Has sustainability moved beyond being in the “fluffy stuff” bucket?

According to IBM’s latest CEO report, more than half of the companies have moved beyond “mandates and compliance” as their main reason for implementing sustainability in their business.

The research led to four big categories of "mindset" CEOs fall into as they are thinking about what role sustainability plays in their business:

• Assessing: Haven't done anything yet: 15%

• Complying: Basically to "not get in trouble" - use data to inform: 29%

• Operational: use it to create efficiencies - use data to optimize: 43%

• Transformation: see investment in sustainability as a business opportunity, are driven by wanting to making an impact - use data to create transformational change: 13%

Turns out that the biggest hurdle for CEOs comes down to business fundamentals: what is the ROI of the solution? 57% said that they were unclear about the ROI of sustainability.

For companies offering sustainability solutions, it will be critical

• to demonstrate the value in the context of their buyers’ business.

• understand their mindset (A, C, O, or T?) to start meaningful conversations

How are you approaching your audience differently compared to a few months ago?