Sustainability Skills : Why business leaders see them as critical
- Gavin Tweedie
- 2 days ago
- 7 min read
Today we held a CMI Scotlandย webinar on the topic of "๐ฆ๐๐๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ธ๐ถ๐น๐น๐: ๐ช๐ต๐ ๐ฏ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐บ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น". There were some excellent thoughts and ideas shared with the panel and audience. Too many to cover during the session, so we have documented the wider session discussion, Q&A.
Following delivery of Sustainable Leadership courses in collaboration with CMI, it was a privilege for us to join an excellent panel today - Dr Rebecca Wade MA PhD FRSA AMICE SFHEA, Joe Arciero, Callum Gawย and Kim Mulhern MRICS, as well as CMI Scotland Host Pete Morton.
It is very clear that sustainability is no longer a โnice to haveโ - it is now very much part of credible, resilient leadership. Todayโs discussion explored the sustainability skills shaping the next generation of leaders, including how organisations can embed sustainable thinking into decision-making, operations, culture and team development.
The session covered these key questions with many more raised by the audience during the session:
Why sustainability is now a core leadership skill and a business-critical priority
How organisations can integrate sustainable practices into strategy and culture
Practical ways to develop sustainability skills in yourself and your teams
How sustainability contributes to long-term resilience, credibility & competitive advantage
The session was expertly led by Dr Rebecca who hosted the panel drawing out excellent insights adding her own experiences from education and industry.
Below are some of the topics discussed with the panel
Gavin, following a career building technology companies you have now focused on "Responsible Growth", can you explain the concept of Responsible Growth to the audience?
"For me, responsible growth is about building something that lasts. Earlier in my career, I probably thought about growth more in traditional terms โ how fast can we grow and make profit ? whereas now Iโm thinking about the quality of that growth.ย Is it creating something positive for people? Is it better for the planet? Is it helping build a business thatโs resilient and sustainable over the long term?
I think that means measuring success more broadly. Yes, profit matters, but so does the impact we have on people and the planet. And for me, it starts with trust before transaction. If youโre willing to be accountable for the footprint you create, and honest about where you are still learning or improving, people are more likely to trust you. With Trust you deepen relationships which makes growth much more meaningful and sustainable.โ
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Callum, you progressed from teenage apprentice to representing Scotland on sustainability at an international event. Describe your journey and how it has influenced your life and career
"Through school, I was quite dis-engaged, but realised when I was given some responsibility, I would push and push and surprise myself. As an apprentice aircraft fitter, I was first forced to take on responsibility through the Powering Futures challenge. I enjoyed it and that encouraged me to push on. I represented Scotland at a climate event in Sweden, taking part in a workshop - How can you influence the world around you? I realised through collaboration, working with other engaged young people, I could see making a difference is possible. You need to actively grow yourself. But you need to know it and want it. The journey was accelerated through involvement in the Powering Futures program which really acted as an awakening. I found the spark in myself and thatโs led to an amazing journey ever since".
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Kim, as an experienced quantity surveyor in Booth Welsh. Integrated engineering specialists in regulated industries like nuclear, defence, pharma, life sciences and food and drink. What signs are you seeing that sustainability is a must have to your clients?
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โWe are seeing it becoming business critical especially with clients in the regulated space, those clients are asking us to demonstrate compliance and assurance and transparency which is non-negotiable. When it becomes contractual, auditable in the risk and delivery โ itโs not optional, itโs just as critical as safety and compliance. For example, there is a new clause in the NEC X.29 clauseย which makes it contractual, measurable and enforceable.โ
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Joe operated at global level throughout most of his career and consults at a global level. What different levels of commitment or extremes have you seen Joe across company boards?
"Iโve seen commitment range from very limited to deeply embedded. For example, one large UK company dropped its renewables commitment and increased fossil fuel investment, reflecting the current political climate.
By contrast, at Pernod Ricard, sustainability was built into the culture. That showed up in fair supplier policies, responsible water use, regenerative agriculture, carbon tracking and community support across the supply chain. It was taken seriously because it reduced risk, strengthened the business and helped protect jobs.
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As a supply chain leader, I believe promises are not enough. We checked whether suppliers were genuinely meeting our standards, because poor alignment created risk. That gave us a clearer view of performance and of how suppliers treated both people and the environment, later we begun to use Ecovadis to help screen and validate our supply chain."
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Questions from the audience
What has proven effective for communicating sustainability messages in complex, busy, operational environment?
