higher
Source: http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/strategy/winning_the_30_trillion_decathlon_going_for_gold_in_emerging_markets
+16%+68%
Increasingly interconnected global supply chains, environmental
strains, and unrelenting demand lead to food price volatility;
potentially driving further geo-political instability
Decreasing land available for agriculture due to
competing demands of development exacerbate the
issue
The increasing demand on resources will continue
upward for the next several decades driven primarily
by developing countries
Global water supply is currently forecasted to meet
barely more than half of forecasted demand
Both the population and consumption pressures will
be driven by Asia and Africa….
Cumulative energy-related CO2 emissions
…driving the non-OECD led carbon emissions now
predicted that will far outstrip is needed to keep global
temperature within acceptable limits
These converging global megatrends will continue to put
mounting pressure on resources, supply chains,
ecosystems, and institutions in the decades to come
What does this mean for
businesses, entrepreneurs,
and those seeking to build
their careers over the coming
years and decades?
Notes: Companies represented announced with at least one of the following, specifically in advance of COP21: Joined RE100 (the Climate Group and the Carbon Disclosure Project), pledging to source 100% of their electricity from renewable energy to reduce CO2
emissions and seize the business benefits
Signed the American Business Act on Climate Pledge to demonstrate their support for action
Committed to specific action through the We Mean Business Coalition
• AGL Energy
• Air France KLM
• AkzoNobel
• Asia Pulp & Paper
• BT Group
• Caesars Entertainment
• Carrefour
• Cemex
• China Steel
• Coca-Cola Enterprises
• Daimler
• Deutsche Post DHL
• Diageo Plc
• DuPont
• General Mills
• Hewlett-Packard
• H&M
• Ingersoll-Rand Co. Ltd.
• Ingersoll-Rand Co. Ltd.
• ING Group
• Innovation Group
• InterCement
• Kellogg Company
• L'Oréal
• Mars
• Monsanto Company
• PepsiCo
• Philip Morris International
• Royal Dutch Shell
• Siemens
• The Coca Cola Company
• United Technologies
• United Utilities
• West China Cement
• Weyerhaeuser Company
Small sample of companies announcing commitments and/or support for COP21
Representative
functionExample issues
Product Development
& Innovation
Strategy
Marketing & Brands
Manufacturing,
Operations, & Supply
Finance, Accounting,
& Investor Relations
Risk Management &
Legal
HR & Organization
Start ups &
Entrepreneurship
• Design incorporating more sustainable raw materials or increasing opportunities for end-of-life
remanufacturing, recyclability, reuse, or secondary use
• New technologies, products, services, or business models solving sustainability-related challenges
• Risks and opportunities for firm vs. competitors / substitutes based on current and future consumer
trends, regulatory landscapes, commodity and material pressures, etc. across different geographies
• Understanding risks and opportunities of brands, products, and parent company based on various
sustainability-related dimensions and how incorporate into marketing function if/as appropriate
• Reducing energy, water, waste across facilities, manufacturing, suppliers, logistics, and even
consumer use and post-consumer opportunities
• Aligning operations to support sustainability commitments and goals
• Capital allocation and budgeting processes for sustainability related opportunities or commitments
• Accounting for environmental risks, valuing natural capital and ecosystem services
• Sustainability reporting, integrated reporting, Global Reporting Initiative, Sustainability Accounting
Standards Board, and responding to SRI investment community and stakeholder requests
• Enterprise risk management implications of climate change, pricing carbon, and access to materials
• Labor standards, laws, and social right to operate across different geographies
• Employee engagement and talent management
• Organizational structure to incorporate sustainability-related goals, metrics, and commitments
• New opportunities to solve local or global challenges related to sustainability
• Impact investors and new capital sources based on impact area or mission
• Investors considering social and environmental impact in addition to financial return including Benefit
Corp legal structure
Minimal Significant
Traditional+ Lane Hybrid Lane Focused Lane
Positions more focused on
sustainability related
competencies and
initiatives; deep and/or
broad capabilities are
required
Some degree of direct
responsibilities or
projects; related
capabilities required but
are not main focus
Sustainability-specific
competencies and activities
not required – yet they
support innovative,
strategic thinking and ability
to “ask the right questions”
Degree of Sustainability-Related Focus
Professionals may move in and out of different lanes at different times. Each lane
may offer different experiences and opportunities at different career levels depending
on a candidate’s long-term career goals.
