Most companies today are in Stage 1 or Stage 2 of the Hedstrom Associates four-stage Scorecard. They go about their day-to-day business in designing, making, and selling the same stuff as in the past. These companies know that sustainability is important. They assign a senior executive to look after it. They set goals and reduce their footprint, and then move on to report progress and try to be more transparent. However, they are missing the big picture. 

Meanwhile, leading companies realize that sustainability is about complete transformation. Airbnb, Uber, Tesla, Lyft, and other recent startups are not alone. Some of the world’s biggest companies are embarking on bold strategic initiatives with sustainability at the core. These companies and others see the risk of becoming irrelevant in a low-carbon and resource-constrained future. Their strategic investments are paying off as seen in these examples…

• Growth: Siemens, Philips, Kimberly-Clark, DSM, and Waste Management have “sustainable product” portfolios that deliver about 50 percent of their annual sales.
• Investment: BASF, GE, Philips, and DuPont are investing 30-50 percent of their R&D budgets on their “green product” portfolios. LEGO will replace oil-based plastics in all materials by 2030.
• Net Positive: BT is on a path to become “net positive” in terms of environmental and societal impacts. Dell’s “10×20” goal states that by 2020 the good that comes from Dell’s technology will be 10x what it takes to create and use it. Disney’s goal is net zero emissions.

Hedstrom Associates’ strategy services typically start with understanding where a company stands today.