Swedish Business Leaders Prospecting Sustainability – Finding the Future with Purpose, Systems Approach, Empathy & Transformation

Abstract

In this report, we are continuing the discussion on the conclusions from the article “The Inter Business Index: Developing a Tool for Measurement and Comparability of Holistic Sustainability in Businesses” that was published in May 2017 by Hallin et al (2017) and claim that there is need for a new perspective that bring sustainability to a new level – that might be more successful at solving our shared global problems. In an attempt to understand business sustainability and its journey from early day CSR initiatives – towards being a central part of business strategy, we have looked at the structures and strategies companies use to understand sustainability, via reporting and profitable models. To deeper understand the importance of leadership and mindset in regard to sustainability, we have examined how the Inter Business Principles of purpose, empathy, system approach and transformation applies to the sustainability challenges leaders are facing today. Through dialogue with business leaders in Sweden and literature on business sustainability, we have identified leadership and investors as keys for corporate sustainability to take its next step.