HBR launched the Future Economy Project in the wake of the United States’ decision to withdraw from the Paris climate accord. We felt it necessary to affirm that a sustainable corporate agenda is more than a moral imperative in the face of climate change—it is good management.

top: David Yarrow Photography/Getty Images, left and bottom: Philippe Bourseiller/Getty Images   

Leading executives and scholars have since joined the initiative and shared their experiences and insights–and we continue to enlist new recruits. After listening to these pioneers, and scouring our own archives for the best writing on sustainability, we have identified a list of principles aimed at outlining a path for businesses that want to pursue sustainable goals.

These principles are not meant to be exhaustive—and they are intended to complement, not compete, with other, worthy efforts to codify what it means to operationalize sustainability. We hope they are a starting point for those executives who understand that long-term thinking can unlock value for their organizations, customers, partners and owners, but are looking for guidance about how to proceed.

— Adi Ignatius, Editor, Harvard Business Review

Together, We’re Taking Action

We recognize a hard truth: When it comes to how businesses view climate change, the need to focus on financial performance and create value for shareholders often obscures the importance of environmentally responsible corporate stewardship. Short-term rewards too often take precedence over the longer-term interests and viability of a company.

The upside of a sustainability agenda is clear. Regardless of your views on the who, what, when, and why of climate change, the pursuit of sustainable processes up and down supply chains can translate into immediate savings — and opportunities for innovation. Firms as diverse as Walmart and KKR are finding that reducing energy use and embracing renewable energy can be immediately profitable. Moreover, global challenges including water scarcity, severe weather events, and ecosystem degradation — coupled with a growing interest from consumers and investors in whether companies have a “green” agenda — signal that the environment will have an increasingly direct impact on companies’ earnings and risk profiles.

We don’t pretend to have all the answers — and neither do the pioneering business leaders who are joining this initiative. But as we’ve come together over the past few months we’ve seen that there are paths forward for companies large and small. 

The Principles

Long-term Strategy.

Every decision we make as CEOs will be in service of ensuring our organizations are successful across a long time-horizon. We will aim to integrate the concepts of sustainability, stewardship, and stakeholder engagement into the heart of our business strategy.

Responsible Value Chain.

We recognize that in most sectors, most of a company’s footprint is outside its walls. We will create shared value with and for suppliers and customers.

Science-based goals.

Aggressive, science-based targets are needed to keep pace with what the scientific community tells us about carbon budgets and environmental thresholds.

Transparency.

We will disclose to the public when our organization or its partners cause environmental harm or pose health or safety hazards.

Influencing policy.

We understand that voluntary carbon reductions are not sufficient to achieve the scale needed to solve climate change — we commit to use our influence to advocate for action at the national and global levels to drive the transition to a carbon-free energy economy.

Investor relations.

We will pursue relationships with shareholders who share our commitment to long-term sustainability.

Partnering with communities and NGOs.

We value input from a range of stakeholders, including our employees, suppliers and the communities in which we operate. We will communicate and partner with NGOs that are committed to sustainable business practices.

Leaders who responded to our call

Dominic Barton | Read Q&A
Former Global Managing Partner, McKinsey & Co.
Marc Benioff
Chairman and CEO, Salesforce
Richard Branson
Founder, Virgin Group
Marne Levine | Read Q&A
COO, Instagram (Facebook, Inc.)
Andrew Liveris | Read Q&A
Chairman and CEO, The Dow Chemical Company, and Executive Chairman, DowDuPont
Doug McMillon | Read Q&A
CEO and President, Walmart
Indra Nooyi
Former Chairperson and CEO, PepsiCo
Henry M. Paulson Jr. | Read Q&A
Chairman, Paulson Institute
Paul Polman | Read Q&A
CEO, Unilever
Eric Schmidt
Former Executive Chair, Alphabet

Our advisers

Rebecca Henderson
Professor, Harvard Business School
Andrew Winston
Founder, Winston Eco-Strategies
Mike Toffel
Professor, Harvard Business School
Tensie Whelan
Professor, Stern School of Business