Industry leader calls for new sustainability pillars

Industry leader calls for new sustainability pillars to uphold business practise

In his return to leadership media series, Leaders Review, Mark Roberts, Group General Manager of Alsco NZ, used the opportunity to call on the sustainability movement within business to look wider as to how it perceived its own added value.

“Its time to think about sustainabilty as inclusive of people, the planet, as well as prosperity to to all those that are touched by business directly - and indirectly,” says Roberts.

Critically, he claims that without formal programs and messaging aimed at the supporting ‘three pillars’, as he calls them, modern decisionmakers, employee talent, and the markets themselves, will begin to see a business’s added-value as watered down and incomplete.

“I suppose ten years back, I first became aware of sustainability as a ‘green thing’ – and I saw many simply interested in green-washing their messages at the time. But society’s thinking has moved on - a lot - and smart businesses really need to now align themselves with that thinking and the new decisionmakers.”

Since persuing a marketing engagement program where all senior management, including Roberts himself, meet directly with customers at least 20% of their working week, he has observed sharp shifts in attitude towards business’ showing “genuine intent” towards their own people (employees, customers, and suppliers), continual environmental improvement, and prosperity that extends from shareholders to as far as those less fortuneate in the wider community.

While he claims there has been much interest in Alsco’s own three pillar blueprint around sustainability, released this year, he also recognises many of the larger companies now have well established programs centred on community, environmental and employee wellbeing. Cultural shifts are hard, he says, “...but constant, small increments have a vast run-on effect, given the foot-print of big business.”

He recognises the business community has much work to do. “I am not saying my own company is there yet – far from it – but I think the change needs to come from business leadership. We can’t leave the space solely to the politicians.”

“Being successul is great but not at the expense of caring,” he adds.

What: Leaders Review Focus Points (2018). Short-form video series of public service messages for business by invited New Zealand business leaders (televised and online).

Where/When: This week Mon-Friday 6.57AM, Leaders Review’s series of signature TVC spots appears just before the 7AM National News bulletins on TV3’s AM Show. Also on demand at LeadersReview.co.nz including invited leaders’ short-form breakout editions.

ends

© Scoop Media