squaring the sustainability circle
NEW 2022 - English Version
Sustainability is now a fundamental pre-requisite for doing business – so how can business leaders approach it in a way that creates value for the business while also working for society?
That is the question at the core of the book – the circle that needs to be squared.
It is possible to square the circle – to make the sustainable solutions profitable and scalable – but it requires new competencies and skill sets to navigate and work through the complexity.
Available as a printed paperback book or as a digital eBook:
Issues covered in the book
HOW COMPANIES ARE IMPACTED BY THE SUSTAINABILITY CRISIS
HOW SUSTAINABILITY IS RELEVANT FOR BUSINESS STRATEGY
FOUR WAYS TO CREATE VALUE WITH SUSTAINABILITY
HOW COMPANIEs IMPACT PEOPLE, SOCIETY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
HOW SUSTAINABILITY IMPACTS ACCESS TO CAPITAL
THE NEW LEADERSHIP SKILLS AND MINDSETS NEEDED
About the book
Sustainability has become a megatrend.
It is making big new demands, but also offers enormous opportunities for companies that can respond with solutions – because no other entity in society can create scale and impact the way companies can.
An entire industry has been created around an idea that success is guaranteed if only sustainability, ESG and global goals are linked to the business strategy. This is a false promise. It is a massive over-simplification of what are highly complex and inter-dependent economic trends.
Sustainability increases complexity and a company’s range of strategic choices increases with it – and so management’s role in assessing and working through these choices becomes harder. In Squaring the Sustainability Circle, four experts in corporate sustainability share their insights into how to go about creating value for a company through sustainability, and what new tasks, requirements and competences are required of the top decision-makers.
Based on the authors’ shared experiences in A.P. Moller - Maersk, the book is richly illustrated with examples from Denmark’s largest and most global company.
the authors
ANNETTE STUBE
is Executive Vice President, Sustainability, and a member of the Executive Board of Stora Enso. She sits on the board of Fortum, a Finnish energy company, and is an adjunct professor at CBS. For 11 years up to 2020 Annette was Global Head of Sustainability in A.P. Moller - Maersk, and before this 11 years at Novo Nordisk most recently as Director, Sustainability Programs.
LENE BJØRN SERPA
is Head of Corporate Sustainability & ESG in A.P. Moller - Maersk with responsibility for strategy, reporting and governance on sustainability and ESG. Lene joined Maersk in 2011, having previously led Novo Nordisk’s efforts on trendspotting and stakeholder engagement for sustainability. Before that she worked as an independent consultant and for the Danish think tank Mandag Morgen on sustainability and corporate development agendas.
JOHN KORNERUP BANG
is Senior Vice President of Stora Enso with responsibility for using sustainability to drive innovation and growth.
Until 2020, John spent 10 years driving the development of A.P. Moller - Maersk’s climate and ESG strategy and positioning, and before that he was at WWF for 10 years with a focus on the role of business partnerships in creating innovation and scalable sustainability solutions.
NIGEL SALTER
is a leading sustainability consultant and was an adviser to Maersk on a variety of challenges over the last decade or so. He was founder and CEO of the consultancy Salterbaxter, which was acquired by the global group Publicis. Salterbaxter was voted one of the top 10 UK management consultancies in the Financial Times rankings in 2017. Nigel is now founder and CEO of a new consultancy SB+CO and director of several other organisations.