Sustainability leaders must inspire, set goals to make real change

In a Guardian Sustainable Business article, Bruno Sarda takes inspiration from Harry Truman and John F. Kennedy to illustrate that we have all the knowledge about climate change and alleviation that we could ever want, but no one to lead us to make concrete change.

“Our world is on a collision course with environmental realities and we're quickly running out of runway to take meaningful corrective action,” Sarda writes.

Sarda, the director of Global Sustainability Operations at Dell and a consultant for the Rob and Melani Walton Sustainability Solutions Initiatives, is currently developing an Executive Master’s for Sustainability Leadership program to equip industry leaders with the type of skills and sustainability education needed to move their company or organization toward a more sustainable future.

“Many organizations have already recognized that sustainability is a business and societal imperative, and have initiated program and practices to get them started down that path,” writes Sarda. “Yet even organizations with the best of intentions can get stuck in the process of scaling their sustainability efforts.”

Sarda discusses several steps leaders can take to perform sustainably. If an organization or business is to become sustainable and succeed, sustainability first must align with long-term strategy. Next, specific goals to meet by certain deadlines will keep an organization on track and inform its employees if stronger action is needed.

“Success comes through action and results,” Sarda adds. “Know how to drive execution and build strong internal governance mechanisms for visibility and accountability.”

But none of this is possible without an engaging leader, according to Sarda.

“Leading much more with influence than authority, it's critical to inspire and earn the trust of the organization and its key stakeholders," he says. "Do that through the power of story, not just facts and figures.”