Developing strategies and leaders to succeed in a new era of sustainability: Findings and insights from the United Nations Global Compact-Accenture CEO Study

Peter Lacy; Arnaud Haines; Rob Hayward

doi:10.1108/02621711211218997

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Journal of Management Development

ISSN: 0262-1711

Online from: 1982

Subject Area: Human Resource Management

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Developing strategies and leaders to succeed in a new era of sustainability: Findings and insights from the United Nations Global Compact-Accenture CEO Study

Document Information:
Title:	Developing strategies and leaders to succeed in a new era of sustainability: Findings and insights from the United Nations Global Compact-Accenture CEO Study
Author(s):	Peter Lacy, (Accenture Sustainability Services, Accenture, London, UK), Arnaud Haines, (Accenture Sustainability Services, Accenture, London, UK), Rob Hayward, (Accenture Sustainability Services, Accenture, London, UK)
Citation:	Peter Lacy, Arnaud Haines, Rob Hayward, (2012) "Developing strategies and leaders to succeed in a new era of sustainability: Findings and insights from the United Nations Global Compact-Accenture CEO Study", Journal of Management Development, Vol. 31 Iss: 4, pp.346 - 357
Keywords:	Business schools, Chief executive officers, Collaboration, Corporate strategy, Economic growth, Education, Leadership, New business models, Organizational performance, Sustainability, Trust, Valuation
Article type:	Viewpoint
DOI:	10.1108/02621711211218997 (Permanent URL)
Publisher:	Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Acknowledgements:	Peter Lacy is a Partner and Arnaud Haines and Robert Hayward are consultants in Accenture's Sustainability Services group, based in London. This paper was supported by a Business Fellowship at Oxford University's Smith School of Enterprise and Environment. The authors would like to thank the teams at Accenture, Oxford University Smith School of Enterprise & Environment, the United Nations Global Compact and the Academy of Business in Society for their support and insights.
Abstract:	Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify leading CEOs’ views on sustainability and how they believe it is impacting the business environment, with a particular focus on the importance of education (formal and informal) in developing future business leaders who can effectively manage sustainability issues. Design/methodology/approach – Results and findings are based on research conducted by Accenture and the United Nations Global Compact, with 100 one-to-one interviews and an online survey with a further 766 CEOs. Findings – CEOs see sustainability as more important than ever. It is growing in strategic importance, driving new business models, and is essential for long-term success. CEOs see education as the most critical development issue for the future success of their business. They believe that developing new skills, knowledge and mindsets for the next generation of business leaders as key enabling conditions to accelerate a tipping point in the integration of sustainability into core business. Originality/value – This paper is based on research from the largest CEO study on sustainability of its kind to date. One facet of the research was an online survey of 766 Global Compact member CEOs. Survey respondents were drawn from nearly 100 countries, across more than 25 industry sectors. The other principal research stream was a series of in-depth, one-to-one interviews with 50 CEOs and over 50 board-level business executives, civil society leaders and academic experts across 27 countries.