Advancing Leadership & Innovation for Climate Action

With the climate and environment changing rapidly, there’s an urgent need for scalable solutions and financing to aid in the transition to low-carbon economies. Business leaders have a critical role in driving this meaningful, measurable action.

With the ability to mobilize more than $100 trillion by 2050 for direct “on-the-ground” climate investments alone, the data is clear: business leaders play a critical role in fostering resilience and sustainable growth. From setting ambitious targets to embedding sustainability into core strategy, companies and their leaders are rethinking how they operate and lead.  

Russell Reynolds Associates (RRA) is a global leadership advisory firm dedicated to improving the way the world is led. Working with public, private, and nonprofit organizations across industries, RRA helps build teams of transformational leaders who can meet today’s challenges and anticipate the digital, economic, sustainability and political trends reshaping the global business environment. From advising boards with their structure, culture and effectiveness to identifying, assessing and defining the best leadership for organizations, RRA brings decades of expertise to help address the most complex leadership issues.

In this Q&A, we hear from Angela Fekete, ESG Controller at Russell Reynolds Associates and a recent participant in our Climate Ambition Accelerator program, about how the firm is approaching climate action and strengthening leadership practices that prioritize long-term, sustainable impact.

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1. Can you provide an overview of your company’s climate action strategy?  

Russell Reynolds Associates’ (RRA) purpose is to improve the way the world is led, and that starts with how we lead on material issues within our own firm. RRA recognizes our responsibility to actively manage our contributions to climate change. We focus on opportunities to reduce our negative impacts and advance our shared commitment to sustainability. Our SBTi-validated net-zero goals are at the core of that work. They lend energy and velocity to our efforts, inspire our colleagues toward informed action, and commit us to transparently sharing our progress.  

2. How has participation in the Climate Ambition Accelerator (CAA) influenced your company’s climate strategy and commitments and engaging employees and stakeholders in advancing climate goals?

RRA’s participation in the UNGC Climate Ambition Accelerator reinforced our strategy to develop sustainability leaders throughout our global organization. Driving progress towards decarbonization across 25 countries is a complex endeavor, and we knew it would take the engagement of many colleagues to make change. To meet this need, we developed a custom Net Zero Hero e-certification course available to all RRA colleagues. The course explains our net zero goals and gives colleagues an opportunity to participate in our journey. Since launching the course, over 500 RRA colleagues have become certified Net Zero Heroes!  

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3. What role does innovation play in your company’s climate action strategy and what guidance would you offer to organizations embarking on their climate action plan?  

Climate action is a journey. Start with measurement to develop a baseline that can inform climate priorities. To enable credible and meaningful climate goals, we recommend completing external verification of GHG emissions data. This can inform a multi-year decarbonization roadmap, starting with small and simple initiatives to gain momentum. Opportunities for innovation can be discovered through analyzing operational data in new ways and partnering with other functional teams to drive insights. The resources and thought partnership available through the UNGC Climate Ambition Accelerator provide an excellent foundation to take the first steps toward climate action.

As companies face growing pressure to lead on climate, Russell Reynolds Associates offers a powerful example of how aligning internal ambition with external influence drives change. Embedding sustainability into leadership strategy isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s also good for business. Studies show that companies that lead on sustainability grow 1.5 points faster and deliver 2.5 points more in shareholder returns than peers.

Programs like the Climate Ambition Accelerator provide a valuable space for companies to strengthen their climate strategies alongside peers and experts. Designed for companies at various stages of their climate journey, the Accelerator helps participants move from ambition to action, equipping them with the knowledge and tools needed to set science-based targets and drive measurable progress. As the expectations for business continue to rise, initiatives like this help companies operationalize their commitments shaping our collective future.  

If your company is interested in UN Global Compact Network USA’s climate programs, see here for more information.