Over the last few years, questions about the role of business in society have exploded. Multinationals now must take a position on major issues such as climate change, inequality, LGBTQ+ rights, democracy, misinformation, and much more. And companies are facing mounting pressures from stakeholders to go beyond statements and improve their actual environmental and social performance, helping solve our shared challenges. We’re seeing…

• Customers favoring brands that align with their values
• Business customers demanding higher performance from their suppliers
• Employees seeking purpose-driven organizations
• Communities asking companies to minimize their environmental footprint and contribute to local development
• Regulators introducing stricter rules and policies on transparency and performance
• Investors integrating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors into their investment decisions and demanding transparency

(A note on terms: ESG is mainly the language of investors who look at a business and its risk from environmental and social issues, while sustainability is a broader idea about how a company impacts people and planet and whether it contributes to a better world.)

 As stakeholder expectations have grown, the idea that companies should manage their environmental and social impacts – both for their own benefit and the world’s – has moved from being a nice-to-have to a strategic business imperative. If you want to stay viable and relevant today, you have to engage on sustainability.

 And yet, most business leaders still question the “business case” and assume sustainability must cost more. At the societal level, it should be obvious that protecting the planet’s ability to keep us alive, and investing in people so they are educated and healthy, are worthwhile investments for humanity and business. But for now, obsession with short-term profits, and a narrow view on business value, still drives an antiquated discussion about the business case.

For those inside companies, or building new companies with sustainability at the core, it’s important to have this foundational logic and argument ready at hand to make the case to investors, supporters, skeptics, and many others. So let’s do a quick review of some of the core elements of business value from sustainability.