A selection of representative positions using the career
lanes approach
Traditional+ Hybrid Focused
Minimal Significant
Job Titles &
Company
ILLUSTRATIVE
Director, Product
Sustainability, Walmart
SVP Business
Development, Opower
Category manager,
Walmart
Chief Sustainability
Officer, Coca-Cola Co.Practice Area Director,
Slalom Consulting
Finance Manager, Supply
Chain, General Mills
GM Vendor Compliance &
Sustainability, Li & Fung
Director, Manufacturing
Waste Stream
Optimization, Nike
VP, Social
Responsibility and
Vendor Compliance,
The Children’s Place
Director of Merchandising,
Home Depot
CFO, Seventh Generation
VP Market Development,
Hannah Solar
Director, Risk Assurance
& Governance, PwC
Automotive Segment
Director, Aloca
Director of Marketing,
Local Roots
Degree of Sustainability-Related Focus
To simplify the discussion, we suggest three major
career phases where expectations and capabilities are
can be decidedly different
Phase Time-frame Potential Expectations (varies by type of roles and industry)
Advanced
“Pinnacle” of
career; e.g., MBA
+ 20 years and
beyond
• Broad, strategic insights across industry
• Diverse and/or deep experience supports clarity in
complexity and systems
• Delegation, influence, leadership mentoring
• High-level relationship and business development
• Technical and subject matter expertise drawn from others
MidPhases between
early and
advanced
• P&L management
• Team management & mentoring
• Greater value creation
• Strategic decision making
• Connecting dots and creating relationships
Early2 – 10 years after
graduation
• Individual contributor
• Analytical, technical, potentially thin-slice expertise
• Structure and execution
By combining these career phases with our Career
Lanes framework, a career matrix emerges
T+ Hybrid Focused
Ph
ase o
f C
are
er
Earlier
Advanced
Career Lanes
This matrix can illustrate different potential career
pathways to consider
T+ Hybrid Focused
Ph
ase o
f C
are
er
Earlier
Advanced
Career Lanes
Example Observations
• Traditional to Traditional+
position(s) post-graduation
• Continual advancement
over many years without
significant responsibilities
related to sustainability
• Late-career promotion to
role focused in
sustainability-relevant area
Example Pathway (blue line)
To better inform your planning and development goals,
seek to understand likely requirements across different
lanes, phases, and roles you may consider
What are the likely knowledge, skills, and
capabilities needed at different phases of
a career?
What does excellence look like?
What development needs would you have
and how would you approach them?
T+ Hybrid Focused
Ph
ase
of
Care
er
Earlier
Advanced
Career Lanes
What are the various sustainability-
related risks and opportunities?
How will these likely change?
How can you best understand them?
Questions to ask
across the different
career opportunities
you consider
FoHyT+
Adv
Mid
EarlyBea Perez
Chief Sustainability Officer
The Coca-Cola Company
Atlanta, GA
Previous Roles
Coca-Cola Co.
Chief Marketing Officer
North American Division‘10 – ‘11
Senior Vice President
Integrated Marketing‘07 – ‘10
Coca-Cola
North America
Brand management and field
operations roles:
• Vice President, Sports and
Entertainment
• Director, NASCAR
• Associate Brand Manager
‘96 – ‘07
Education
University of Maryland BS, Marketing
Insights and Observations
• Strong record of positions of increasing
responsibility
• Exposed to diverse opportunities developing
broad skills but with core expertise focus in
brands and marketing
• CEO chose marketing leader due to skills
around strategy and consumer insights.
• “Worked with our scientists, bottlers and
global team to create and embed rigor
around” sustainability
• “The millennial generation is growing up!
Companies and brands will not survive
without” a sustainability perspective
One of the most senior C-suite sustainability leaders
globally previous led a traditional marketing career
FoHyT+
Adv
Mid
EarlyNadeem Sheikh
SVP & GM, International
OPower
London, UK
Previous Roles
Opower • VP of Biz Dev - Asia ’12 – ‘14
Opower• Office launch & biz dev on
West coast + Aus & NZ‘10 – ‘12
Mission Motors • Adviser ‘10.
McKinsey & Co.• Senior Engagement
Manager‘06 – ‘’10
Robert Bosch
Foundation• Transatlantic Fellow ‘05 – ‘06
Form+Function
Consulting• Senior Consultant ‘02 – ‘03
Accenture• Consultant
‘99 – ‘02
Education
University of California, Berkeley MBA ‘05
University of Wisconsin-MadisonBS, Industrial
Engineering‘99
Trends in utilities, technology, customer engagement,
and sustainability combined in a fast track career path
FoHyT+
Insights and Observations
• Never planned on career related to
sustainability until the opportunity arose
• While at McKinsey, saw opportunity to
combine professional aspiration (build
something new and big) with personal
interest (Sustainability & Resource
Productivity practice and doing something
out of the box)
• Know your basic requirements (income,
opportunity, lifestyle, risk) and don’t waste
time considering paths that don’t fit them
• Lots of emerging opportunities at intersection
of solutions to sustainability challenges and
profitable new business models
FoHyT+
Adv
Mid
Early
Dan
Fukushima
Strategy & Operations Practice Director
Slalom Consulting
Atlanta, GA
Previous Roles
North Highland &
Sparks Grove
Increasing promotions
culminating with VP of Sparks
Grove (marketing division)
’99 – ‘14
Radiant Systems • Senior Manager ‘97 – ‘99
Northern Trust • Account Manager ’96 – ‘97
Delta Airlines • Project manager ‘87 – ‘95
Education
Georgia TechBS, Management
(now Scheller)‘87
Insights and Observations
• Companies are getting more serious about
sustainability. It’s becoming a huge factor in
their innovation work
• You need to understand the whole
ecosystem and how your expertise fits
• Sustainability is becoming a component of
good business practices
• On the customer-facing side of the business
it run from product ingredients to how they’re
delivering their services and more.
