A great masterclass on Building Tomorrow’s Sustainability Teams for Group 2 & 3 Companies at Greenhouse yesterday.
The focus was on building future-ready sustainability teams – especially for Group 2 and 3 companies to help them balance internal capability with external ESG expertise.
Always awesome to hang out with my mates Dan Leverington and Tim Prosser… and meet a bunch of others too.
Sydney Straver from &BLOOM talked about structuring for impact to turn ESG governance into strategic advantage. Dan Leverington from The Ocelli Group talked about the power of strategic alliances.
Alex Horton from econome hosted a conversation with Jessica Zickar from ICC, Michael Suffield from Westpac, and Afonso Firmo from NetNada. The panel shared really practical examples of what this looks like in their organisations and those they work with.
Group 1 is well into their first cycle of mandatory climate reporting. Group 2 has less than 11 months until their start date and Group 3 less than two years.
In practice, Group 1 companies are already asking their supply chain for at least some climate and ESG data to support their own reporting.
The cascading effect is happening fast.
The Challenge
This cascading effect is creating pressure to upskill internal teams and bridge capability gaps at speed without losing focus on core operations and business performance – to both get ready for mandatory reporting and to respond to immediate requests from key clients.
Sustainability can feel like a compliance burden or an isolated project, rather than a cohesive part of business strategy and value creation.
Some will also see it as a purely technical challenge. The reality is while technical expertise is critical, this is mostly a strategic, governance, and leadership challenge. The real challenge is leading the change.
Turning the Challenge into an Advantage
The recommended approach is to build integrated sustainability teams that combine robust internal capability with targeted external ESG expertise.
This means structuring for genuine impact – embedding ESG governance into decision-making, leveraging strategic alliances, and actively choosing external partners who bring practical expertise and fresh perspectives.
Forward-looking companies treat this as a catalyst to sharpen strategy, deepen relationships, and unlock new business opportunities – moving beyond compliance to advantage through collaboration, learning, and proactive investment in capability.
This isn’t just about meeting reporting deadlines. It’s about future-proofing your business and positioning for growth in a rapidly evolving market.
To achieve this means bringing diverse stakeholder groups on the journey – the board and the executive, through to operational teams. There’s also a range of external stakeholders. And if your company is in Group 2 or 3, it means acting now.
The Opportunity
Group 2 and 3 companies are still at a time when they can differentiate and position themselves as trusted partners in supply chains – to protect existing contracts while opening doors to new business, investment, and collaboration opportunities.
Rather than reacting and seeing this as a compliance burden, it’s a huge strategic opportunity to build a stronger culture, drive innovation, and enhance long-term resilience and market relevance.
My playground.
How’s your sustainability journey going?
