You want to create a sustainability team that is innovative and forward-thinking. How do you start?

Always start by looking at what talent you have in the organisation and be aware that you may find people in unexpected places. A lot of the CSOs I've spoken to have started by identifying employees with academic qualifications in environmental, and natural sciences, who have since developed broader professional experience and can make the move across. Once you understand what talent you have available internally, you can then start thinking about what skills and experience gaps you have to hire in externally.

As an Enterprise Architect, I would map sustainability needs to capabilities across people, process and technology to identify gaps, then develop an adaptive roadmap that sequences the building of those capabilities like a jigsaw puzzle.

Before assembling our sustainability team, we must clarify our goals and rationale. Identifying our organization's main sustainability objectives, challenges, and opportunities is essential. Through a comprehensive assessment of current practices and policies, we can pinpoint gaps and potential areas for improvement. Required skills encompass sustainability strategy, data analysis, project management, and stakeholder engagement. This process ensures we define the scope and scale of our sustainability project effectively, setting the stage for impactful change.

Define Your Sustainability Vision and Goals Clear Vision: Establish a clear, ambitious vision for what the sustainability team should achieve. This vision should align with the overall goals of your organization but also push the boundaries of what's currently being done in the field of sustainability. Specific Goals: Break down this vision into specific, measurable goals. Consider short-term and long-term objectives that will guide the team's efforts.

During the implementation and identification of solutions using these tools and complementing them with others such as the Value Generation Dimensions Matrix for Shareholders, engage in partnerships, identify and train 'early adopter' employees in the operation to propagate and disseminate sustainable culture gradually. Create internal conferences, chat sessions, internal reports for transparency of movements, if possible create voluntary movements between Operation and NGOs related to the solution being developed. Connect sustainable minds.

Defining roles is key and it's important to look 2-3 years ahead and think about what team structure you want to have in place. You need to make sure that there's enough stretch within people's roles for them to have a learning gap for their personal development and what succession planning will look like.

As an Enterprise Architect, I would create a capability model mapping roles to deliverables across strategy, planning and operations to provide clarity on responsibilities while enabling flexibility to adapt as needs evolve.

To start a forward-thinking sustainability team, define objectives, assess current practices, identify stakeholders, and craft a team charter. Select diverse members with sustainability expertise and creativity. Clarify roles, encourage collaboration, and establish metrics. Provide resources and adapt strategies based on feedback.

Identify Key Roles and Skills Diverse Expertise: Identify the mix of skills and expertise needed to achieve your sustainability goals. This might include expertise in environmental science, corporate social responsibility (CSR), sustainable finance, supply chain management, data analysis, and more. Innovative Mindset: Look for individuals who not only have the necessary technical skills but also demonstrate creativity, open-mindedness, and a passion for sustainability.

Cuando una organización decide apostarle a la sostenibilidad, debe entender que esa apuesta requiere de una inversión. La inversión no sólo se ve representada en los costos de un proyecto específico; también tiene que ver con el talento con el que la organización debe contar para fomentar la sostenibilidad y, en lo posible, hacer de la sostenibilidad un elemento más de la cultura corporativa. La sostenibilidad requiere embajadores, que lideren con el ejemplo, que insipiren a los demás pero, sobre todo, que integren las iniciativas de sostenibilidad con los objetivos propios de la organización. Si esta persona está al interior de la organización, puede ser una buena oportunidad para reconocer su trabajo. Si no, se debe buscar por fuera.

To find the right fit for your team, look for people who are passionate and genuinely interested. Because skills can be learned if someone is interested. I would go for people with diverse backgrounds and if I am hiring more than one person I would try to have people who are from different backgrounds. This helps in making a resilient and innovative team.

Forward thinking is critical here so focus on building a team for the future and not for the now. Your personal career development will be based on the successful career development of the people you're hiring so think hard about how you're going to progress them. Finding people who have the ability to get out of their comfort zone and learn new things is hugely important, as is helping them to do so. Sustainability is much like other corporate functions in that they increasingly have highly technical, and specialist roles, that are vital for the team but can be difficult to progress out of. Rotating team members around different roles, where possible, is a good way of doing this.

En mi caso mi talento es la visión a mediano y largo plazo. El hecho de considerar al humano como una especie biológica más evita tener el sesgo de considera al humano como "dueño" del planeta. Una visión general permite guardar un delicado balance y hacer que el equipo aporte desde su especialidad, pero en mi caso la visión, motivación y capacidad de persuasión me hacen un líder.

As an Enterprise Architect, I would map desired culture traits to policies, processes and tools to nurture a collaborative ecosystem, like tending a garden to grow sustainable ideas.

In executive search we speak to clients a lot about the challenges created by T shaped career paths. Leveraging resource is one of the best way to address this. The T is created by the typical career progression we often see through corporate functions with specialist skill-sets. When leaders get to the top of that function, the top of the vertical line of the T, and in to a board level role, they often find it hard to operate effectively across the organisation. Understandably, they often don't have the skills or experience to manage what they don't know below the horizontal line of the T, creating a skills gap. Businesses that understand this and rotate future leaders both within, and out of function, build stronger leadership teams.

As an Enterprise Architect, I would map available resources to sustainability capabilities to identify synergies, then sequence integration via an adaptive roadmap, much like assembling interlocking building blocks.

Continuously Evolve Feedback Loops: Create mechanisms for regular feedback from team members, stakeholders, and external partners. Use this feedback to continually refine your strategies and approaches. Stay Adaptive: The field of sustainability is constantly changing, with new challenges and opportunities emerging. Stay adaptive and open to evolving your team’s focus areas and methods as needed.