CEOs need to be watchful and mindful because such coalescing among progressives often is aimed at getting companies to embrace or go along with other progressive agenda items beyond pressure for environmental initiatives or thinking. “By shoving them into what now has become the nearly sacrosanct arena of sustainability, these additional goals can be promoted and protected as part of an untouchable package whose individual components may or may not stand up to individual scrutiny as corporate priorities,” Chief Executive noted recently.
And in some cases, CEOs agree with and even are promoting this meld. For example, Novartis CEO Joseph Jiminez last year included as non-environmental “sustainability” goals “making a long-lasting impact on health, the economy and global healthcare infrastructures in underserved communities.” Likewise, Hilton Worldwide CEO Christopher Nassetta said that sustainability goals “are just one component of a web of challenges driven by broader global development trends, so we could not solve for sustainability in a vacuum.”
Sodexo included as a “sustainability” goal developing its people and promoting “diversity” in its own workforce. “We bundle our goals together where we think we can impact society and the human beings we serve,” explained George Chavel, president and CEO of the Gaithersburg, Md.-based food-service giant.
And at Kering, the France-based owner of Gucci and other lifestyle brands, “fighting violence against women” and “empowering” them were listed as “sustainability” goals. “In all areas of the social path, we have a specific responsibility to do something,” said Marie-Claire Daveau, chief sustainability officer. “We think it’s the social path of sustainability.”