CATÓLICA-LISBON

In fact, one thing is certain: the future of companies is inevitably linked to the future of society, and that requires sustainability, as Feike Sijbesma, honorary chairman of DSM, told us. This conclusion is also drawn from six years of ongoing contact with large companies and SMEs in the Portuguese context, as well as from our benchmark research on topics related to business strategy and sustainability. 

These six years were celebrated last week, together with the publication of our 300th edition of the newsletter “Have a Great and Impactful Week,” which we share weekly with more than 3,000 leaders in Portugal and beyond. We are also very honored that our work was recognized by the UN in 2024. This recognition makes us proud and gives us a sense of responsibility for the future (which we want to build with and for companies in Portugal). Part of this responsibility involves sharing our three main lessons learned and our resulting commitments for the future.  

1. In an increasingly uncertain external (geopolitical) context, Responsible Leadership is a critical advantage
 

Over the years, we have seen three dynamics. First, no one really knew what sustainability was. Then it became fashionable and everyone wanted to understand how to develop “corporate sustainability” because it meant goodwill and market positioning. Thirdly, with the growing uncertainty of the global context and the division of blocs, which contrasts with the cooperative agendas of sustainability, we have suffered a backlash in sustainable business policies, where sometimes it is better not to say that we are sustainable (greenhushing), lest it “spoil” the business. At this point, only leaders with a vision for the future, who know that we can only succeed in business with a prosperous society (because this is really the best for everyone), are maintaining their firm positions. They prioritize creating value for all stakeholders, in the short and long term, because they know that doing business is only worthwhile if they are contributing to a society with a better quality of life, where employees are happy, customers are well served, suppliers are partners, and the planet and local society enjoy collective and individual prosperity. Only “responsible leaders” have this vision, and as Paul Polman said in a conversation we had two years ago, “it's better to go ahead and kick up dust than to go behind and eat the dust of others.”  
 

For this reason, our commitment for the future is to answer these two questions: 
 

• What is a Responsible Leader?  

• How does Responsible Leadership impact business performance? 

2. The purpose of companies should be their raison d'être, which goes beyond profit and helps them achieve a sustained and lasting competitive advantage.  
 

When, despite this backlash, we live in a stakeholder capitalism, it is increasingly difficult to manage companies in a linear fashion. Meeting the interests and demands of customers, employees, government, suppliers, society, and shareholders all at the same time is difficult! That is why we have to work on the corporate purpose and define it well! The corporate purpose is a company's raison d'être, which goes beyond profit, guides decision-making above the conflicting agendas of stakeholders, and helps the company thrive together with society, with a long-term perspective. As Charles Handy, professor at Harvard Business School, said, “The purpose of a business IS NOT to make a profit, full stop. It is to make a profit so that the business can do something more or better. That ‘something’ becomes the real justification for the business.”  
 

For this reason, our commitment for the future is to answer these two questions: 
 

• How do we define business purpose? 

• Does purpose lead leaders to think, decide, and create value differently?  

3. Sustainability is business, and the cost of inaction is much higher than the cost of action (which is a great investment).  
 

This week, I spoke with Maximilian Schnippering, director of sustainability at Siemens Gamesa, a Siemens technology company specializing in renewables, who said that working on sustainability was important because it was a huge opportunity to make more profit and do business. Even in difficult times, companies' focus in their sustainable approach should be on profit and business. We couldn't agree more. 

Therefore, over the last few years, we have systematized four business cases for action that companies can adopt to “develop business opportunities with sustainability.” Developing a business strategy where sustainability is central is a guarantee of business prosperity, as sustainability at the core of operations generates activities that are more resilient, efficiently applied resources, and value-creating innovation, which points to paths to success. This is our experience in the close relationship we maintain with countless companies that we accompany and help on their path to sustainability as their “core” business.  
 

In this sense, our commitment for the future is to answer these two questions: 

• Does sustainability have a clear economic argument? How can we prove it? 
• How can we define and operationalize a strategy aligned with sustainability? 

On the path we have traced, we have also learned that without companies, the world does not evolve! They play a central role in this process of progress in society that we need. They have the human, technical, and financial resources necessary to lead a new era of sustainable value creation. For this reason, we are already working closely with the private and public sectors to launch a discussion on what the future of the next Global Agenda for Sustainable Development will look like. On July 10, we began a series of webinars with international experts to reflect on what will come after the 2030 Agenda — and how the business sector can play an active role in building a more just and prosperous future.  

We will maintain our mission of producing rigorous knowledge in the service of sustainable business practice. In six years' time, we hope that our new conclusions will show us that the path we have taken has been one of service: ours to businesses, and theirs to society.