Sustainability messages land best when they are practical, relevant and part of everyday business language. In busy operational environments, people engage when sustainability is linked to decisions they already make ย such as cost, risk, quality, efficiency, customer expectations and resilience. It also needs clear leadership, visible action and simple measures. When people can see how it helps them improve performance, reduce waste or win work, it is far more likely to stick.
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Many organisations recognise the importance of sustainability, but implementation often conflicts with short-term business pressures and performance targets. In your experience, how can leaders effectively balance short-term KPIs with long-term sustainability goals?
It starts by treating sustainability and performance as one agenda. Strong leaders build sustainability into the operating model, so it shapes how success is measured, funded and discussed every day. That means setting clear people, planet and profit goals, while staying flexible enough to adapt as markets and conditions change. Profit matters, but if short-term KPIs damage trust, resilience or future competitiveness, they create bigger risks later. The strongest businesses review their position constantly, adapt quickly and, when needed, reinvent themselves to stay competitive.
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How do you recognise which skills you need to develop to remain sustainable in a digital landscape? How do you ensure that you keep ahead of other organisations that you may support to maintain and grow the right capability for the future? What recommendations are there to build resilience where there are a number of roles that are reliant on one person?
Start by looking at where the world, market and your organisation are heading, and identify the skills that will matter most. Organisations stay ahead by learning continuously, testing early and linking capability development to strategy. In practice, that means building leadership, digital confidence, collaboration and sustainability literacy, while reducing key-person risk through knowledge sharing, succession planning and broader team capability. Long-term resilience comes from strong systems and people, not dependence on individuals alone.
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How can sustainability be the core to an online business producing gym wear products?
For an online gym wear business, sustainability can sit at the core by shaping decisions right across the model from the materials you use, to how products are designed, manufactured, packaged, marketed and delivered. That means thinking about durability, recycled or lower-impact fabrics, ethical supply chains, reduced waste, responsible logistics and clear evidence behind any claims you make. It should also influence how the brand shows up, not just what you sell, but what you stand for, how transparent you are and how you build trust with customers. If it is done properly, sustainability becomes part of the product, the customer experience and the brand proposition, rather than a marketing message added at the end.
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Interested in how to embed sustainability in people professions and organisations i.e. public sector / third sector
The same principles apply to the public and third sectors as much as the private sector. If 80% of emissions are created at the design stage, the opportunity is to design out waste and emissions while designing in circularity, social impact and community wealth building across projects with clients, stakeholders and supply chain partners. Sustainable leadership is no longer just about environmental ambition, it is about managing risk, leading through uncertainty and ensuring project outcomes deliver positive impact for people and planet. Community wealth building matters because it helps turn investment into local jobs, skills and lasting economic value.
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What advice would you give to people who want to become future industry leaders especially advice that helps them build skills, stay engaged, and create career
opportunities?ย
Stay curious, keep learning and step forward when responsibility comes your way. As Callum stated, leadership is not about title or seniority ย itโs about guiding people, building trust and helping others do their best work. The more you develop both technical and human skills, and stay open to opportunities that stretch you, the more career doors tend to open.
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What role do governance and critical thinking play when leadership behaviour falls short or misconduct occurs?
Governance matters because leadership canโt run on trust alone, it needs accountability, transparency and challenge. When misconduct happens, critical thinking is what stops people accepting promises at face value and helps them ask the hard questions before risk turns into real damage.
Finally, Quick takeaways from today's event
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Gavinย โ Sustainable Leadership is about making responsible decisions across the whole business, not just one department. Enabling and empowering the team, Setting targets that measure people and departments in the same way profitability, safety and quality are measured. Not as an after-thought.
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Callumย โ Employers highly rate creative thinking and innovation beyond technical abilities. The development of soft skills are absolutely key. Develop the whole person, not just the technical side to maximise their potential and contribution to the business
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Kimย โ Shift the conversation from do you understand sustainability to how do you apply it in your job. How do business decisions affect your carbon footprint and people in your community, are ethical decisions being taken? So shift from what do you understand to how are you applying it.
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Joeย โ You get what you measure and reward. If it matters, measure it, build the skills for it and make it part of business as usual. What gets measured and rewarded gets done.
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We finished with some very inspiring words from Callum
Callumโs quote from a Ricky Gervais line in the show After life;
โA society grows great when old men plant trees, the shade of which they will never sit inโ. ย ย
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