#8 How can you find your way through the sustainability maze?

With Marina Schmitz, CSR expert at Polymundo AG and a researcher and lecturer at IEDC - Bled School of Management.

Do you ever feel overwhelmed by the complexity of sustainability transformations in the business world?

In recent years, an ever-louder call to action has been demanding that businesses take valuable and tangible actions to leave the world a better place. But embedding sustainability into a company's culture and value chain is more than just difficult and time-consuming. It requires organizations to completely sever ties with 'business as usual'.

So where do you start from? Marina Schmitz believes in the power of education in building emotional connections to the issue of sustainability.

Marina is a CSR expert at Polymundo AG and a researcher and lecturer at IEDC - Bled School of Management. Her professional expertise lies both in sustainability consulting and in academia – she has spent several years working for the Center for Advanced Sustainable Management (CASM) at CBS International Business School in Cologne, Germany. 

In this episode of the FutureReady Podcast, host Arne Kötting talks with Marina about the difference between ESG and sustainability, the shift to impact-driven business models, the importance of partnerships in bringing about change and more.

If you're curious to learn more about Marina's work at Polymundo AG, check out their website here. If you’d like to reach out to Marina, here’s her LinkedIn. If you like what you’re hearing, please leave us a review. Or forward this show to someone who you think will love it.

This episode is presented by Arne Kötting, and was produced by Dhriti Kamath, Charlotte Irigoyen, Ashwerya Narula and Ana Luiza Loio. FutureReady music theme "Botanics" by Elizabells, and sound editing by Carsten Steffens.

02:18 Arne and Marina talk about her background and what led her to the issue of sustainability.

04:10 Marina talks about the scope of sustainability transformations, and the challenges with assessing the size of the issue and the task at hand.

11:25 On the differences between industries, company sizes, and geographic contexts of companies.

16:04 The need to consider the entire value chain to achieve a successful sustainability transformation.

24:21 Marina's thoughts on the costs incurred when companies hold off on sustainability transformations.

25:55 Arne and Marina discuss the biggest challenges companies are currently facing.

28:28 On the importance of mainstreaming sustainability and the role of communication and emotion.

34:30 Marina shares her thoughts on the debates surrounding ESG terminology.

40:38 On the need for political-legal changes.

43:44 What impact current economic and political crises are having on sustainability efforts.

45:51 Arne and Marina talk about the importance of partnerships in sustainability transformations.

52:29 Marina's thoughts on legal action against greenwashing.