ESG Mindset Shifts Every Business Leader Needs to Know

Sustainable Supply Chain

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In this episode, which is generously sponsored by Component Sense, I sit down with Joanne Flinn, Chair of the ESG Institute, to unpack what it really means to push sustainability forward in business, far beyond the usual carbon targets. Joanne shares her personal journey to becoming an advocate for sustainable transformation, influenced by her father’s work in agricultural economics and her early exposure to global sustainability issues.

We dig into the critical work the ESG Institute is doing to guide companies on their ESG journeys, especially around complex challenges like value chain sustainability and the need for clarity in multi-stakeholder decision-making. Joanne explains the Institute's “Sustainability Readiness Profiles,” a practical tool to help companies identify their ESG maturity and shape their approach accordingly – whether they’re observers, pledgers, compliers, or transformers.

We also discuss the mindset shifts needed to make sustainability integral to business strategies: moving from short-term gains to long-term resilience and embracing multi-dimensional goals beyond simple profit metrics. Joanne even makes an unexpected (but spot-on) connection between ESG in business and the evolving safety standards in rugby.

Tune in to learn why approaching sustainability as a “game of lifting standards” can drive real change, and what steps leaders can

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Chapters

1. ESG Mindset Shifts Every Business Leader Needs to Know (00:00:00)

2. [Ad] Digital Disruption with Geoff Nielson (00:31:24)

3. (Cont.) ESG Mindset Shifts Every Business Leader Needs to Know (00:32:03)