On Chess, Sustainability, and Change

Implementing a Sustainability Strategy Is Like Playing Chess

Both require foresight. Both demand patience. And in both, every move counts.

In chess, rushing to checkmate without understanding your opponent’s next move spells disaster. Similarly, rushing into sustainability without assessing long-term risks, trade-offs, and stakeholder responses can lead to reputational or financial checkmate.

Strategic thinking is key:

You need a clear endgame—net zero, circularity, inclusion—but must also anticipate what regulations, technologies, and markets will do five, ten, twenty moves ahead.

 Each piece has a role:

The board isn’t won by a queen alone. Just like a strategy isn’t delivered by a Chief Sustainability Officer in isolation. Operations, finance, procurement, HR every department has a part to play.

Sustainability is not a sprint:

It’s about timing, positioning, and adapting when the board changes. Climate risks, evolving social expectations, and new ESG frameworks mean leaders must play with agility and lead with resilience.

And just like chess, success comes from combining logic, intuition, and purpose, not brute force.

Sustainability is no longer a nice-to-have. It's a long game. And those who master it, win more than just the match, they earn trust, loyalty, and a future-fit business.