This post is the fifth in a six-part series based on Where Sustainability Lives, a new study that indicates that organizational structure matters to sustainability performance.

—

In the course of our research, we found that when a company established a dedicated sustainability function or placed responsibility for sustainability in the legal or corporate/public affairs divisions, that company tended to receive greater recognition than if sustainability was managed by community relations/foundation or human resources departments.

What this suggests to me is a continuation of the accelerating shift away from the perception of sustainability as just a “nice to have” or a “good” thing to do. When sustainability “lives” only in philanthropic areas of the company, it can hardly aspire to have broad strategic relevance with regard to core business activities. Conversely, if sustainability lives in oversight hubs such as legal or corporate affairs, the company’s approach can benefit from broad stakeholder input and the inherent risk-and-opportunity-management focus of those functions. With more companies moving sustainability out of philanthropy and into higher-level, strategic functions, the message we hear is that sustainability is and will continue to be a driver of long-term success.

As to companies that have chosen to designate a sustainability function or a “CRO”: it will be interesting to track the success of this approach. A relatively new phenomenon, it seems to be effective in helping companies to reap the benefits of a centrally coordinated approach (see the recent post from Dave Stangis of The Campbell Soup Company).

The question is whether all companies need such a department to achieve results. My guess is no, and that we’ll continue to see an evolution in and diversity of sustainability placements and organizational structures that reflect unique company cultures for some time to come.

We’d love to hear about the evolution of your company’s sustainability function: where did it originate, where is it now, where might it eventually wind up… just click on the comment link below to post your thoughts!