Sustainability is becoming more ingrained
into product definitions.
A mainstream management consultant with customer
and marketing focus sees increasing importance and
value related to sustainability
FoHyT+
Adv
Mid
Early
Eileen
Andersen
Finance Manager
Supply Chain Business Partners
General Mills
Minneapolis, MN
Previous Roles
General Mills. Inc.
Finance Manager, Small
Planet Foods‘11 – ‘14
C.I. Leader, GBS ’11
Finance Manager, GBS ’10 – ’11
Cereal Partners
Worldwide S.A.Financial Controller ‘07 – ’10
General Mills. Inc.
Financial Operations Manager ‘05 – ‘07
Senior Financial Analyst (2
positions, increasing respon.)‘00 – ‘04
MBA Enterprise CorpsInternational Consultant -
Ukraine‘97 – ‘99
Coca-Cola Co. Risk Analyst ‘93 – ‘97
Education
Harvard Extension Sustainability Certificate ‘15 – ‘16
Emory MBA ‘97
Communicating her interest in sustainability helped
this finance focused MBA capitalize on relevant career
pivots when opportunities arose
Insights and Observations
• Suggests traditional MBAs “get the
leadership development program experience
first”
• Had a personal interest early but focused
creating value in her roles, gaining credibility,
learning the “secret handshake” in culture
• Once established, clearly communicated
interest when a project opportunity arose
• Since then a pivot towards the organics
businesses only due to an intentional focus
but within company culture
• Roles and value still predominantly driven by
finance acumen and experience. Doing so in
business area aligned with passions.
There may be starkly different paths that nevertheless
lead to similar opportunities, illustrated here
FoHyT+
Adv
Mid
Early
Lisa
Morden
Senior Director,,
Global Sustainability
Kimberly-Clark
Profile and Current Role
FoHyT+
Adv
Mid
Early
Howard
Connell
Managing Director,
GA Tech Center for
Sustainable Business
Career Path
• Chemistry Undergrad
• Mill Enviro Scientist
• Regional Enviro Leader
• National Enviro Leader
• EHS Leader North America
• EHS Leader Global
• K-C Sustainability Lead B2B
• Bath Tissue Category Manger
• Sr Director, Global Sustainability
• Business Undergrad
• Private Wealth Management
• Analyst and Trader
• Portfolio Manager & SRI1 lead
• Full-time MBA; sustainability track
• Associate, management consulting
• Manager, management consulting2
• K-C Sustainability Lead B2B
• Managing Director, Center for
Sustainable Business & Professor
Notes: 1) SRI = Socially Responsible Investing, which is included in our definition of sustainability
2) Core team member developing emerging North American sustainability practice
Insights
• Deep technical expertise and
promotions early on
• Broader responsibilities and
promotions along same
vertical speciality area
• Leadership guided shift to
mainstream business role for
2 years before last promotion
• Investment background included
sustainability-relevant work
• Post-MBA focused on consulting
experience but with intent to shift
toward increase sustainability
related focus over time
• During career path, regardless of
role, maximized exposure to
emerging sustainability field via
conferences, books, networking
A three-step approach can help identify if, how, and where
sustainability-related issues might be valuable in your
career progression and planning
1
2
Conduct introspective career exploration. Identify multiple
career trajectories that may be a good fit and attractive
Add a sustainability variable by asking: Along these
paths, will sustainability-related trends become
increasingly important in the years ahead?
• Where have you been? What do you excel at? What are your assets?
(e.g., resume, skills, network, relationships)
• What do you value? (e.g., lifestyle, location, income, work environment?
• What are you most passionate about? What risks do you want to take?
• Consider the global megatrends and industry dynamics. What challenges will
these bring? What solutions will be needed?
• Seek out information sources at the intersection of sustainability and these paths
• How can your answers in #1 above bring differentiated value related to
sustainability? “Skate to
where the puck is going
to be.”
3 Use your answers to identify any potential next steps
• Do you want to learn or understand something better? How can you?
• Do you want to develop relationships with people or companies?
• Are there capabilities you want to build? How might you?
• Are there new opportunities (professional, volunteer, pro bono, personal) that
combine your passions, career goals, and the trends you identified?