20 June 2025 - CISL's Executive Director of Education, Alice Spencer, chaired our annual Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) Forum. What were her observations?
Earlier this month, more than 60 business leaders from across Europe and Africa came together at CISL’s head office in Cambridge. What emerged was not just another discussion on well-trodden challenges of doing business in an increasingly terrifying global context, but a clarion call for a fundamental switch up in the narrative - from ‘silence as a strategy’ and defensive compliance to ambitious, collaborative transformation.
What made this gathering distinct was the collective recognition that we are beyond the era of “flying the plane as we build it.” Today’s leaders are often sitting with all the evidence and action on why action is needed but they remain grounded - held back by uncertainty, fragmented agendas, and legacy systems that no longer serve us. The question isn’t whether change is needed or even what needs to be done next, but how we create the market conditions to lead that change effectively and at pace. We need to get airborne with our ambitions, and fast.
Possibilism over pessimism
Given the current state of play, one might expect exhaustion to define the mood in the room. After all, these are leaders with a shared 1,000+ years of collective experience in pushing for climate action, social justice, and resilient business models - often in the face of systemic inertia. Yet, what we witnessed was something far more powerful: possibilism.
The Forum revealed a strong sense of enduring hope grounded in action. People didn’t gather to commiserate; they came to collaborate. This mindset shift -from disillusionment to determination - formed the backdrop of every discussion, panel, and breakout group. It demonstrated a clear evolution in leadership: from ‘oh, it’s all a bit hard’ to an appetite to take charge in rebuilding the markets of the future. And not because of generational guilt or a particular fondness for polar bears. It’s because we can apply commercial acumen to achieve the things we quite enjoy and need, like breathable air, clean water, nutritious food, affordable energy and liveable communities.
The value of collaborative learning
The Forum embodied what CISL’s work has long advocated: the power of peer learning and cross-sector engagement. With representatives from 15 sectors including finance, technology, healthcare, the built environment, alongside voices from African nations, the diversity in the room wasn’t just symbolic. It was strategic.
This allowed for nuanced exploration of sector-specific barriers while identifying universal enablers such as innovation and policy advocacy. Afternoon ‘clinics’ provided space for deeper dives into pressing issues, and the presence of CISL leadership groups set up to tackle these issues - including Corporate Leaders Groups (UK, Europe, Africa) and the Banking Environment Initiative - amplified this effect.
Such collaboration reflects a growing truth: no single actor or sector can drive transformation alone. Peer-led learning and systemic thinking are becoming critical currencies of leadership.
Co-creating inclusive, resilient solutions
One of the most thought-provoking insights from the forum was the recognition that future-ready leadership must be both directive and responsive. Strategies need to cascade from the top but remain informed by ground-level realities.
Take, for example, the conversation around shifting from ESG box-ticking to competitive strategies. Lindsay Hooper, our CEO, highlighted that markets can deliver better outcomes – the roll-out of renewables, cleaner urban air, improved labour practices - when designed to do so. But we have not yet designed them to drive transformation at the necessary speed and scale.
To change this we need both assertive private sector leadership that recognises the need for market-wide change and a level playing field to make superior sustainability performance a source of commercial advantage - and broad societal buy-in. This duality - executive vision anchored and enabled by stakeholder engagement and action - creates a feedback loop of continuous learning and adaptation.
Mike Barry, Senior Associate, CISL, took us through an activity to draw out practical examples of scalable transformations that already exist in the room, highlighting that we need to re-think different forms of value as many of the solutions we seek are adjacent to business as usual. He also challenged our commercial acumen and suggested that these types of practical proof points in the values business case need to be made so compelling, no one can resist.
Leading in a ‘post-truth’ era
Another theme that cut across multiple sessions was the role of facts and science in today’s post-truth world. The leaders present are not strangers to the facts: climate breakdown, biodiversity loss, and widening inequality are realities that shape their daily decisions and are increasingly present in the spreadsheets that make the business world go round. Yet, they must operate in a context where ‘truth’ is often subjective, and misinformation clouds both public discourse and corporate priorities.
This is where university partnerships like those with CISL play a vital role. The Cambridge mission is to contribute to society through the pursuit of education, learning, and research at the highest international levels of excellence. It’s literally our job to stand up for science and reason and it is Forums like these that serve not just as echo chambers of urgency, but as grounding mechanisms—places where ideas are stress-tested, evidence is respected, and ambition is rooted in real-world data. In doing so, we can support leaders to navigate complex, sometimes hostile, environments with clarity and confidence.
The mindset shifts defining future leadership
CISL’s recent report Competing in the Age of Disruption formed the strategic frame for the Forum. It outlines six key shifts for business leaders to drive market reform, all of which were explored in practice during the event:
- From compliance to transformation – Businesses must move beyond incrementalism and embrace bold, value-driven models.
- Escape the ESG trap – Focused on future market competitiveness, not short term reputation and risk mitigation.
- Embrace strategic foresight – Aligning leadership at all levels requires testing strategy against multiple plausible futures, and a coherent plan grounded in value and resilience.
- Scale disruptive innovation – Transformation is impossible without the tech, business models and cultural shifts that unlock new value.
- Change the rules of the game – Businesses must proactively advocate for policies that create fair and future-fit markets, and remove the barriers to innovating and investing
- Build unstoppable momentum – Widescale public engagement and positive market sentiment - enabled through coalitions and strategic communications - are essential to scale change.
Leadership that shapes the future
Perhaps the most powerful takeaway from the Forum was this: future leadership is not about waiting for the perfect conditions. It’s about shaping them. This demands a radical shift in mindset - from passive adaptation to proactive transformation.
It means recognising that leadership is no longer a top-down directive, but a cross-functional, multi-sectoral effort built on shared purpose. It means grounding ambition in science and data, not just rhetoric or hope. And it means turning competitive advantage into a force for good, driving markets that not only deliver profit but serve people and planet. The Forum wasn’t just a meeting of like-minded individuals. It was a glimpse into the future of leadership - collaborative, courageous, and grounded in possibility.
As one participant said on reflection at the end of a long day: “Did you come to Cambridge to talk about sustainability? No, I went and spoke to leaders about the future of business.”
