Sustainability Matters

Welcome to Sustainability Matters, our collected insights and opinions on the subject of Sustainability in the workplace and beyond. 
Find out about our commitment to lead in reducing climate risk through our work for Industries and Roles.

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Insight

How Odgers Berndtson prioritises sustainability

We’ve applied for verification of these targets from the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi),...

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Why Does Sustainability Matter in the Higher Education Sector?

Also currently serving as Company Director and Chair of the EAUC Board of Directors, Co Chair of...

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Global headhunter sets decarbonisation targets in line with the Paris Agreement

London, 22 Feb - Odgers Berndtson, the global executive search, interim management and leadership...

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Levelling Up – Part Two: How gaming industry leaders can accomplish sustainability targets

Following Levelling up – Part One: How the gaming industry is approaching sustainability, we delv...

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Levelling Up - Part One: How the gaming industry is approaching sustainability

Over the last three years, the priorities of CEOs and senior business leaders have evolved, with...

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Global Sport and Climate Change: is leadership the answer?

Global sports events can stimulate local and national economies, generate employment, and promote...

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How to get the most out of a Chief Sustainability Officer

The choice of sustainability leader is determined by the business’ sustainability maturity level...

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The evolving role of sustainability leaders

Executive summary Businesses are responding to the climate emergency by seeking competitive advan...

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Sustainability: the opportunity cost most leaders are missing

Not a day goes by without one company or another making a sustainability pledge. This kind of cor...

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Responsible Leadership Series: In Conversation with Kerstin Erbe, Managing Partner, dm

Kerstin Erbe is responsibile for managing dm (drogerie markt) owned brands, which includes more t...

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Responsible Leadership: An interview with the Interim Executive Director of Grow Asia

Yan: Bev, thank you for joining us today. As you know, we're embarking on a global leadership ser...

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COP26: finding the right leader is now more important than ever

This year’s COP was perhaps the most conspicuous in the conference’s 26-year history. Over the pa...

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Responsible Leadership: An interview with President and CEO, Alliance to End Plastic Waste

Yan: Thank you very much for taking the time today. So, maybe we can kick off with this first que...

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Responsible Leadership: An interview with Copec’s Chief Corporate Development Officer

The third in the series, John Byrne interviews Leonardo Ljubetic, Chief Corporate Development Off...

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Responsible Leadership: An interview with the former CPO at Danone and SABMiller

Maaike: Today I'm joined by Katharina Stenholm, Independent Advisor. But you are also the former...

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Responsible Leadership: An interview with the CEO, Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data

The second in the series, Derek Wilkinson interviews Claire Melamed, Chief Executive Officer of t...

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Responsible Leadership: An interview with EY’s Global Vice Chair – Sustainability

To begin the series, Virginia Bottomley interviews Steve Varley, EY Global Vice Chair – Sustainab...

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Unlocking the route to the Board table?

The term ‘ESG’ encompasses how businesses address key themes across environment, social and gover...

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ESG issues and digital transformation top the post-COVID corporate agenda

Susanne Thorning-Lund, Partner in the Board Practice at Odgers Berndtson, considers the responses...

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The Race for Innovation - An interview with the President and CRO at Salesforce: Part Two

We speak to Gavin Patterson, President and Chief Revenue Officer at Salesforce and the former CEO...

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Ørsted’s green energy transformation and encouraging bravery in the boardroom

Susanne Thorning-Lund: Ørsted underwent an extraordinary transition from a state-owned oil and ga...

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Why leading on sustainability demands a high level of emotional intelligence

IQ and EQ are now very familiar concepts in evaluating the potential and performance of leaders....

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How Iceland Foods strikes a balance between purpose and profit

Jane Dessar: Why did you write The Green Grocer? And what is its most important message? Richard...

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Sustainability Intelligence - Responsible Leadership in Process Industries

Odgers Berndtson interviewed Global Chief Procurement Officers from chemical, ingredient and othe...

