Building Competitive Advantage in a Sustainable World

BCG Henderson Institute
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Building Competitive Advantage in a Sustainable World

Businesses have a unique opportunity to create a better world, addressing major environmental and social challenges in a way that creates new business value and competitive advantage. How can they do this? In this show, Dave Young, Fellow at the BCG Henderson Institute and Global Lead for the Total Societal Impact topic at BCG interviews senior business executives across the world to discuss their experiences and views on what it will take for companies to reunite the two "S-words" of business strategy: sustainability and sustainable competitive advantage.

  1. JAN 30

    Creating Enduring Value: Lessons from The Heritage Group’s CEO Amy Schumacher

    Amy Schumacher is the chief executive officer of The Heritage Group, overseeing the company’s portfolio of more than 30 businesses and 5,000 employees. Amy has been part of The Heritage Group family of businesses for over 13 years. In 2008, she founded Monument Chemical, the group’s specialty chemicals business, and served as president and CEO for eight years, marking the fourth generation of Fehsenfeld family leadership. She graduated from Purdue University with a BA in Education and BS in Civil Engineering and received her MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She serves on the boards of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, the Women’s Fund of Central Indiana, and Calumet Specialty Products, and is a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization. In this conversation with Dave Young, the Global Leader of the BCG Henderson Institute’s Center for Climate & Sustainability, Amy shares how this fourth-generation family business blends innovation, sustainability, and values-driven leadership to build enduring success. She describes the company’s journey from its beginnings during the Great Depression to becoming a diversified enterprise with over 50 companies, emphasizing the power of sustainability as a competitive advantage. They delve into transformative projects like building North America’s largest lithium-ion battery recycling operation and a runway project that showcases groundbreaking sustainable practices. Amy’s insights on fostering collaboration, empowering people, and maintaining a long-term perspective highlight The Heritage Group’s unique approach to creating businesses that tackle hard problems and leave a lasting legacy.

    41 min

  2. JAN 9

    How Science Meets Strategy: Chris Killian on Sustainability in the Materials Industry

    Dr. Chris Killian is Senior Vice President, Chief Technology and Sustainability Officer for Eastman’s global technology, innovation, and sustainability organizations. Chris leads Eastman’s innovation-driven growth strategy to deliver sustainable material solutions to customer and societal needs. Prior to his current position, Chris served as senior vice president and chief technology officer. Chris holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) and a doctorate in organic chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He joined Eastman in 1996 as a research chemist. During his career at Eastman, he has held various technology and business leadership positions, including director of polymers technology, director of the Tritan™ growth platform, and vice president of Advanced Materials technology. In this conversation with Dave Young, the Global Leader of the BCG Henderson Institute’s Center for Climate & Sustainability, Chris shares Eastman’s journey in pioneering technologies like molecular recycling and bio-based polymers, offering insights into how the company has built a “better circle” by integrating circular economy principles into its core operations. The discussion highlights Eastman’s principles-based approach to innovation, where high environmental and societal standards are seamlessly aligned with business performance. From creating sustainable supply chains to addressing global challenges in material science, Chris provides an inspiring blueprint for how businesses can leverage innovation to drive growth, deliver value, and create a more sustainable future.

    38 min

  3. 10/02/2024

    Chaos to Order: Doyne Farmer on Complexity Science and Economic Transformation

    J. Doyne Farmer is director of the Complexity Economics program at the Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School, Baillie Gifford Professor in the Mathematical Institute at the University of Oxford, and an external professor at the Santa Fe Institute. He is a renowned physicist and complex systems scientist with a career spanning more than four decades. As a pioneer in chaos theory and complexity science, he has made significant contributions to understanding dynamic systems and their applications in various fields, including economics and financial markets. In this conversation with Dave Young, the Global Leader of the BCG Henderson Institute’s Center for Climate & Sustainability, Doyne discusses his journey from astrophysics to pioneering work in chaos theory and complex systems. He explains how modern computational power and big data are revolutionizing economic modeling, sharing insights from his team’s accurate prediction of COVID-19’s economic impact in the U.K. Farmer argues for a shift from traditional macroeconomic models to more dynamic, data-driven approaches that can capture the intricacies of our complex economic systems.

