To be effective, corporate purpose must be embedded in an organization and aligned with goals, strategies, and metrics.

ESG is at an inflection point. It has come to represent a broad and inchoate aspiration for what business should be doing beyond maximizing shareholder value. With ESG advocates on the defensive, business leaders need a new roadmap to determine which factors to incorporate into their business strategies and operations – and their political advocacy – and how they will communicate this to their stakeholders. Leaders should adopt a two-pronged approach: 1) Identify the sustainability issues that have the most potential impact on the bottom line and solve for them; and 2) Identify the most material negative impacts your firm is having on society and solve for them. Both of these require scanning for the biggest opportunities and threats that environmental, social, and governance issues pose to your company’s short- and long-term competitiveness.

From a management perspective, digital tools provide clearer, data-driven insights that facilitate informed decision-making and strategic planning.

Explore the major Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) trends that will shape business practices by 2035, highlighting regeneration, inclusivity & accountability.

Research examines how discussing nonmaterial and material ESG factors in companies’ earnings calls influences their overall worth.

A new book from MIT Sloan lecturer Malia C. Lazu offers managers an actionable guide to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

ESG and sustainability strategies are no longer nice to have—they are becoming central to successful business strategies.

Capital-intensive, sustainable businesses offer growth on a scale achieved by technology juggernauts of recent decades. But they face a different set of challenges. Here’s how they can overcome them.

Behaving responsibly isn’t always easy—particularly as the world continues to grapple with the ethical implications of advanced new AI solutions—but it almost always pays off in the long run.

In today’s corporate sphere, a growing disparity exists between companies’ declared values and their actions, leading to stakeholder skepticism. This divide prompts discussions about the feasibility of genuine societal contributions within capitalist frameworks.

Successfully adopting ESG programs in the company requires a well-defined strategy and holistic company involvement.

The vast need for climate technology will create opportunity. These five technology areas could offer $2 trillion of investment potential by 2025.

Done right, ESG can be a powerful positive force for organizations that strive to advance it and for the world in which we live. A well-conceived social transformation prepares a business for long-term growth, engaging the support of management, employees, investors, and customers.

Many smart, strategic business decisions come with a price. Only in sustainability is this considered a problem.

Our survey of 4,700 CEOs found that companies taking more action on climate-related opportunities and risks also have better financial performance.

As generative AI reshapes our world, debates over its risks and downsides have dominated much of the conversation. There’s another side to this coin, however, that is getting less attention: the benefits that AI can bring to both society and the fight against climate change.

Values-based businesses — and the backlash against them — can feel very of-the-moment, but the concept has been around for decades.

Sadly, purpose statements at all too many organizations are just empty words. The companies that issue them don’t live up to their lofty promises. But research by Bain & Company identified some companies that are the exceptions. They employ four methods to turn their statements into reality.

Anti-ESG sentiment led to “greenhushing” in 2023, even as the planet experienced its hottest year ever. What’s next?

Consumers are increasingly demanding businesses become more accountable, but often, the path to building a sustainable business is far from convenient.

While AI will reshape the nature of work, it will do so in a way that makes DEI both a baseline expectation and a critical requirement for companies seeking long-term growth. For that reason, businesses must focus on designing and developing AI systems that empower all their users by 1) embedding DEI into the design of your AI systems; 2) incorporating DEI into any AI-related upskilling programs; and 3) using AI as an opportunity to boost DEI.

In turbulent times, companies need a reliable anchor to guide decision-making. When organizations become moral communities, underpinned by purpose, they provide that stability for stakeholders as well as a reassuring sense of hope, solidarity, agency, and meaning. Three strategies can help. First, tell a big story about what your organization believes in and what it is trying to accomplish. Second, treat purpose as an organizing principle that guides company structure, strategy, and culture. Third, model courageous, purpose-driven leadership yourself.

ESG efforts are essential for reducing harm, but it is not the same as striving for a net positive impact.

Revenue growth is good. Profitable growth is better. Profitable growth that advances ESG priorities is best. Here’s how outperformers who actively choose growth deliver the growth trifecta.

U.S. employers are lagging at embedding sustainability into their organizations, new research shows.