Macro, Micro and “Me”

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Today’s executives face a complex set of threats to people, planet and profit—from extreme weather events and a looming climate crisis to a global pandemic, social and racial injustices, and economic disparities.

With so many competing priorities, it can be hard to know where to focus efforts. Clearly, it is impractical for leaders to act on every existing and emerging sustainability challenge. How, then, can leaders make confident decisions about the sustainability issues they act on?

When weighing up priorities, it can be useful for leaders to focus on the issues that matter most to their business and those they can most positively influence. Beyond this, it is important for leaders to align their sustainability strategy to the issues their employees care about.

In Canada, C-suite leaders and employees agree that the pandemic is a major threat to the future of society. After this, opinions diverge. Employees are mindful of environmental challenges, such as climate change, pollution and a throwaway culture. Yet C-suite leaders are much more focused on economic issues, such as corruption and power abuses, as well as geopolitical conflicts and trade wars.

Top 10 Sustainability Issues Affecting Future of Society

C-suite leaders and employees also disagree on the biggest challenges facing their workplace. Notably, C-suite leaders appear to be overlooking an impending issue of talent scarcity. Employees at the frontline rank a shortage of workers with in-demand skills as the second-most-important risk to their organization. Yet this issue did not feature in C-suite leaders’ list of top-10 concerns.

Top 10 Sustainability Issues Affecting Your Employer and Workplace

Rank of percent selecting each item as top 3 issue (from list of 16 issues)

Notably, since our survey was carried out in March 2021, talent scarcity issues are firmly on the executive agenda. In our recent conversations, CEOs and boards tell us that they are looking at how to secure workforce pipelines in the “next normal.” This offers an important reminder that employees are often important bellwethers for business risks not yet on the C-suite radar. 

Looking ahead, business leaders would be wise to make a concerted effort to take employee expectations into account when setting sustainability priorities. When employees engage in the sustainability mission it creates a powerful framework for change. A true culture of sustainability flows from the top of the organization to the frontline, leading to authentic action and greater impact.

Bridging the Technology Divide

Leaders have an important role to play in in ensuring equitable access to the latest technology, tools and skills training, and addressing privacy and personal-data concerns. Canadian organizations face an opportunity to catch up with their global peers when it comes to digital readiness. In our study, 49% of Canadian employees say their senior leaders understand the latest digital technologies, such as AI, data science and cloud computing, versus a global average of 58% and a US average of 62%.