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Why organisations should approach sustainability as a marathon and not a sprint
Organisations must cease to approach sustainability as a sprint but rather as a marathon, which requires long-term thinking and planning across every aspect of sustainability.
The end-to-end journey for sustainability in an organisation requires the execution of each phase in a comprehensive manner that delivers tangible results for the organisation rather than a compliance-driven mindset.
Whether it's strategy setting, materiality assessment, systems and process implementation, data analysis, reporting and assurance, every aspect of the sustainability journey requires long-term planning and vision.
Failure to apply this holistic view to sustainability results in short-term thinking that leads to inefficiency and silo-thinking, with organisations spending more than was necessary in the long run.
For example, organisations have had to repeat specific baseline exercises related to sustainability data gathering because they took a short-term thinking approach, failing to consider all relevant factors and business segments, which became inefficient and costly.
Furthermore, this leads organisations to have to revise their sustainability targets, which is concerning for stakeholders.
Therefore, organisations must cease to approach sustainability as a sprint but rather as a marathon, which requires long-term thinking and planning across every aspect of sustainability.
Approaching sustainability as a marathon enables organisations to maintain focus on their sustainability strategy. This focus ensures that the organisation articulates the business case for sustainability at every point in time and measures and reports on what matters to the realisation of its sustainability ambition to internal and external stakeholders.
It also shifts the focus from the organisation's short-term compliance-only mindset to the broader long-term value of sustainability. A marathon approach to sustainability encourages long-term planning by organisations, which ensures that resource availability is assessed over the long term.
This way, organisations can break up their sustainability targets and goals into smaller bite-size goals across the short, medium, and long term while maintaining momentum on their sustainability agenda.
A vital aspect of long-term planning is making sustainability business-as-usual across an organisation.
Organisations can make the right investments from people to systems and technology required to embed sustainability, thereby ensuring the organisation has the proper foundation for the long-term success of the organisation.
For example, the correct data and reporting systems will make sustainability reporting seamless and less onerous, promoting accountability across the organisation. Developing a sustainability plan for an organisation should be viewed as planning for long-distance running.
Akinyemi Awodumila is a Partner at Deloitte East Africa. He is an author who writes and speaks widely on corporate reporting topics