STRATEGIC SUSTAINABILITY

Credible governance

Manohara Athukorala

Q: How central should environmental, social and governance (ESG) be to an organisation’s long-term strategy?

A: ESG should be foundational to long-term strategy as it directly influences an organisation’s ability to remain relevant, resilient and trusted over time.

When ESG is embedded at the strategic level, it shapes how organisations think about growth, risk, innovation and stakeholder value, rather than merely how they report performance.

Contemporary sustainability frameworks have reinforced a shared understanding that long-term business success and societal progress are inherently linked. For many organisations, this has moved sustainability from a reporting requirement to a strategic lens through which resilience, risk and future growth are evaluated.

This way of thinking is consistent with how companies approach long-term value creation where contributing to society is embedded in how a business is run, rather than positioned as a separate sustainability agenda.

Organisations that place ESG at the centre of their strategy are better positioned to navigate uncertainty and create enduring value.

Q: Do you see sustainability as a performance driver or compliance exercise – and how does that distinction influence award outcomes?

A: Sustainability becomes meaningful only when it is treated as a performance dri-ver. Compliance ensures that standards are met but it’s not where advantage is created. That comes when sustainability is integrated into performance and becomes part of how an organisation thinks, operates and builds long-term credibility.

Awarding bodies increasingly recognise this distinction: they tend to reward organisations that demonstrate how sustainability contributes to tangible outcomes such as operational excellence, innovation or risk reduction, rather than those that simply meet regulatory expectations.

Long-term environmental ambitions should extend well beyond current regulatory requirements and illustrate how sustaina-bility can be used to raise performance standards, rather than merely satisfy compliance.

Q: Awarding bodies increasingly assess how results are achieved. Do you believe environmental, social and governance reshapes how organisations measure success?

A: Yes, ESG has notably reshaped how success is defined and measured.

Financial performance remains critical but it is no longer sufficient on its own. Today, success is increasingly assessed through the lens of responsibility, transpa-rency and long-term impact.

ESG introduces new dimensions to performance measurement such as environmental footprint, people development and governance integrity. These dimensions encourage organisations to think beyond short-term outcomes.

This approach, which is reflected in integrated reporting practices adopted by many international companies, ensures that value creation is assessed not only by the results achieved but also by the sustainability and ethics of processes behind them.

Q: In your experience, what distinguishes organisations that win sustainability related awards from those that merely participate?

A: The real difference lies in how embedded sustainability is within the organisation. In award-winning companies, it influences strategy and leadership decisions, and shows up consistently in day-to-day operations.

There is a clear line of sight between sustainability priorities and business performance, which is sustained over time rather than pursued in isolation.

In contrast, organisations that merely participate often rely on standalone initiatives without long-term alignment or robust impact measurement. Those that succeed tend to adopt a disciplined long-term approach supported by strong governance structures and credible data. This is evident in organisations with clearly articulated sustaina-bility road maps.

Q: Do you believe award-winning sustainability begins with systems or people – and why?

A: Award-winning sustainability begins with people but it is sustained through systems. Leadership commitment and organisational culture create the intent and momentum for sustainability, while robust systems ensure that this intent is translated into consistent action and measurable outcomes.

The emphasis on respect for people and continuous improvement demonstrates how values can drive behaviour, but it is the supporting systems such as governance, performance tracking and accountability that enable sustainability to scale and endure.

Organisations that succeed recognise that people provide direction while systems instil discipline.