Vital Topics - From Sustainability to Sustainable Performance

At the first Vital Topics event of 2022 we will be joined by Stuart McLachlan, co-founder and CEO of Anthesis Group, and Jonatan Pinkse, Professor of strategy, innovation, and entrepreneurship, and Executive Director of the Manchester Institute of Innovation Research (MIoIR), Alliance Manchester Business School, who will discuss how companies can create a world that is decarbonised, biodiverse, and inclusive.

From Sustainability to Sustainable Performance

To avert the catastrophic impact of climate change and meet the targets of the Paris Agreement targets, we need to reduce carbon emissions by 50% this decade, a further 50% the next decade, and be net zero by 2050. However, achieving these targets will be no mean feat. Locking the world down in 2020 achieved only a reduction of about 5-7%. So how can we achieve a radical reduction in carbon emissions without destroying global economies?

And how will leaders respond to this challenge, given that decisions made this decade will determine how society and the planet we occupy will shape up for probably 1000s of years to come. We are the first generation to have the indisputable facts at our fingertips that our climate is changing, and the last generation that can do something about it.

The leadership responsibility is immense but are companies furnished with the right leadership skills? Companies have the choice now whether they will be on the right or the wrong side of the climate crisis. Which side they choose to be on will determine their future prosperity and will be existential for many.

The times where companies could address sustainability by promoting good news stories and implementing ‘less bad’ incremental strategies are over. They now need to drive sustainability into the heart of their organisations and recognise that it will be a key determinant of future value creation and risk and resilience strategies.

In this lecture Stuart McLachlan will argue how sustainable performance drives value through the intersect of economic, environmental, and social dimensions and sees superior financial performance on the other side of meaningful purpose. Strategic connections between systems shifts, drivers of change, and geographic materiality with a deep understanding of how clients create value will become the ingredients of sustainable performance. Companies with strong commercial power, but poor sustainability, will be exposed to unacceptable risk. The most sustainable companies will discover sources of strategic advantage in their sustainable practices.

After setting out his vision of sustainability, Stuart will have a discussion with Professor Pinkse about what it means for business to become a leader in sustainable performance. Sarah George, senior reporter at sustainability trade title edie, will facilitate the discussion.

Sponsored by DWF, Vital Topics is Alliance MBS' series of prestigious business lectures, bringing powerful ideas and original thinking to audiences from the Manchester city-region and beyond. Find out more about Vital Topics here.