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Sustainability

A World in Balance: Why sustainability ambition is not translating to action

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In 2009, a group of internationally renowned scientists identified the nine processes that regulate the stability and resilience of the Earth.

As of 2022, humanity crossed out of the safe space for six of the nine boundaries for these processes, increasing the risk of abrupt or irreversible environmental changes. In this context, in our newest Capgemini Research Institute report, A World in Balance: Why sustainability ambition is not translating to action, we explore companies’ progress toward sustainability and look at how it can be accelerated.
 
To assess the current state of sustainability at companies, we conducted a global research study surveying over 2,000 respondents from 668 organizations. We found that, while organizations across industries have acknowledged the urgency of climate change, limited action is visible on the ground. Among other roadblocks, many executives are still unclear as to the business case for sustainability or view it as a non-viable option.

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      In contrast to these concerns, our analysis reveals that sustainability and financial metrics can go hand in hand. Those organizations that have outpaced their peers in implementing sustainable practices have witnessed higher revenue per employee relative to the average from 2020 to 2021, employing practices that result in operational efficiencies and sustainable benefits.
       
      Ultimately, all organizations will have to do their part in the journey toward sustainability. To this end, they will have to build up a series of achievable short-term goals and implement their ambitions in a combined, collaborative view. In this report, we follow our analysis of sustainability transformation with recommendations for eight C-suite positions that will enable leaders to accelerate their companies’ transformations.
       
      To learn more about how organizations can translate sustainability ambition into action, download the report.

      Further reading

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      Conversations for Tomorrow #7: Sustainability and climate tech
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      Data for net zero: Why data is bridging the gap between net zero ambition and action 
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      Sustainability in automotive: from ambition to action
      Point of view

      Future-proofing innovation – a series of roundtable conversations
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      Why sustainable product design is the need of the hour

      Expert perspectives

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      The time has come to turn green ambition into action

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      Meet our experts

      Vincent Charpiot

      Executive Vice President, Head of Group Sustainability Accelerator
      I am a senior business executive and global business leader with extensive experience in helping clients manage their digital transformations. I lead the Group Sustainability Accelerator and my focus is to ensure we go to market with a unique Sustainability Services portfolio and ecosystem to help our clients on their journey to Net Zero, in an evolving ESG regulation.

      James Robey

      Global Head of Sustainability, Capgemini
      I have led the Capgemini Group sustainability agenda since setting first carbon reduction targets in 2008. I am a long-term advocate of ambitious targets as a mechanism to drive innovation to ensure continual improvements. I manage our sustainability risks and drive our program to reduce environmental impacts in our most material areas. However the biggest difference we can make on this agenda, is the work we do with our clients. In 2018, we announced a new target to help our clients save 10 million carbon tonnes through leveraging technology. I regularly speak on this topic and engage directly with our clients.

      Courtney Holm

      Head of Sustainability UK | Vice President, Sustainable Futures, Capgemini Invent UK
      My role is to shape the way Capgemini creates long term, sustainable value for clients, enabling them with fresh perspectives and digital solutions so that they can play a transformative role in addressing planetary, people and systems challenges. I works across Northern Europe acting as the country lead for the UK and as Executive Sponsor for Invent for Society in the UK.

      Salomon (Sol) Solinas

      EVP: Americas Sustainability Lead
      I’m a corporate sustainability and digital transformation expert, with 25 years’ experience, spanning multiple industries, and the lead for Sustainability in the Americas for Capgemini. My ESG and sustainability expertise includes digital transformation, circular economy, strategic energy management, ENERGY STAR and LEED green buildings, green IT, renewable energy, carbon foot-printing, and environmental metrics/ reporting. I was a founder of US EPA’s ENERGY STAR program and its Director of Strategic Planning.

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