Author: The Purple IVY team
Purple IVY launches its survey of 20 sustainability leaders in Sweden and how they integrate sustainability into their business.
Scania, Electrolux, Vattenfall, Husqvarna Group, Epiroc and Swedbank were among the 20 companies, including five state-owned companies, that took part in Purple IVY’s survey: The State of Integration.
The Purple IVY report explores the barriers companies are facing and the success factors they pinpoint as necessary for deep integration. The purpose of the survey is to enable a discussion among business people on what needs to be in place to achieve even greater impact.
“While all our respondents tell us that integration is among the top priorities for them, no company journey was like the other,” Eva Normell of Purple IVY says. “The way they measure their progress varied considerably.”
Insights from 20 companies
Our research is a reflection of conversations with some 20 leading Swedish companies. Well under half of the respondents indicated that sustainability was deeply integrated in their business strategy
Key take-aways include.
- Most respondents cited that top management played a crucial role in achieving the right level of ambition and commitment.
- Less than a quarter of the respondents stated that they work actively to build awareness and raise competence levels among top management
- Just over half of the respondents had defined transformational targets.
An important conclusion in the report is the disconnect between a heavy reliance on the top management to set the tone and ambition for their sustainability commitment. At the same time top management are often not given the tools to understand the sustainability context.
“Only four respondents said that they make concerted efforts to raise their leadership teams’ knowledge of the agenda,” Eva Normell commented. “This is clearly a pitfall. With a lack of understanding of what is at stake, the real purpose of sustainability becomes confused – sustainability is seen through the eyes of business interests instead of the role business has as a change agent. Not addressing this conflict could jeopardize both credibility and impact.”
