Next-Generation Leaders at the Vanguard

UK Insights Introduction     All Local Insights     Global Insights

The transition to sustainable business will not happen during a single CEO tenure. To achieve the scale of transformation needed over the next decade, organizations need to develop a pipeline of leaders who are primed to keep pushing the sustainability agenda forward.

Our research shows UK organizations must do more to empower their up-and-coming leaders to take action on sustainability. Just 29% of next-generation leaders have taken on three or more responsibilities in the past two years to improve environmental and social outcomes—behind the global average (40%).

The number of job responsibilities next-generation leaders have taken on to improve environmental and social outcomes in past 2 years (UK)

When asked about the specific sustainability actions they carried out, UK next-gen leaders were most likely to be involved in updating internal processes to improve environmental or social outcomes (26%) and identifying new approaches to make products or their workplace more sustainable (24%).

The job responsibilities next-generation leaders have taken on in the past 2 years to improve environmental and social outcomes (UK)

Worryingly, the job responsibilities that UK next-gen leaders have had the least experience with—creating or redesigning products or services for social impact, changing supplier selection to improve environmental or social outcomes and ending the selling, buying or use of unsustainable materials—are some of the functions that are most critical to embedding sustainability into the core of the business.

Ultimately, next-generation leaders are a critical cohort in improving the environmental and social outcomes of organizations. There is an urgent need for UK C-suite leaders to identify passionate up-and-coming leaders in their ranks and expose them to the experiences they need to develop their sustainable-leadership credentials.