DUBAI: In collaboration with the World Governments Summit (WGS), as a knowledge partner, Bain and Company surveyed 100 organisational leaders across 11 countries and eight industries to gather key research insights into how the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region can advance its sustainability agenda, as part of a report that proposes to offer organisations a path towards a sustainable future.
The research highlights key challenges, best practices and four essential steps to help organisations take a global LEAD on sustainability.
Samer Bohsali, Senior Partner who leads the Public Sector practice at Bain and Company Middle East, said, ‘While 70% of organisations in MENA say they integrate sustainability into their business models, only 3% are on track to achieve their sustainability goals.’
Bohsali added, ‘The gap between ambition and action occurs despite universal agreement on the case for change. More than 90% of executives believe their core business and operating models need to change to op
erate more sustainably.’
Wissam Yassine, partner and leader in the Sustainability practice at Bain and Company Middle East, added, ‘As we asked ourselves ‘how do we bridge this massive gap between ambition and action’ we identified 4 things that best-in-class companies are doing differently which we summarised in the ‘LEAD’ framework.’ Yassine further elaborated, ‘L stands for Linking sustainability to strategy. E for Engaging the full organisation from the board to the frontline. A is about Activating sustainability through clear implementable missions. And lastly, D encourages Driving innovation.’
Finally, Bain’s research revealed that governments play a key role in enabling the adoption of sustainable practices. Lana Kahaleh, a senior manager at Bain and Company Middle East said, ‘The majority organisations surveyed believe government policies and interventions are critical for them to improve their sustainability practices, examples of which include capacity building and training and national standa
rds.’
Source: Emirates News Agency
