SUSTAINABILITY
The Sustainable Business Roundtable (SBRT), founded by ESMT Berlin in 2011, facilitates co-operation among companies with a view to tackling the most pressing issues around sustainability. Joanna Radeke and Keerthana Shekhar of the ESMT Institute for Sustainable Transformation provide the details I n today’s business landscape, companies face increasingly complex sustainability challenges. From meeting net‑zero targets to adapting to stricter regulatory requirements, the demand for sustainable practices is undeniable. However, meaningful progress cannot be achieved in isolation. Collaboration across industries is crucial, enabling organisations to exchange knowledge, foster innovation and work together to drive collective action towards a sustainable future. Such collaboration can lead to the systemic, long-term transformations necessary to address global sustainability challenges. Established by former ESMT faculty member CB Bhattacharya, a world-renowned expert in business strategy innovation focused on
each meeting is tailored around a specific current theme and includes discussions that span a wide range of topics. What makes the SBRT distinctive is its collaborative and open format, where industry leaders – free from competitive pressures – can share opportunities and obstacles without fear of repercussion. Moreover, the SBRT stands out for encouraging each participating company to send representatives from different departments, ensuring a diversity of perspectives and deepening the discussions. Meaningful steps to sustainability The primary aim of the SBRT is to help businesses integrate sustainability into their DNA, moving it from a peripheral concern to a central strategy. The SBRT was created at a time when sustainability was not yet a prominent topic in the corporate world, and it sought to provide a forum where companies could learn from one another. The meetings focus on practical, real‑world applications of sustainability, with the ultimate goal of helping businesses take meaningful steps towards its implementation. The SBRT operates through a structured yet flexible format. The meetings focus on specific themes, allowing businesses to dive deep into relevant topics. For example, past meetings have tackled how to communicate sustainability efforts to stakeholders, the role of innovation in driving sustainability and how companies can adapt to increasing regulatory demands. Each session gathers two representatives from various companies, often from diverse roles such as operations, supply chain management, marketing or sustainability divisions. This cross-departmental representation fuels holistic conversations and ensures that companies leave the meetings with insights that can be applied across their organisations. Over the years, the SBRT has developed from being a platform for discussion into a forum for actionable strategies. As more companies joined, the roundtable’s conversations expanded to cover broader sustainability challenges, including regulatory compliance, innovation in sustainability and customer engagement. The SBRT is not just about generating ideas; it also emphasises the importance of implementing them and measuring their impact. The focus has shifted towards helping companies create sustainable business models, not just improve operational efficiency.
increasing both business and social value, the SBRT was created to foster a collaborative space. It is a place where businesses can exchange ideas, discuss challenges and explore solutions to sustainability issues in a non-competitive environment. The SBRT has evolved into a leading platform, offering companies the opportunity to candidly share both the successes and failures in their sustainability journeys. Guided by ESMT, the forum facilitates meaningful dialogue and collaborative solutions to address the most pressing sustainability challenges that businesses face today. The SBRT meets biannually and brings together representatives from leading companies to focus on different aspects of sustainability. From innovation and policy compliance to supply chain management and customer engagement,
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Business Impact • ISSUE 4 • 2024
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