Being More Responsible: How Women Are Driving Sustainable Corporate Change
The old idea that businesses are there to do nothing more than profit-maximize is now a thing of the past. As more women enter the business world, we’re seeing a wholesale change in attitudes, transforming how companies are run.
What’s interesting about the current landscape is the sheer degree to which female leadership is making changes. Most people are surprised to hear just how many things are being done to reinvent companies and ensure they are ready for the world of tomorrow.
But what, specifically, are women doing to drive more sustainable corporate development? Here’s a rundown:
Pioneering Sustainable Business Models
One critical development is the role women are playing in pioneering more sustainable business models. Female leadership is leading to a resurgence of interest in approaches that are people and planet-friendly.
Part of this relates to the new concept of “zero waste retail.” The idea is to make the shopping economy more circular so that companies don’t produce externalities that could cause harm elsewhere. It’s this collective approach that’s having such a massive impact on the fashion industry, showing that sustainability is affordable and achievable.
Interestingly, many female-founded companies are built on the concept of inspiring larger companies to also change their approaches. These leaders frequently become standard-bearers for their industry, forcing a change in the underlying conversation and ensuring that others follow their lead. Often, failing to do so is a form of corporate self-sabotage.
Driving More Accountability
There’s also a role for women in driving more accountability in the corporate world. Female leadership is critical for calling out problems like greenwashing and ensuring that companies are doing things in the real world that make a difference.
This accountability can come from numerous places. For example:
Running campaigns on social media to whistleblow on specific issues or highlight problems in sectors to the general public that aren’t well-known
Engaging in public speaking to discuss critical elements that the mainstream conversation misses but needs to address for equity and inclusion reasons
Activism to spark change at the highest levels of government and across the industry, changing the culture and the nature of the conversation
Elevating other female voices, allowing women to speak freely about corporate issues that concern them
What’s interesting about women’s role in sustainable corporate change is how impactful it can be. Company leadership is unrecognizable from ten years ago, with many firms now taking their responsibilities seriously instead of just paying lip service to them.
Furthermore, many of these firms are measuring the impact of female leadership roles on outcomes and attempting to measure their wider social impact. These measurements then feed into a justification for expanding programs and improving practices more generally.
Empowering Household Decision-Makers
There’s also evidence that women play a role at the consumer level and are more likely to choose sustainable brands over men. These figures seem to reflect an enhanced sense of responsibility for the state of the world and the conditions people live in.
For this reason, female leadership must adapt to this reality. As decision-makers, brands must focus their messaging on women, highlighting their ethical practices and environmentalism. Companies must:
Adopt sustainable packaging that protects the environment and reduces the amount of plastic entering the sea
Reduce their carbon footprints as much as possible by implementing renewable solutions for their electricity needs
Support the application of fair labor practices globally, ensuring that workers in developing countries can benefit from a living wage
The more companies can empower household decision-makers, the more likely they are to align with them. Making green goals verifiable reduces the risk of greenwashing and provides hard evidence that progress is being made.
Influencing Corporate Culture
Another way women are making their impact felt in corporate sustainability is by influencing the culture. Companies are having to rethink how they operate in light of more women in senior positions.
For example, women are driving internal policies, shaping the overall ethos of how many firms are run. Female employees are forcing conversations on internal culture and how companies interact with the society around them.
Women are also part of sustainability committees. These internal organizations often push management and directors for clear decisions on the environmental role the company will play. Often, they focus on problems like waste reduction and adopting renewable energy systems to power specific business aspects.
Many also align with corporate social responsibility (CSR) professionals to help them market their efforts. It isn’t uncommon to see a CSR photographer working closely with the in-house female-led team to drive internal cultural change.
Ultimately, many women are operating in a grassroots fashion. Even if they aren’t at the top of an organization, they are still playing a role in ensuring more ethical supply chains and an eco-conscious workplace.
Changing Sustainability Through Leadership
Finally, and most obviously, there are now more women in leadership roles in companies than ever before. Female-run companies often meet environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards.
But why is this? Part of it has to do with the inclusive and collaborative decision-making style of many women leaders. These tend to be good when trying to solve complex problems, such as delivering profits while also reducing externalities. Dealing with these issues is essentially impossible otherwise.
However, there’s a deeper force at work here. Many top female leaders push for environmental policies that affect their entire industries, leveling the playing field and ensuring everyone operates by the same rules. Often, there can be a “race to the bottom,” something that many women executives and managers recognize. Instead of becoming embroiled in competition, these leaders look for win-win solutions at the regulatory level. Making the game fair for everyone can instill higher standards and even improve conditions for the general public.
Conclusion
In summary, women are improving corporate social responsibility on many levels, helping companies become fit for the economy of the 21st century. While the environment is a priority, these female leaders are also dealing with other issues in the commercial world, including things like culture and governance.
