Laggard Prospector
Values and beliefs on Reserved attitude towards sustainability.
Sustainability is considered to be a cost.
sustainability
Business strategy for Traditional strategy: processes are linear
and static. The organisation operates as
sustainability
if it was a separate system without
responsibility towards society or
ecosystems (on top of legal compliance).
Greenwashing might occur as an answer
to increasing pressure toward
sustainability from the outside.
Some philanthropic activities might be in
place to mitigate negative impact.
Target setting on No sustainability targets.
sustainability
Stakeholder engagement Only focus on key stakeholders in the
closed system. No specific involvement
of stakeholders outside optimisation of
production of product/service (e.g.,
employee satisfaction, customer
satisfaction).
Sustainability in supply No sustainability requirements for
suppliers.
chain
© Vlerick Business School (Xavier Baeten)
Proponent
Growing recognition of the importance
of sustainability, mainly from a
compliance and/or risk perspective.
Transitional strategy phase 1: strategy
still operates in a linear cradle-to-grave
fashion while assuming that eco-
efficiency should be pursued, and that
the organisation should take its social
responsibility. Changes are incremental.
Limited number of sustainability targets,
not yet embedded in a sustainability
strategy, and little business involvement
in target setting.
Reporting and dialogue on (selective)
sustainability topics without a clear and
natural link to strategy and priority
setting.
Compliance thresholds and minimum
sustainability requirements are set for
suppliers.
Basic Supplier Commitment
Supplier code of conduct
Using Supplier Public ESG
Reporting .
Leader
Sustainability is related to the core
business and is recognised as a driver of
business performance.
Emphasis on conducting existing
business operations more sustainably.
Sustainability as an opportunity.
Transitional strategy phase 2: the firm is
operating according to the resource-
based view and has growing ambitions
for social and environmental aspects.
Focus on reducing materials used at the
beginning of the process, and on reuse-
repair-recycle at the end.
Sustainability strategy and targets are
derived from materiality/impact
analysis.
Business involved in target setting.
Sustainability targets embedded in
incentives.
Regular and active involvement of
stakeholders.
Impactful and frequent stakeholder
dialogue.
Materiality/impact analysis is regularly
conducted based on comprehensive
stakeholder inquiry.
Open communication on sustainability
targets and realisations.
Core stakeholders are aware of the
sustainability strategy.
On top of minimum sustainability
requirements, the concerns of suppliers
are considered.
Collaborative philosophy.
Partial Audit of the suppliers .
Congruence of sustainability issues and
organisational values, holistic vision on
value.
Organisation’s members have a shared
belief in the importance of social and
environmental factors.
Sustainability is part of the
organisation's identity and embedded in
every business decision.
Transformational strategy:
breakthrough strategies focusing on
resolving social and environmental
challenges.
Focus on rethinking the concept of
product/service from a sustainability
perspective and on identifying new
concepts that may not be based on
existing products—innovating business
models and processes.
Holistic target setting, sustainability
embedded in business strategy. Long-
term encompassing objectives, with
yearly follow-up.
All managers get sustainability targets
within their scope.
A sustainability scorecard might be in
use.
Partnerships/alliances with stakeholders
and active search for new, less apparent
parties to realise sustainability-driven
innovation.
Ecosystems thinking.
Customers are involved and influenced
related to sustainability.
Sustainability extends to the whole
value chain.
Full supplier base Audit and
baseline requirement