Most sustainability leaders don’t need more content, they need to make better decisions under pressure
There’s no shortage of sustainability content. But the challenge isn't understanding climate, nature or health - most leaders are already across the issues. The challenge is turning ambition into action inside organisations where cost, risk, growth and sustainability are competing for attention every day.
Today's sustainability leaders require a different set of skills from commercial confidence and the ability to navigate trade-offs to stakeholder influence and personal resilience. And as reported in our Execution at Risk research, traditional functional expertise is no longer sufficient for roles that span multiple domains.
That’s what we set out to address in 2025 with the first Thinking Partner Network cohort. Better thinking, applied to real decisions, with the right people. Afterwards, we asked participants what actually made a difference. Here’s what they said.
1. A curated space for the important discussions
“It gave me space to step back and think through the tougher decisions.”
The most consistent feedback wasn’t about learning something new.
It was about having the time and structure to think more clearly about decisions that would otherwise stall, get watered down or fail to land internally - often involving trade-offs with commercial teams, finance or operations.
“This wasn’t another sustainability forum or talking shop. It gave me space to step back from the day-to-day and properly think through some of the tougher decisions we’re facing as a business.”
That clarity and strengthened personal resilience carried through into their day-to-day role:
“I’ve come away sharper, more confident and better equipped to lead those conversations internally.”
In practice, that meant stronger conversations in:
board and leadership settings
cross-functional discussions where priorities don’t align
decisions where both commercial performance and sustainability outcomes matter.
2. More honest conversations about real trade-offs
Sustainability leaders are already having a lot of conversations. But what’s often missing is the space to be open about the tensions and to work through them properly.
That came through strongly in people’s Thinking Partner Network experience:
“What stood out for me was the quality of the conversation. It’s rare to have discussions where people are open about the real tensions — commercial pressure, cost, delivery, sustainability — and are willing to work through them honestly.”
Have a safe and protected space to air the tensions and take the reality of trade-offs seriously cannot be underestimated. And working with peers who recognise the commercial and operational reality behind the pressures provides deeper, longer lasting value.
This matters because the quality of those conversations directly shapes the quality and speed of decisions. If trade-offs aren’t surfaced and explored properly, decisions take longer, lose momentum or fail to land at all. In a commercial environment, that has a direct impact on delivery, momentum and cost.
“It’s made a tangible difference to how I approach decisions with my team.”
3. Grounded thinking that holds up in practice
Another clear theme was how relevant the discussions felt.
The Thinking Partner Network isn’t abstract or overly technical; it stays close to the decisions people are already making:
“It’s not theoretical or highly technical, it’s grounded, practical and directly relevant to decisions we’re making every day to support our businesses.”
For most leaders, that’s the real need: thinking that holds up when applied in a real commercial environment, under time pressure and competing priorities. A lot of sustainability work succeeds or fails not in the strategy, but in how it's applied day to day - particularly when commercial realities start to push back.
4. Working with people who understand the reality
A big part of what made the difference was simply the level of shared context.
“The TPN creates a space which is hard to come by in this industry - one to sense check, tune in, challenge and co-create thinking with peers who really understand the reality of running and transforming complex businesses into sustainable enterprises.”
As a programme built for and within the food sector, the shared understanding changes the quality of the discussion. It makes it easier to get to the point, challenge assumptions more directly and test thinking in a way that reflects real-world constraints. Which in turn leads to better, more robust, more implementable decisions.
As sustainability leaders, the impact of a single decision can be significant; whether that’s how a trade-off is framed, how a proposal lands internally or how quickly a stalled initiative moves forward. What came through clearly is that improving the quality of that thinking has a direct impact on delivery - in time, cost and outcomes.
The Thinking Partner Network is unique. It provides the space, structure and peer context to think these things through properly and to apply that thinking straight back into the business. In fact, the curated group proved so strong that we’ve built a TPN alumni to continue the support.
Next cohort
We’re now opening applications for the next Thinking Partner Network cohort. It’s a small group, and we’re deliberate about who joins.
If you’re a current or emerging sustainability leader working in a food business and the challenges and approach feels relevant to you, you can find more detail and apply here. If you’d prefer to sense check whether it's a fit first, please contact Siân Wynn-Jones.