Tag Archives: hierarchy

This post is the fifth in a six-part series based on Where Sustainability Lives, a new study that indicates that organizational structure matters to sustainability performance.

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In the course of our research, we found that when a company established a dedicated sustainability function or placed responsibility for sustainability in the legal or corporate/public affairs divisions, that company tended to receive greater recognition than if sustainability was managed by community relations/foundation or human resources departments.

What this suggests to me is a continuation of the accelerating shift away from the perception of sustainability as just a “nice to have” or a “good” thing to do. When sustainability “lives” only in philanthropic areas of the company, it can hardly aspire to have broad strategic relevance with regard to core business activities. Conversely, if sustainability lives in oversight hubs such as legal or corporate affairs, the company’s approach can benefit from broad… More >