According to a survey by The Conference Board of 104 US-based sustainability executives, companies that have sustainability steering committees—internal cross-departmental committees at the C-Suite level or below the C-Suite—tend to have more effective sustainability programs and teams than those that don’t. These committees help coordinate sustainability efforts, set strategy and goals, execute on that strategy, and communicate sustainability initiatives across the organization.
Companies should consider establishing a sustainability steering committee, if they have not already done so, since these committees can play a critical role in improving sustainability performance and promoting the integration of sustainability goals throughout the enterprise. Some 47% of surveyed companies have steering committees both at the C-Suite level and below. In most companies, the C-Suite steering committee sets overall strategy and goals, while the committee below the C-Suite serves more as a recommendation body and acts as a conduit for the rest of the organization to implement and communicate initiatives stemming from the strategy.
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