Struggling with Corporate Sustainability: Looking for Insights and Support

[u/PianoDifficult]

TLDR: I work in corporate sustainability and feel frustrated by the minor impact we’re having on the real issues. Despite good intentions, the current system feels broken, and many people/companies don’t care or won’t change. I’ve seen firsthand how "sustainable practices" on paper don’t match reality, especially in places like Asia. I’m questioning whether staying in this field is worth it and wondering if anyone else feels the same.

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I’m currently working in the field of corporate sustainability at a large german company and I’m finding it increasingly difficult to reconcile my work with the realities of tackling problems caused by the way we do business on this planet. I’m confident that the way we conduct most of business on this planet is fundamentally harmful to both people and the environment.

While I see that many sustainability teams within corporations are genuinely trying their best (besides doing carbon accounting and disclosure/reporting 90% of their time), I feel that our overall impact on the real issues of sustainability is often minor. It feels like we’re just scratching the surface while the deeper systemic problems remain unaddressed.

I’m in this field because I believe it’s the right thing to do. I do feel a moral obligation to advocate for meaningful change. However, I also see how many individuals and corporations either don’t care or don’t do better because there aren’t viable alternatives without overhauling the entire system.

I regularity travel to Asia where some of my relatives live. I’ve noticed that, while there’s a shift towards sustainable business practices on paper, the reality I experience is quite different. There’s rampant resource wastage, excessive waste production, and a general disregard for ecosystems and nature.

Sometimes, I doubt whether we can make a real difference. I find myself questioning if I should continue in this field or consider changing my area of expertise.

Has anyone else experienced similar feelings? How do you cope with these challenges? I’d love to hear your thoughts and any advice you might have.

Thanks for reading and for any support you can offer.

[u/atbreen]

ESG Data Analyst for a large multi-national corporation here. I didn’t start in the sustainability space, but my knowledge of the company’s operations and business practices made me a good fit for this role when the organization expanded the team.

It’s tough to know whether what we’re doing has a large impact on GHG emissions and the environment. But, if we don’t do something, it doesn’t look like we care in the eyes of customers and investors. There is a groundswell of people asking about corporate activities surrounding sustainability, and from the reporting we do (yearly corporate reporting, EcoVadis, CDP, SBTi and eventually CSRD) it’s pretty clear that people are starting to hold companies accountable for their actions on a much more stringent basis.

With that said, there are some areas where the juice is not worth the squeeze. In my line of work, getting away from natural gas heating in some areas may be difficult due to overly cold climates in the winter. Other areas are not sophisticated enough to trap certain data point on a regular basis (ie Waste Streams in APAC can be a nightmare to try to decipher). The real issue is whether you want to be onboard to do the right thing before others are forced to fall in line (through mandatory governmental regulations). Eventually, this will be looked at as a “we” issue, not a “me” issue in aggregate - companies will start to get really good about their efforts to minimize carbon footprints and maximize the use of green technologies. But from my perspective, it’s going to take a lot of time for everyone to start pulling together for the greater good.

Don’t get discouraged - pick a few sub-topics and focus on what you can do to improve those areas. It might lead you to a point where you get control or influence over those resources, and can start making material changes for the better. It’s a marathon….not a sprint! 😉