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CEOs are least likely to possess a bold, disruptive mindset across all markets, bar Sweden
How do you rate your CEO on the following attributes?
% of senior leaders selecting "very strong" or "strong")
Global - Senior Leaders
Is personally committed to / supports sustainability
Aims to positively impact sustainability outcomes when setting strategy
Consults stakeholders in decision-making / problem solving
Sets aspirational sustainability goals to transform business
Works to identify and mitigate the organization's impact on the ecosystem
Innovates and makes bold investments to drive sustainability outcomes
CEOs are least likely to possess a bold, disruptive mindset across all markets, bar Sweden
How do you rate your CEO on the following attributes?
(% of senior leaders selecting "very strong" or "strong")
ANZ - Senior Leaders
Is personally committed to / supports sustainability
Aims to positively impact sustainability outcomes when setting strategy
Consults stakeholders in decision-making / problem solving
Sets aspirational sustainability goals to transform business
Works to identify and mitigate the organization's impact on the ecosystem
Innovates and makes bold investments to drive sustainability outcomes
CEOs are least likely to possess a bold, disruptive mindset across all markets, bar Sweden
How do you rate your CEO on the following attributes?
(% of senior leaders selecting "very strong" or "strong")
France - Senior Leaders
Is personally committed to / supports sustainability
Aims to positively impact sustainability outcomes when setting strategy
Consults stakeholders in decision-making / problem solving
Sets aspirational sustainability goals to transform business
Works to identify and mitigate the organization's impact on the ecosystem
Innovates and makes bold investments to drive sustainability outcomes
CEOs are least likely to possess a bold, disruptive mindset across all markets, bar Sweden
How do you rate your CEO on the following attributes?
(% of senior leaders selecting "very strong" or "strong")
Germany - Senior Leaders
Is personally committed to/ supports sustainability
Consults stakeholders in decision-making / problem solving
Aims to positively impact sustainability outcomes when setting strategy
Sets aspirational sustainability goals to transform business
Works to identify and mitigate the organization's impact on the ecosystem
Innovates and makes bold investments to drive sustainability outcomes
CEOs are least likely to possess a bold, disruptive mindset across all markets, bar Sweden
How do you rate your CEO on the following attributes?
(% of senior leaders selecting "very strong" or "strong")
Spain - Senior Leaders
Is personally committed to / supports sustainability
Aims to positively impact sustainability outcomes when setting strategy
Sets aspirational sustainability goals to transform business
Consults stakeholders in decision-making / problem solving
Innovates and makes bold investments to drive sustainability outcomes
Works to identify and mitigate the organization's impact on the ecosystem
CEOs are least likely to possess a bold, disruptive mindset across all markets, bar Sweden
How do you rate your CEO on the following attributes?
(% of senior leaders selecting "very strong" or "strong")
Sweden - Senior Leaders
Is personally committed to / supports sustainability
Aims to positively impact sustainability outcomes when setting strategy
Sets aspirational sustainability goals to transform business
Innovates and makes bold investments to drive sustainability outcomes
Consults stakeholders in decision-making / problem solving
Works to identify and mitigate the organization's impact on the ecosystem
CEOs are least likely to possess a bold, disruptive mindset across all markets, bar Sweden
How do you rate your CEO on the following attributes?
(% of senior leaders selecting "very strong" or "strong")
UK - Senior Leaders
Is personally committed to/ supports sustainability
Aims to positively impact sustainability outcomes when setting strategy
Sets aspirational sustainability goals to transform business
Consults stakeholders in decision-making / problem solving
Works to identify and mitigate the organization's impact on the ecosystem
Innovates and makes bold investments to drive sustainability outcomes
CEOs are least likely to possess a bold, disruptive mindset across all markets, bar Sweden
How do you rate your CEO on the following attributes?
(% of senior leaders selecting "very strong" or "strong")
US - Senior Leaders
Is personally committed to / supports sustainability
Aims to positively impact sustainability outcomes when setting strategy
Consults stakeholders in decision-making / problem solving
Sets aspirational sustainability goals to transform business
Works to identify and mitigate the organization's impact on the ecosystem
Innovates and makes bold investments to drive sustainability outcomes
While policies and processes provide solid structures for sustainability, it’s bold leadership that fosters a culture of sustainability and translates vision into action.
David Lange, Leadership Advisor, Russell Reynolds Associates
Why the Leadership Divide matters
Sustainability transformation is no easy feat. In a business world that often favors short-term gains over long-term change, true sustainability action requires vision, complex trade-offs, and courage.
Our research shows that when leaders possess an innovative mindset, they are much more likely to have made progress on sustainability.
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Senior leaders who feel their CEO is good at setting aspirational sustainability goals to transform the organization into a more sustainable business are 3.7x more likely to report that progress has been made and will continue to be made. |
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Senior leaders who feel their CEO is good at making bold investments to drive the innovation needed to make the company more sustainable are 3.2x more likely to report that progress has been made and will continue to be made. |
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Senior leaders who feel their CEO actively works to identify and mitigate unintended consequences of business strategy/operations are 3.1x more likely to report that sustainability progress has been made and will continue to be made. |
2023 Survey 2021 Research Report Download full report
The power of bold, courageous leadership in driving sustainability results
Across the world, there are examples of CEOs who possess the courage to challenge the status quo and rally stakeholders towards a sustainable future. These CEOs know the greatest risks lie not in failure, but in inaction.
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Søren Skou
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With the shipping industry responsible for around 2.5% of greenhouse gas emissions, Søren Skou, CEO at Maersk, invested $2bn in 12 full-sized green containerships. The only problem? He did not yet know where to find the methanol to power them. He forged ahead anyway, and, in the end, achieved this epic moonshot. Among the solutions, was a partnership with Ørsted and a number of other companies to develop a hydrogen and e-fuel production facility by 2025. When fully operational, this facility will deliver more than 250,000 tons of sustainable fuels for busses, trucks, airplanes, and, of course, ships.
“All those problems at the start that we thought were so huge we had no idea how to overcome turned out not to be so insurmountable.”
Source: Sustainable Leadership, Russell Reynolds Associates, 2021
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Svein Tore Holsether
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Norwegian chemicals company Yara International invested $15m on an autonomous, all-electric ship, The Yara Birkeland. Tipped as the world’s first emission-free container ship, the Yara Birkeland is expected to replace around 40,000 truck journeys each year between the company’s fertilizer production facility in southern Norway to the northern port of Brevik (cutting about 1,000 tons of carbon emissions). But with maritime regulations on autonomous ships yet to be written, the company must still navigate a host of challenges, including legal liabilities in different territories. Yet Svein thought it was a risk worth taking.
“I’d rather be fired for taking too much of a risk and making a mistake than not acting soon enough.”
Source: Sustainable Leadership, Russell Reynolds Associates, 2021
Divides and Dividends | 2023 Report
Deliver stand-out sustainability success.
Discover other risks that may stop you from reaching your sustainability goals
It’s not enough to just commit to sustainability. To make a positive impact, you need to deeply integrate sustainability across your entire organization—from strategy and operations to daily decisions. Our research shows four gaps that, unless addressed, will prevent this from happening.
Leaders are making the right noises around sustainability. Yet beneath the surface, they still see sustainability as a brand-building exercise, rather than a true lever for business performance.
In the rush to make visible commitments to sustainability organizations are forgetting to ensure their executive team is incentivized to make change happen—and stick.
Senior leaders are missing multiple opportunities to harness the collective potential of employees to accelerate sustainability transformation, at scale.