Sustainability and Competitive Advantage: Text and Cases

This book aims to link a company’s investments in sustainability to enhanced competitive advantage. It allows the reader a rare glimpse inside different companies (both large and small-sized companies and from across public and private sectors) that have made deep commitments to integrating sustainable practices. While each case is a unique situation, the common thread that runs through them is the non-linear trajectory of these sustainability programmes. The reader can draw powerful insights from the progress of these 13 cross-sectoral companies as they journey from vision to execution and achievement of measurable outcome or even course correction. While the motivations for each corporation to initiate sustainability programmes may have been different, the tangible benefits of the investments provide empirical evidence of the strong relationship to value creation.

The situational study from each of the selected organizations emerged after in-depth conversations with multiple stakeholders including CEOs, C-suite, and senior functional heads as well as sustainability professionals in HQ roles. Even though the title of this book rightly hints at its practice orientation, it also integrates concepts and theories for a better understanding of the adopted practices, approaches, systems and decisions.

The pivotal role of leadership not just in setting sustainability goals but also in supporting the trans-formative journey at crucial milestones and embedding the right culture is revealed. This book will be useful to students, researchers and teachers of strategy, sustainability and environmental studies, ESG, environmental science, sociology and public administration. We hope this book motivates and galvanises even more momentum in research and practice so that we can preserve our planet for the next generations.

Jacqueline Pereira Mundkur has a rich and diverse career path that includes 25+ years of multi-sectoral experience, including CXO-level roles in marketing strategy, operations and customer experience. She is CEO, Nxt Levels Advisory, and is also associated with the School of Business Management, NMIMS Mumbai, as Senior Adjunct Faculty. She is an independent director and also mentor to startups that operate in the CX-tech and marketing-tech space. Her first book on customer experience (The Customer First Mindset, 2022), published globally, was very well received. She has also globally published several case studies in reputed global journals covering the topics of marketing strategy, sustainability and customer experience and contributes to business publications.

She has been an invited guest speaker at elite academic institutions in India and Portugal as well as an invited speaker at industry forums in India, the UK, UAE and Singapore. She regularly conducts workshops, master classes and seminars. She has been privileged to mentor several senior-level women leaders to reach their potential.

Srinivasan R. Iyengar is a distinguished academician, consultant, TEDx speaker and trainer with significant contributions in the fields of management and business education. He was Director at Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies (JBIMS), Mumbai, one of India’s premier business schools. His areas of expertise include strategic management, business innovation, leadership and corporate governance. He is visiting faculty at IIM Indore, Mumbai, and Sambalpur.

Dr. Iyengar has a rich academic background, having published numerous textbooks, case studies and research papers in reputed national and international journals. He is a recognised speaker at various national and international forums and has conducted corporate training sessions for numerous leading organisations.