I was a participant in the Massey Business School & Leadership and Governance Collective survey of not-for-profit CEOs exploring long-term sustainability within the sector.
535 not-for-profit CEOs responded to the research. Some key findings include:
- Many CEOs indicated that their boards could better support leadership through more frequent reflection on board effectiveness (52%), improved focus on long-term concerns (39%), more diverse skills and expertise (38%), and stronger engagement or commitment from board members (37%).
- The most common sustainability barriers were the cost of sustainability initiatives (49%), the cost of measurement and reporting (39%), difficulty linking sustainability performance to organisational outcomes (37%), and a lack of sector-wide standards and benchmarks (33%).
- Many CEOs indicated that financial incentives to accelerate sustainability investments (55%) would most effectively support sustainability goals, followed by clear, consistent reporting standards for sustainability (50%) and standardised metrics and assurance frameworks (38%).
- Not-for-profit organisations demonstrated a general willingness to invest additional capital into greener or more socially sustainable infrastructure. While 21% indicated they would not pay a premium, 45% were willing to invest between 5% and 10% more, and 33% were willing to invest 20% or more. This reflected a broadly similar investment profile to for-profit organisations.
- On sustainable project delivery trade-offs, Not-for-profit organisations demonstrated more willingness to accommodate delays in sustainability-related projects than for-profit organisations, with 21% prioritising immediate time-to-market and 39% willing to accept delays of up to one year to achieve higher environmental or social performance standards. In comparison, the for-profit response profile was approximately reversed, reflecting the less commercially time-sensitive environments in which many not-for-profits operate.
Later this year a comprehensive report will also be published.
Simon Cayley
Chief Executive