From Reporting to Planning
The evolving role of Sustainability Teams
Sustainability leaders are being asked to deliver credible transition plans, align to CSRD and ISSB, engage the value chain, and demonstrate progress against net zero commitments. At the same time, capital allocation, product strategy and operating model decisions often sit elsewhere.
This creates a structural tension. Climate ambition sits in one part of the organisation. Financial and strategic decisions sit in another.
Integrated Value Planning is designed to close that gap.
It provides a structured way to bring climate, nature and resource constraints into the core planning cycle, from strategic assumptions and target setting through to capital allocation, operating model design and performance management.
For sustainability teams, this means:
– Moving from disclosure owner to planning partner
– Embedding transition assumptions into investment decisions
– Aligning long-term targets with credible financial pathways
Tools and Briefings
This section is evolving. Some tools and insights are available now, and further articles and guidance will be added as the work develops. The aim is simple, to provide practical ideas and tools that help sustainability teams influence strategy, planning and investment decisions.
Tools
The tools below are available now as practical starting points. Short briefings explaining how and when to use them will follow.
Net Zero Transition Plan Diagnostic
Many organisations now have transition plans, but the level of integration with strategy and financial planning varies widely.
This diagnostic helps sustainability teams assess the strength of their organisation’s transition planning. It highlights where plans are credible, where gaps remain, and how planning processes can better support delivery.
The Climate Stress Test
Transition risk is often discussed in scenarios and reports but rarely tested against the real economics of the business.
This tool helps teams stress test strategy, investment plans and operating assumptions against changing climate policy, energy markets and technology shifts. It reveals where resilience is strong and where exposure may be building.
Barriers Framwork
Progress on climate often stalls not because of a lack of ambition, but because of organisational barriers.
This framework identifies common structural obstacles that prevent climate considerations from influencing strategy, investment and operations. It provides a way for sustainability teams to diagnose where change is needed and start more productive conversations internally.
Briefings
The tools below are available now as practical starting points. Short briefings explaining how and when to use them will follow.
The Sustainability Function is at a Crossroads
This article explores the growing gap between climate ambition and business planning, and why sustainability teams find themselves caught between the two. It introduces a practical way to move from reporting on progress to shaping the decisions that drive it.
To Follow:
1) Where to Intervene in the Planning Cycle
Most sustainability input arrives late in the planning process, often once strategy and capital decisions are already set.
This guide examines where sustainability teams can influence earlier and more effectively. It will map the key stages of the planning cycle and shows where climate assumptions, guardrails and investment choices can be integrated into mainstream business planning.
2) Governance That Supports Climate Decisions
Climate commitments increasingly require difficult trade-offs across strategy, capital allocation and operational priorities.
This brifing will explore governance approaches that help organisations manage those trade-offs more transparently. It will introduce practical concepts such as climate guardrails, executive decision forums and escalation mechanisms that can strengthen oversight without adding bureaucracy.
3) Conversations with CFOs and Strategy Leaders
Sustainability teams often need to influence decisions that sit outside their formal remit.
This briefing will provide a set of strategic questions designed to open constructive conversations with finance and strategy colleagues. The aim is simple, bring climate assumptions, risks and opportunities into the core discussions that shape investment and long-term direction.