95% of Fortune 500 companies have a Chief Sustainability Officer, Chief Impact Officer, Chief Social Responsibility Officer, or equivalent executive leadership role.Most mid-market companies have roles for sustainability, impact, and social responsibility at the manager, director, or maybe VP level.
This means that decisions made at mid-market Executive Meetings by the CEO with the CFO, COO, CMO, CTO, and CHRO are unlikely to focus on sustainability & impact.
What usually happens is a strategic decision is made, and only later is somebody like the Manager of Sustainability brought "up to speed" to work with the other teams to "make it as sustainable as possible."
Obviously, that's a problem.
What's the cost of this resource gap? That depends.
Blind spots in sustainability & impact in strategic decisions can cost companies a lot:
Lost customers: "They say they're sustainable, but their actions are not!"
Decreased trust: "They say they value social responsibility, but those decisions are only about their own profit!"
Disengaged talent: "I'm the manager of impact, but the decisions at the top are rarely impact-driven... why should I even try? Maybe I'll go somewhere else."
Legal and regulatory risk: "This lawsuit or government action is a surprise. I wish we had known better when we made the initial decision."
Putting a number on those bullet points is worthwhile for every mid-market company.
How much are your impact & sustainability blindspots costing your company?
For many mid-market companies, the $250k+ salary + benefits + bonus cost of an additional full-time C-Suite role isn't justified yet. Instead, many mid-market companies are filling the resource gap via a fractional executive, strategic advisor, or board member at 30-50% of the cost of a full-time executive.
We are building Impact Grove to be an international agency with hundreds of impact & sustainability experts on our team in regions worldwide. We will serve the mid-market by filling the executive gaps and eliminating impact & sustainability blind spots.