“Minions” by JeepersMedia is licensed under CC BY 2.0
When I opened Winning Sustainability Strategies: Finding Purpose, Driving Innovation, and Executing Change, I hardly expected to encounter a reference to the classic animated movie, “Despicable Me” in a guide to successful business practices.
Yet authors Benoit Leleux and Jan Van der Kaaij credit Despicable Me’s aspiring villain, who reinvents himself as “Vector,” with inspiring the concept that forms the foundation of the entire book. In the movie, Vector exclaims that he chose his name “because I commit crimes with both direction and magnitude.”
Direction + magnitude = success.
The same logic can be applied to making good business decisions. Leleux and Van der Kaaij frame the concept of “vectoring” as the key to an effective sustainability strategy that allows companies to go beyond flashy visuals to exert an impact. Companies need to be the Vectors of the business world, executing their strategies with both direction and magnitude.
These may seem like obvious steps, yet Leleux and Van der Kaaij explain that most companies’ approach to sustainability is “slow at best, sloppy and ineffective at worst.”
Too many companies get caught up in the lofty narratives of sustainability campaigns and high scores on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors without taking the proper steps to implement a plan of action. Sustainability reporting is important for measuring current company performance, but focusing on the present can distract from planning for the future. Metrics are only numbers unless they are used to further climate action.
Leleux and Van der Kaaij wrote Winning Sustainability Strategies to change just that: walking business leaders through a step-by-step process of developing, marketing, and executing an effective sustainability strategy. It’s a process grounded in purpose, not just profits.
If you’re like me, technical jargon about corporate sustainability can make my head spin. But Leleux and Van der Kaaij’s book is a breath of fresh air—analyzing Dow Jones Sustainability Index data, thirteen case studies, and thirty company examples in an easy-to-read, motivational piece.
Nor do you have to be in business yourself to appreciate the tips and tricks these authors have to offer.
Winning Sustainability Strategies isn’t stuck in the conceptual clouds. Leleux and Van der Kaaij back up their recommendations by spotlighting companies that are already making a difference. They highlight top restaurants across the world, Tony’s Chocolonely chocolate, Patagonia, McDonald’s, and Miguel Torres Wines to evaluate gaps in and benefits of current companies’ practices.
The book’s structure mirrors the approach needed for sustainable program development. Part I presents a framework to help leaders develop winning strategies. Part II guides companies in the right, focused direction. Part III recommends strategies to help companies accelerate their sustainability programs, generating speed and momentum to achieve the greatest impact.
Each part is centered around the concept of “vectoring.” The “Despicable Me-” inspired concept of vectoring grounds the entire book as both a “diagnostic tool and a prescriptive method.” Leleux and Van der Kaaij show how companies perform in comparison to their competitors (the diagnostic aspect). Those insights can inform the design of new programs that center on sustainability goals (the prescriptive method). Companies must have this sense of direction so that sustainability doesn’t just lie on a fancy webpage, but is an issue at the heart of the entire companies’ actions.
ESG isn’t just about excluding bad companies from portfolios anymore. It’s about holistically integrating sustainability criteria into all business practices, shifting money away from fossil fuels while investing in clean energy opportunities.
Shareholders and the general public are pushing companies to do better. With the help of Winning Sustainability Strategies, companies can be better equipped to develop and implement effective sustainability strategies. Incorporating sustainability considerations into business practices isn’t just altruistic, it’s profitable.
It’s the way of the future.