Sustainability LIVE London 2024 - Suntory Keynote
Delivering an engaging keynote presentation, Michelle Norman, Director of Sustainability and External Affairs at Suntory Beverage & Food Europe, explored the challenges and opportunities of integrating sustainability into corporate strategies.
From legacy to leadership: How Suntory embeds sustainability
Michelle Norman begins by grounding the audience in her company’s purpose: "To inspire the brilliance of life by creating rich experiences for people in harmony with nature."
With this guiding principle, sustainability is deeply embedded in Suntory’s operations, driven by initiatives like the Environmental Vision 2050.
Tracing the company’s journey from its founding in 1899 to a multinational presence in 120 countries, Michelle highlights how family ownership has ensured the preservation of long-term values.
She explains that safeguarding the business for future generations is a personal matter for the family, giving sustainability efforts added resonance.
She challenges attendees to consider their roles: “How many of you are involved in the process of sustainability reporting?”, she then acknowledges the mix of experience in the room, offering insights for both seasoned professionals and newcomers.
Moving beyond compliance to transformation
Michelle explores Suntory’s proactive response to the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).
A comprehensive benchmarking process revealed key opportunities and gaps in sustainability practices. The organisation conducted a double materiality assessment, employee surveys and stakeholder workshops to build a robust framework for integrating sustainability into core business operations.
The resulting strategy featured clear, actionable commitments across departments and regions.
Despite voluntarily adhering to GRI standards for three years, Michelle notes, “Despite having more visual goals, we realise that embedding sustainability right from business decision making to employees roles and responsibilities was still lacking.”
She poses the key question of the session: “Can integrating sustainability disclosure requirements transcend mere compliance and act as a catalyst for transformative strategy that embed sustainability into the core of the business operations?”
Change management as a cornerstone for progress
Drawing on change management principles, Michelle outlines how her team secured leadership buy-in and engaged employees at all levels.
Executive sponsorship was critical in allocating resources for training and innovation.
Roadshows, workshops and one-on-one sessions brought clarity to the reporting process, transforming it from a compliance burden into a shared organisational goal.
Michelle emphasises the importance of governance and decentralisation.
By equipping subject-matter experts in various functions with the necessary training, her team fostered a sense of ownership for sustainability reporting across the business.
As a result, new leaders emerged, ready to champion environmental stewardship within their teams.
Benefits outweigh burdens: A future-oriented perspective
Reflecting on 18 months of preparation for CSRD compliance, Michelle’s conclusion was clear: “We believe that the long-term benefits far surpass the initial obstacles, which are perceived as burdens.”
She notes measurable progress, enhanced employee engagement and significant knowledge-sharing as tangible outcomes of the process.
Transparency, she stresses, is a cornerstone of effective reporting: “We will probably not hit some of our targets that we've set, but we need to explain why.
“What were the barriers to progress? What were the challenges that we face? [...] We have to be very honest.”
Michelle closes with a call to action: “It's [sustainability reporting] an investment in our company's future, our people and, of course, the planet.
"We see these requirements as an opportunity to innovate, lead and succeed, and hopefully a more sustainable world.”
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