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Purposeful leadership champions sustainability

Interface Inc., is a global manufacturer of commercial flooring, made 25th place on Fortune’s Top...

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A new cycle brings food for thought

Although still very much the market leader in breakfast cereal, in some ways Kellogg is unrecogni...

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The heart of the matter: ESG takes centre stage

Amid the global devastation caused by COVID-19, environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues...

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Climate action is now part of everyone’s job: an interview with the Bank of England’s Sarah Breeden

AM: Do you see businesses reorganising to face the challenges of climate change, with new divisio...

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Leading the way to carbon zero: an interview with the Bank of England’s Sarah Breeden

Anne Murphy, Head of Odgers Berndtson’s Financial Service Practice in London, continues her conve...

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Supply chain sustainability

The supply chain function has evolved significantly over the past decade, becoming a key strategi...

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Sizing the risks of climate change: an interview with the Bank of England’s Sarah Breeden

Anne Murphy, Head of Odgers Berndtson’s Financial Services Practice, in conversation with the Ban...

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Is Canada’s cleantech leadership ready to step up?

Only four years ago, I was in a discussion in London when the term ‘cleantech’ came up. More than...

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What lies ahead for the sustainable business movement?

  The sustainable business movement was first embraced by a few altruistic individuals,...

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How Paul Polman wants to change the world - Part 2

OBSERVE: Your new venture, IMAGINE, plans to work with companies to press ahead for greater susta...

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How Paul Polman wants to change the world - Part 1

OBSERVE: You spent more than ten years as CEO of Unilever pushing the boundaries of sustainable b...

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The rapid rise of the Chief Sustainability Officer

Corporate sustainability is no longer the domain of generalists, marketing experts or individuals...

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Could you cut it as a Chief Sustainability Officer?

According to research by George Serafeim, Harvard Business School Professor, a CSO’s authority an...

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Changing dirty SOX will cost world shipping

Shipping accounts for about 3% of total global emissions and 10% of transport emissions. That’s r...

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Can ESG investing make the jump to the mainstream?

ESG-based strategies don’t just deliver competitive performance. They also provide valuable insig...

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Let’s listen to more diverse voices on sustainability

We won’t solve the world’s climate and sustainability problems by leaving them to predominantly w...

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Is your board still ducking the sustainability challenge?

The Deloitte report ‘Sustainability and the board: What do directors need to know in 2018?’ was c...

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Attracting APAC talent the sustainable way

In late 2017, Odgers Berndtson published ‘People, Planet and Profits: How Sustainability Boosts P...

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Meet the most important bank you’ve never heard of

The statistics about plastic waste are jaw-dropping. In 1950, a world population of 2.5 billion p...

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Can we stop eating up the planet?

The statistics speak volumes. Food is the single largest source of greenhouse gases, with 31% att...

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How can mining help uncover a more sustainable future?

In 2018, UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre expert Matt Jones declared: “A globa...

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How the Neste board leads on sustainability

Finnish energy company Neste is one of the top three companies on the Corporate Knights 2019 Glob...

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Fashion’s Green challenge - Part 2

In 2019, Odgers Berndtson staged a roundtable event to discuss sustainability and its impact. It...

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Fashion’s Green challenge - Part 1

Fashion demands that we buy new and buy often. It encourages a throwaway culture often founded on...

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Unilever‘s Chief Procurement Officer talks 400 brands, trust and palm oil

Unilever, the Anglo-Dutch consumer goods group, has over 400 brands. That involves a €35 billion...

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Supplying the demand for sustainable supply chains

As the world’s biggest companies strive to hit sustainability targets, they are increasingly look...

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What’s so good about ESG investing?

According to the 2018 Global Sustainable Investment Alliance (GSIA), there are $22.9 trillion ass...

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Meet the powers behind Europe’s cleantech revolution

We spoke to several industry executives who revealed that cleantech businesses need significant i...

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