Sustainability and Competitive Advantage

This book aims to link a company's investments in sustainability to enhanced competitive advantage. It allows a rare inside view across different companies (drawn from large and small-sized as well as across public and private sectors), that have made deep commitments to sustainable practices. While each case opens up a unique situation, the common thread is the non-linear trajectory of these sustainability programs. The reader can draw powerful insights from these select companies' progress from vision to execution, right up to measurable outcomes or, even course correction. While the motivations for each corporation to initiate sustainability programs may have been different, the tangible benefits of the investments provide empirical evidence of the strong relationship to value creation.

The selected organisations that feature here are the result of deep conversations with multiple stakeholders including CEOs, C-Suite, and senior functional heads as well as sustainability professionals in HQ roles. With its focus towards practitioners, it integrates concepts and theories for a better understanding of the practices, approaches, systems, and decisions.

The pivotal role of leadership not just in in setting sustainability goals but also in supporting the journey at crucial milestones and embedding the right culture, emerges. This book will be useful to the students, researchers, teachers of Strategy, Sustainability, and Environmental studies, ESG, Environmental science, Sociology, and Public Administration. We hope this book motivates and galvanizes more momentum in research and practice so that we can preserve our dying planet in a more judicious manner.