In my experience, having participated in over fifty Fortune 500 board of directors meetings, there is always one question the independent directors ask: “How do we stack up?”
I developed the Sustainability Scorecard™ for CEOs and board members to answer that question – and to provide C-suite executives with a “framework” for taking action. This simple tool measures progress on your company’s sustainability journey and helps you plan strategically.
The Sustainability Scorecard™ is a comprehensive assessment and planning tool. Executives use the Scorecard to answer three simple questions:
- How do we stack up today (on a one-to-four maturity scale) vis-à-vis sustainability as compared with:
- Competitors and other peer companies?
- Best practices today?
- Where we think leaders are heading?
- Where do we want to be tomorrow – given…
- The competitive landscape?
- Our own ambitions?
- The speed needed to win in the marketplace?
- How do we get from here to there?
In 1997, two of the Fortune 500 Board of Directors meetings I participated in sowed the seeds for The Sustainability Scorecard.
- Ashland: Patrick Noonan (then Chairman of The Conservation Fund and former Chairman of The Nature Conservancy) was Chair of Ashland’s Board of Directors Public Policy Environment Committee. Over the years, I participated in many of these committee meetings. In one meeting, Pat Noonan asked me if we could develop a scorecard that would help board members navigate the turbulent waters of sustainability.
- Honeywell (then AlliedSignal): Larry Bossidy has been regarded widely as a master of business strategy and execution – and for good reason. I first knew of him early in my career when I worked at GE. In over a dozen Board Committee meetings, I watched him in action and learned how he thought and operated.
During those 1997 Board meetings, directors discussed the fact that leading companies – particularly those based in Europe – were beginning to address sustainability in a comprehensive way. I was asked the question: How do we stack up?
Since 1999, over 50 major companies globally have used The Sustainability Scorecard™ to hone their sustainability strategy and implementation. The Scorecard provides a logical, structured framework that speaks the language of the CEO and board. It helps shape strategic conversations and set priorities.
The Scorecard is available now for the first time as an on-line tool. It is easy to use. Try doing your free sample rating to get a feel for how the scorecard works. It will only take 15-30 minutes.
To learn more, just let us know here.