Selling sustainability to the board

The case for sustainability depends on debunking false mindsets around cost, outlining the value it brings to the business and clarifying the benefits to supplier relationships. Metro helps shippers reduce the environmental impacts of their logistics activities.

One of the big myths to overcome is the expectation that sustainability comes at a cost and that these are two mutually-exclusive forces. 

The challenge is to uncover examples and case studies that persuade colleagues that this is not true. 

Sustainability needs to be a source of innovation and value for the organisation and not simply perceived to be a cost and liability.

Metro develop intelligent supply chain solutions that are respectful of the environment. Low-carbon multi-modal solutions that combine air, road, sea, inland waterways and rail, together with NGV and electric vehicles. 

We analyse supply chain volumes, routing and mode characteristics to evaluate the emissions impact and recommend options to reduce costs and carbon emissions, including modal shifts, reducing distances and better utilisation of transportation assets. 

It may be useful to remind the board of what is happening at a legislative, industry and global level and particularly those, like IMO 2020, which will directly impact costs, or result in penalties.

Increasing a corporation’s performance on environmental factors directly affects its long-term profitability and more CEOs now recognise that environmental issues should inform their corporate strategy. 

Metro help shippers reduce and offset their environmental impact

But for many businesses directors tasked with securing their company’s future are often holding the enterprise back with an outdated emphasis on short-term value maximisation.

A 2019 PwC survey of more than 700 public-company directors found that 56% thought boards were spending TOO MUCH time on sustainability. 

Some of this lack of foresight is that the link between environmental factors and corporate performance is not clearly understood, but a large part of the problem is that until recently, boards didn’t have a mandate to grapple with sustainability; instead, their time was consumed by compliance tasks.

The concept of “corporate purpose” provides the impetus that boards need to increase their focus on environmental concerns and manage their firms for long-term success. 

A clear and compelling mission should be at the heart of every company’s efforts to enhance its positive impacts on the environment and the ultimate responsibility for defining that purpose must rest with the board.

Connecting purpose to strategy gives a CEO the necessary foundation to prioritise long-term goals and resist pressure from activist investors and others who care only about short-term returns.

Business analysts increasingly believe that boards ignore environmental challenges at its own peril and that corporate boards should actively identify and address these risks as part of their essential fiduciary duty to protect the long-term value of the corporation itself.

Metro’s ground-breaking 4PL platform incorporates modules that monitor and measure global carbon emissions down to individual shipment level and identifies carbon offset schemes that reduce the environmental impact of your logistics activities.