Getting your CFO Involved in Corporate Sustainability: Part 1
By Kirsten Nelson-Johnson
Thus far, CFOs and Financial Directors have been left out of the corporate sustainability movement. After all, people usually think of the finance division of any company as only concerned with the bottom line, risk assessment and cutting costs, not social activism. Sustainability is now a strategic imperative for every organization, and it should be for your CFO. But it's up to each and every one of us to convince our chief financial leaders that sustainability matters.
In the wake of the global recession, many CFOs have shifted from an upscale accounting role to co-driver of corporate strategy. Your CFO should not only visualize long-term corporate finances, but also visualize finances as inseparable from economic, social and environmental issues. A CFO's job is to use resources wisely and ensure that his or her company can thrive for the weeks, months, and years to come. Keeping this all in mind, sustainability must become a part of a CFO's role as part of an overall holistic approach to corporate sustainability.
Beginning with Max Weber, Frederick Taylor, and Henry Ford, time-and-motion studies have been used in the past to determine the best ways for people to perform certain tasks with the most efficiency. By cutting a step here and reducing waste and transport there, companies can save both time and money. Today these same methods have the ability to save gallons of fuel, reduce carbon emissions, and decrease a company’s overall carbon footprint. There is no question that becoming a leaner company is greener, both in terms of environmental impact and dollars; but how can this transformation begin?
In an effort to help your financial officers see how sustainability matters to your business, strive to use terms that he or she appreciates, such as risk mitigation, cost savings, and productivity gains. To learn more about what specific incentives sustainability offers your companies bottom-line, look for Part 2 of this article in the April 28th issue of News in Sustainability.
