Now is the time for MENA organizations to pick up the pace and turn corporate sustainability commitments into action

Bain & Company, a global consultancy, continues its collaboration with the World Government Summit as a knowledge partner sharing thought leadership with government officials from around the world.

Bain & Company surveyed 100 organizational leaders across 11 countries and 8 industries to learn how the MENA region can advance its sustainability agenda. Bain’s research highlights key challenges, best practices and four essential steps to help organizations take a global LEAD on sustainability.

Samer Bohsali, Senior Partner who leads the Public Sector practice at Bain & Company Middle East, said: “We found that while 70% of organizations in MENA say they integrate sustainability into their business models, only 3% are on track to achieve their sustainability goals.” Bohsali observes: “The gap between ambition and action occurs despite universal agreement on the case for change. More than 90% of executives believe their core business and operating models need to change to operate more sustainably.”

Wissam Yassine, partner and leader in the Sustainability practice at Bain & Company Middle East added that: “As we asked ourselves ‘how do we bridge this massive gap between ambition and action’ we identified 4 things that best-in-class companies are doing differently which we summarized in the ‘LEAD’ framework.” Yassine further elaborated: “L stands for Linking sustainability to strategy. E for Engaging the full organization from the board to the frontline. A is about Activating sustainability through clear implementable missions. And lastly, D encourages Driving innovation.”

Finally, Bain’s research revealed that governments play a key role in enabling the adoption of sustainable practices. Lana Kahaleh, a senior manager at Bain & Company Middle East observed: “The majority organizations surveyed believe government policies and interventions are critical for them to improve their sustainability practices, examples of which include capacity building and training and national standards.”

Media contacts
For any questions or to arrange an interview, please contact Christine Abi Assi, christine@daydreamer.agency