Embarking on the sustainability journey requires a change of mindset from everyone in the organisation. For any company to adopt a long-term integrated sustainability strategy, a top-down approach would be the preferred starting point. Top management needs to evaluate options, decide what to focus on and develop a strategy.

"Small actions can make a big difference" - Unilever's sustainability slogan. Sustainability in a company is a top-down approach and employees are your internal stakeholders. To drive a sustainable agenda and truly integrate it into the ethos of the organisation, companies can consider the following points:

* Define the purpose:

Clearly articulate the purpose of the sustainability agenda and what you hope to achieve. This will help employees stay focused and aligned on the goals.

* Communicate progress:

Regularly communicate the progress of the sustainability initiatives to the employees and encourage everyone to get involved in these activities.

* Analyse social KPIs:

Regularly assess the progress of your sustainability initiatives and make adjustments where necessary. Consider which KPIs, such as employee retention, productivity, and overall employee engagement, should be tracked alongside sustainability initiatives and their impact on the costs. This will help ensure that your efforts are having the desired impact and that your organisation remains on track for sustainability.

* Incentivise:

Employees are the backbone of any business. Every employee action counts. Celebrate the successes by linking these actions to a reward system within the organisation. This will help keep everyone motivated and engaged in the effort. It will also ensure that the effort is not just a one-off activity, but a continuous improvement over time.Enable and incentivise team leaders to be sustainability champions, establish communication channels within the respective business functions and teams.

* Create a sense of belonging:

Helping employees see the business case for operating in a more sustainable way is not always easy, but it is critical. Create a dual mindset among the employees about 'doing good' and 'doing well' through the company’s long-term purpose, values and transparent communication.

The CFO and the finance function are often ideally placed to take the lead on sustainability accounting because they are numbers-oriented, know the ins and outs of the business, understand how to meet reporting and external requirements, and manage relationships with banks and investors.

By taking an active role in sustainability, they will help organisations adopt more sustainable business practices and advance the sustainability agenda. With some upskilling in sustainability reporting, they will be ready to increase the weight and importance of sustainability information and link it to the P&L in terms of risks and opportunities, cost reduction (carbon emissions, waste management, electricity consumption, etc.), long-term value creation, etc.

There are different roles within the finance function. Depending on the size of your organisation, the roles below may be performed by a limited number of people:

Business analysis / management controlling will use their expertise to measure, analyse and report on the organisation's sustainability performance, helping to ensure that sustainability data is accurate and reliable. As business partners, they provide operational departments with the data and insights to make informed decisions, help monitor risks and capitalise on opportunities.

Accounting is well equipped to integrate sustainability data into financial reporting for accountability purposes. They have a good understanding of business intelligence tools and software migration.

Internal audit relies on in-depth knowledge of business processes and regulatory requirements. They will help identify the economic, social and environmental impacts of the company's activities and assess business risks. They will ensure that processes comply with governance and regulatory requirements, are efficient, known and regularly applied correctly, and that the resulting data is reliable. In smaller organisations, this role may be performed by any function that is not directly involved in collecting or processing the data. Create a checklist of what evidence you will look for to demonstrate that agreed tasks and commitments are being carried out.

Risk management helps organisations identify and manage sustainability-related risks, such as reputational, regulatory and physical risks, by providing advice on how to minimise these risks and prepare for potential challenges.

Professional development and sustainability literacy: In order to provide ongoing and effective support, it is important for finance to stay abreast of sustainability-related issues and trends by participating in continuing education and training opportunities. They also play a key role in promoting sustainability literacy within their organisations and beyond, helping to build a broader understanding of the importance of sustainable business practices.

Because sustainability requires systemic change and an entire organisation to change, silos need to be broken down.

Create cross-functional teams:

While finance can enable internal decision-making through capital and resource allocation and monitor the company's financial performance, marketing and communications teams, which are at the heart of enabling the flow of business between internal teams and external stakeholders, can drive stakeholder management and build awareness through narratives.

Working closely with operations, risk management and product development teams will help ensure that the company's sustainability efforts are integrated into all aspects of the business.

Cross-functional alignment will also give teams a good overview of the issues that are material to the business, improve employees' understanding of the company's progress and challenges, and strengthen the narratives to stakeholders.