Sustainability is fast becoming a boardroom priority but there is still a “rhetoric gap” between what corporate leaders say, and the actions that they take.

To ensure sustainability isn’t forgotten as businesses emerge from Covid-19’s economic fallout, it is important to bridge this gap, said Stephen Langton, management consulting firm Russell Reynolds Associates’ board consultant, Asia Pacific leader and chief executive of its Advisory Partners team.

One way to do this, is to set sustainability key performance indicators for corporate leaders to meet, he said.

A recent study of corporate bosses by Russell Reynolds found that just under half of them are taking action to integrate sustainability into their businesses, although nearly double the proportion believe it is critical to their success and survival. Consisting of interviews conducted this year with 55 chief executives and board members who have a track record of integrating sustainability into business strategies, the study was part of Russell Reynolds’ work with the United Nations (UN) Global Compact. The latter is an initiative for businesses to adopt sustainable and socially responsible policies.

In an interview with global communications firm APCO Worldwide, Langton sheds light on why companies are becoming more sustainable, and what motivates sustainability leaders in Asia.

Langton: Through our work with the UN Global Compact and business leaders, we found that, to some extent in the past, some felt it was a trade-off, that you had to choose between profitable growth and being truly sustainable. Many business leaders believed that you couldn’t have both.

But things have changed. The new era of boards and CEOs recognise that in order to be commercially successful, they would have to be sustainable too. Tomorrow’s customers, employees, shareholders and investors will not support them unless they are sustainable.

Read the full article about maintaining sustainable business at Eco-Business.