    52 min

  4. 09/16/2024

    MUFG and Financing the Energy Transition

    Tomohiro (Tomo) Ishikawa is a financial executive with more than 25 years of experience in investment banking, regulatory affairs, and sustainable finance. Currently serving as the chief regulatory engagement Officer at MUFG and head of the corporate planning division, Tomo also holds key positions in global sustainability initiatives, including membership in the MAS (Monetary Authority of Singapore) Sustainable Finance Advisory Panel and the UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative. As one of Japan’s largest financial institutions, MUFG has committed to achieving net-zero emissions in its finance portfolio by 2050 and has pledged to provide ¥100 trillion (approximately US$660 billion) in sustainable finance by 2030. In this conversation with Dave Young, the global leader of BCG Henderson Institute’s Center for Climate & Sustainability, Tomo highlights MUFG’s role as its clients’ partner in achieving net-zero targets and underscores the necessity of balancing energy security, affordability, and CO2 reduction in the transition process.

    39 min

  5. 09/03/2024

    Redefining Business: Judy Samuelson on Purpose, Culture, and Sustainable Advantage

    Judy Samuelson is a seasoned leader with more than four decades of experience spanning public policy, philanthropy, and business education. As the founder and executive director of the Aspen Business and Society Program at the Aspen Institute for the past 26 years, she has been driving change to align business decisions with societal well-being. Her diverse career includes roles as director at the Ford Foundation, vice president at Bankers Trust Company, and a legislative aide in California, complemented by her education from Yale School of Management and UCLA. In this conversation with Dave Young, the Global Leader of the BCG Henderson Institute’s Center for Climate & Sustainability, Judy covers the evolving role of business in society, emphasizing the importance of intangibles like reputation and employee engagement. Judy highlights the need for businesses to embrace a purpose beyond profit and to integrate this purpose into their operations and decision-making processes. Further, she critiques the narrow focus on shareholder value.

    40 min

  6. 08/19/2024

    Threading the Needle: Navigating the Challenges of Business in Society

    Today’s guests are Janine Guillot, Judy Samuelson, Gary Knell, and Ron Soonieus. Janine is the former CEO of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB). Judy is the founder and executive director of the Aspen Business and Society Program. Gary is the former CEO at National Geographic, and Ron is a director in residence at INSEAD. Janine, Gary, and Ron are senior advisors to BCG. In this conversation with Dave Young, the global leader of the BCG Henderson Institute’s Center for Climate & Sustainability, the expert panel covers the intricate role of business in addressing global challenges such as climate change, economic inequality, and social justice. Key topics include the evolution of fiduciary duty, the importance of sustainability disclosure, and the critical role of employees and partnerships in fostering a more just and sustainable society.

    1h 3m

  7. 08/07/2024

    Accelerating Climate & Sustainability: Harnessing Collaboration and Innovation

    Today’s guests are Wendy Woods, Robert (Hutch) Hutchinson, and Richard Kidd. Wendy is BCG’s Vice Chair of the Social Impact, Climate & Sustainability practice, Robert is a Senior Advisor to BCG and Senior Fellow at the Rocky Mountain Institute, and Richard is a Senior Advisor to BCG and Former US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Environment & Energy Resilience. In this conversation with Dave Young, the Global Leader of the BCG Henderson Institute’s Center for Climate & Sustainability, our expert panel considers the challenges and strategies pivotal to the energy transition and sustainability efforts globally—including the significant impact of collaborative initiatives and the crucial role of innovative thinking in overcoming systemic barriers to decarbonization.

    50 min

  8. 07/22/2024

    Leadership in Sustainability: How Orbia Tackles Global Challenges

    Sameer Bharadwaj received a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Minnesota and an MBA from Harvard University. He started his career as a research engineer at Dow Chemical Company before progressing into multiple executive roles at Cabot Corporation. Today, as the CEO of Orbia, he leads a purpose-driven company that is addressing critical global challenges spanning water & food security, decarbonization & the energy transition, and information access & connectivity. Orbia’s strategic innovations —whether advancements in more environmentally-friendly PVC and fluor technologies, lighter-footprint solutions for urban climate resilience, precision agriculture, telecommunications, or the EV transition—are emblematic of the company's transformation journey in bringing purpose to life and sustainable solutions to market. In this conversation with Dave Young, the Global Leader of the BCG Henderson Institute's Center for Climate & Sustainability, Sameer highlights Orbia's approach to integrating sustainability into its business model and leveraging its diverse portfolio to drive global development and pursue a net-positive future.

    41 min
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Businesses have a unique opportunity to create a better world, addressing major environmental and social challenges in a way that creates new business value and competitive advantage. How can they do this? In this show, Dave Young, Fellow at the BCG Henderson Institute and Global Lead for the Total Societal Impact topic at BCG interviews senior business executives across the world to discuss their experiences and views on what it will take for companies to reunite the two "S-words" of business strategy: sustainability and sustainable competitive advantage.

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