Sustaina­bi­lity at the highest levels of business

On 25 June, Green Busi­ness Switz­er­land will be evalua­ting the sustaina­bi­lity record of CEOs for the first time.

CEOs will now be rated on the impact they have made in terms of sustaina­bi­lity. The ‘Green Busi­ness CEO Rating’, which will take place on 25 June, will high­light top Swiss mana­gers’ track record on sustaina­bi­lity for the first time. To make this rating, close colla­bo­ra­tion with the busi­ness world is essen­tial, states Cédric Haber­ma­cher, direc­tor of Green Busi­ness Switz­er­land: ‘It is crucial to us that the senior mana­gers see us as compe­tent and fair.’ To ensure this is the case, key stake­hol­ders from the Swiss busi­ness world form part of the orga­ni­s­ing body. Some of the country’s major busi­ness leaders will be on the judging panels and sit in an advi­sory capa­city on the sound­ing boards. ‘In Doris Leuthard and Mirjam Staub-Bisang, we have two highly credi­ble repre­sen­ta­ti­ves of the busi­ness world as presi­dents of the jury,’ points out Cédric Habermacher.

Key factor to success

Green Busi­ness Switz­er­land is supported prima­rily by the Swiss Envi­ron­men­tal Foun­da­tion, which presen­ted the Swiss Envi­ron­men­tal Award for 20 years. Since 2019, it has focu­sed on the busi­ness world, staging the ‘Green Busi­ness Award’ under the umbrella of Green Busi­ness Switz­er­land. The annual award reco­g­ni­ses Switzerland’s best solu­ti­ons to combine eco-inno­va­tion and econo­mic success. Cédric Haber­ma­cher was parti­cu­larly impres­sed by last year’s winner. Eber­hard, a family-run busi­ness, has declared war on cons­truc­tion waste. ‘Their aim is to make all cons­truc­tion mate­ri­als recy­clable,’ he explains. ‘It is a very risky busi­ness under­ta­king for Eber­hard. But I’m convin­ced that it will pay off for them – and for the envi­ron­ment.’ We need inno­va­tions to preserve the planet for future gene­ra­ti­ons. ‘That’s why we are keen to reward, inspire and bring toge­ther pioneers of sustainable busi­ness,’ explains Cédric Habermacher.

‘That is why we want to honor pioneers’
_{Cédric Haber­ma­cher}

The new CEO rating is desi­gned to add impe­tus to this under­ta­king. He sees poten­tial here. Unfort­u­na­tely, there are still plenty of busi­nesses that have not made sustaina­bi­lity a top prio­rity. Their hori­zons are short-term. ‘Convin­cing them that sustainable entre­pre­neur­ship will become a key compe­ti­tive advan­tage in future is what drives us on,’ he states. Happily, the number of entre­pre­neurs who are prepared to forge ahead, be inno­va­tive and take risks for the sake of the envi­ron­ment and society is incre­asing. ‘For this tran­si­tion to take place, it is crucial that senior manage­ment decide to address the issue of sustaina­bi­lity,’ he states. The CEO rating is desi­gned to act as a visi­ble incentive. 

All of these formats which the Swiss Envi­ron­men­tal Foun­da­tion has laun­ched under the umbrella of ‘Green Busi­ness Switz­er­land’ have now reached a level of magni­tude that exceeds the foundation’s finan­cial and person­nel resour­ces. Cédric Haber­ma­cher explains, ‘This is why we are looking for part­ners – phil­an­thro­pists who can help encou­rage busi­ness leaders to make a posi­tive contri­bu­tion to solving signi­fi­cant social and ecolo­gi­cal problems.’

www.greenbusiness.ch