The word sustainability has become mired in associations with do-goodery, excess cost, and corporate philanthropy, rather than being seen as a tool for creating better products and services – for both customers and the planet.
As a sustainability professional studying for a sustainability Masters at the International Institute for Management Development (IMD), I’ve come to the conclusion that we need to stop using the word sustainability.
Not because we should abandon it – quite the opposite – but because we need to reposition it as an essential, universally beneficial driver of business value. That shift begins by speaking about it in the language businesses and stakeholders actually understand.
Sustainability no longer lands
In its early years, sustainability delivered tangible success stories. Academic research, including BNPP AM’s ESG and Financial Returns: The Academic Perspective, found that companies with strong ESG scores often achieved better financial performance, increased investor trust, and a competitive advantage over peers with weaker scores. Sustainability made business sense.
Over time, however, sustainability has drifted. On the consumer side, it has become associated with more expensive, niche products for the financially well-off. On the corporate side, it has blurred into corporate philanthropy—the kind of companies that wrap single-use plastic in recycled cardboard and call it progress.
The result is growing scepticism. Many consumers and companies now view sustainability-branded products and services as merely nice-to-haves. In fact, a study of nearly 8,000 consumers found that price and quality consistently outweigh sustainability messaging unless there is a clear improvement over existing products. Sustainability alone is not a compelling value proposition.
Language shapes appetite for action
I’ve seen firsthand how critical language is to perceptions of, and appetite for, sustainability.
Talk to a boardroom about the long-term impact on the planet and, beyond a committed few, attention quickly wanes. Talk instead about near- and mid-term risks, resilience and continuity, and the room stays engaged.
Put simply: business decision-makers do not care about polar bears. It’s not their job to do so. What they do care deeply about are their fiduciary duties.
CEOs and boards do not speak the language of activism or altruism; they speak in terms of efficiency, financial performance, risk mitigation and competitive advantage. Sustainability professionals must meet them there if we want buy-in, commitment and action.
With a few deliberate changes in framing, sustainability stops sounding like a moral obligation and starts looking like a commercial priority. Climate exposure becomes operational continuity under volatility. While emissions reduction becomes cost discipline and efficiency. When framed correctly, sustainability is no longer an add-on – it is a business discipline.
What it looks like when it works
The UK manufacturer, John Deere, is an example of sustainability operating as it should to deliver commercial value. It developed an AI-powered ‘see and spray’ technology that targets weeds precisely instead of spraying pesticides indiscriminately, improving efficiency across its tractor fleet and reducing environmental impact.
The firm set out to deliver a product that was better than its last. It increased crop yield, reduced costs and improved efficiency – all whilst being built on sustainability principles – reducing the farmer’s environmental impact. But the company didn’t sell it as a sustainable product. It was just a better product, made better through sustainable principles, for the business and its customers.
Once boards see that ESG does not always have to be about green initiatives and carbon credits, but about improving products, services and the operations that support them, it can reclaim its seat at the table.
Dropping the word to save the idea
To survive the current PR quagmire sustainability has found itself in, it must be reclaimed as a business discipline, not a moral one.
This means a shift in mindset. Sustainability must be treated as a core component for how organisations manage risk, resilience and long-term value. This will require business leaders, advisers and sustainability professionals to make the commercial case for sustainability clearly and consistently – even if it means dropping the word from pitch decks, marketing materials and meeting agendas.
When long-term value creation and resilience are put to the top of the business agenda and drive decision making; emissions fall, resources are used more efficiently and supply chains naturally become more robust.
Leaders, advisers and sustainability professionals must work on a united front to lead with the commercial case and speak the language of the boardroom.
Following this guideline, we can begin the transition from sustainability being a nice-to-have back to where it belongs – a must-have. A defining principle for any company that will set out its strategic priorities and give it a genuine, competitive advantage.
Scott Lane is founder and CEO of Speeki, an ESG consulting and assurance partner.
The word sustainability has become mired in associations with do-goodery, excess cost, and corporate philanthropy, rather than being seen as a tool for creating better products and services – for both customers and the planet.
As a sustainability professional studying for a sustainability Masters at the International Institute for Management Development (IMD), I’ve come to the conclusion that we need to stop using the word sustainability.
Not because we should abandon it – quite the opposite – but because we need to reposition it as an essential, universally beneficial driver of business value. That shift begins by speaking about it in the language businesses and stakeholders actually understand.
