According to the information obtained in the survey, sustainability is in fourth place among the priorities in the strategic agenda of the organization.
The importance of social and environmental management of companies are factors that make a difference to investors, the global market and consumer preferences. These are the points evaluated in the survey on the relevance of purpose, values and sustainability, conducted by Vistage, Cornerstone and Sistema B to 166 Peruvian CEOs or leaders of medium-sized companies last June, on the relevance that sustainability has in their corporate priority agendas and strategies.
“Most business leaders understand the close relationship established between corporate values and the results obtained in the exercise. However, there is still a delay in defining strategies to bring sustainability to life internally in Peruvian companies, to the point that a third of those surveyed are working just on this point,” said Ignacio Mealla, director of Vistage Peru.
According to the information obtained in the survey, sustainability is in fourth place among the priorities in the strategic agenda of the organization.
Their main interest is related to financial management, in first place, and talent retention in second place, followed by digital transformation. On the other hand, 66% of CEOs are aware that defining and promoting the organizational purpose and values of the organization is very important, and 75% consider that these elements have a direct impact on business results.
“This study has shown that sustainability is one of the most important agenda items in the strategies of business leaders, because they are aware that consumers are increasingly looking to consume from companies with purpose. Given this, it is necessary that the main market players promote a new economic system, where they evaluate the best way to incorporate actions to provide solutions to the current needs of our society and the environment,” said José Antonio Talledo, co-president of Sistema B Peru.
In this sense, various sustainability strategies are applied, such as acting ethically in leadership, prioritizing the generation of value in all stakeholders of the organization, and promoting a diverse workplace. Then come actions to reduce pollution based on an evaluation of the production cycle.
However, the development of sustainable products appears among the last places of their strategies, so the development of new lines of business associated with products that take into account the carbon footprint and circular economy is one of the great opportunities
Sustainability strategies, at the corporate level, not only generate good financial performance, but have been shown to have a positive impact on attracting new talent, and on the loyalty and appreciation of the collaborator towards their company.
On the other hand, 56% of CEOs are clear that they are the ones who lead this definition and experience of corporate purpose and values, and 67% are aware that a corporate sustainability strategy is essential for the achievement of organizational objectives, demonstrating the strength that Peruvian business owners and general managers have in the relevance of the action plan with environmental commitments and with the surrounding communities, which is key to the economic performance of their companies.
Additionally, it was found that more than half of the leaders (57%) do take into account the social impact when making decisions, while a fifth of them (20%) consider that it is not a priority to define their production, commercial, sales and human talent management strategies. However, in contrast to this information, 42% of CEOs had stated that they had already defined their sustainability strategy to meet environmental commitments, with communities and with their own team of internal collaborators.
Finally, 34% of businessmen surveyed indicated that they are already seeing results, compared to 20% who expect to have the first results by 2025 and 19% who still do not make any investment in sustainability and could be left behind in the business world, because consumers and investors currently demand a greater environmental commitment.
