CORPORATE ACTION → EMBED & DELIVER
Embed & Deliver
The gap between commitment and action. Where sustainability targets become real-world outcomes.
Corporate Sustainability Journey
In 30 Seconds
Corporate sustainability has spent a decade focused on measuring, disclosing, and committing. The next decade is about delivering. Targets are worthless without implementation. Transition plans are theoretical without action. This is where sustainability gets hard.
The challenge: Most corporates have set ambitious targets but lack clear pathways to delivery. Reducing emissions means changing operations, supply chains, and business models. Becoming nature-positive means engaging with landscapes, ecosystems, and regenerative practices. This is unfamiliar territory.
The opportunity: Corporates that figure out delivery will gain competitive advantage. Those that don't will face stranded commitments, greenwashing accusations, and regulatory scrutiny. The organisations that bridge the implementation gap will define the next era of corporate sustainability.
The Implementation Gap
There's a growing chasm between corporate sustainability commitments and actual progress. The numbers tell the story.
~6,000
Companies with validated science-based targets (SBTi)
~35%
Estimated to be on track to meet their near-term targets
<10%
Have credible, funded transition plans aligned to their targets
Why the gap exists
Setting targets is relatively straightforward. Delivery requires changing how businesses actually operate – capital investment, operational transformation, supplier engagement, new partnerships, and often new business models. Many organisations committed without fully understanding what delivery would require.
Real Decarbonisation
Delivering on climate targets means actually reducing emissions – not just buying offsets or improving reporting. This requires operational transformation.
Energy efficiency
Reducing energy demand through operational improvements, building upgrades, and process optimisation.
Often the most cost-effective pathway. Quick wins plus systematic improvement programmes.
Typically 20-40% of Scope 1 & 2 reduction potential
Fuel switching
Moving from fossil fuels to lower-carbon alternatives. Electrification where possible, biogas or hydrogen where not.
Requires capital investment and often infrastructure changes. Technology maturity varies.
Critical for hard-to-abate sectors
Renewable energy
Sourcing electricity from renewable sources. On-site generation, PPAs, or high-quality certificates.
Market-based instruments vary in credibility. Additionality matters.
Can address most Scope 2 emissions
Supply chain decarbonisation
Working with suppliers to reduce Scope 3 emissions. Engagement, requirements, and collaborative action.
The hardest pathway. Requires influence, data, and long-term relationships.
Where 70-90% of emissions typically sit
Product transformation
Redesigning products and services for lower lifecycle emissions.
Circular design, sustainable materials, longevity, end-of-life considerations.
Addresses use-phase and end-of-life emissions
Nature-Positive Implementation
Climate and nature are interconnected. Delivering on sustainability increasingly means addressing both – and nature-positive action often requires engaging with landscapes and ecosystems in new ways.
Within Operations
- •Site-level biodiversity management
- •Water stewardship in priority basins
- •Pollution prevention and circularity
- •Habitat restoration on owned land
Beyond Operations
- •Supply chain transformation for deforestation-free commodities
- •Sourcing from regenerative agricultural systems
- •Landscape-level conservation partnerships
- •Investment in nature-based solutions
The landscape connection
Corporate nature-positive commitments increasingly connect to real landscapes – the forests, farms, and ecosystems in supply chains. Delivery means engaging with these places, understanding their context, and supporting genuine restoration and regeneration. This is where corporate action meets planetary foundations.
The Credibility Hierarchy
Not all climate action is equal. Understanding the credibility hierarchy helps corporates prioritise genuine impact over greenwashing risk.
1. Absolute reduction
Highest credibilityActually reducing emissions through operational changes. No offsetting or compensation.
2. Value chain insetting
High credibilityInvesting in emission reductions or removals within your own value chain. Regenerative agriculture in supply base, supplier decarbonisation support.
3. Beyond value chain mitigation (BVCM)
Medium-high credibility (if additional to, not instead of, reductions)Supporting climate action outside your value chain while continuing internal decarbonisation. Not offsetting – additional contribution.
4. High-quality carbon removal
Medium credibility (for residual emissions only)Purchasing verified carbon dioxide removal credits. Durable storage, verified additionality.
5. Avoidance offsets
Lower credibility (integrity concerns, reputational risk)Traditional carbon credits from avoided emissions. REDD+, cookstoves, etc.
The emerging consensus: Offsets cannot substitute for direct reductions. The credible approach is to reduce first, inset within value chain, and only then consider high-quality removal credits for genuinely residual emissions. Claims based primarily on offsetting face increasing scrutiny.
Landscape Partnerships
Meaningful sustainability delivery often requires engaging beyond the corporate boundary – with farmers, forest managers, communities, and landscape-level initiatives.
Regenerative Sourcing
Sourcing raw materials from regenerative agricultural systems that build soil health, sequester carbon, and support biodiversity.
- • Regenerative agriculture certification
- • Agroforestry and silvopasture systems
- • Long-term supplier partnerships
- • Farmer support and transition funding
Conservation Investment
Investing in landscape conservation and restoration in sourcing regions or beyond, through partnerships with conservation organisations and projects.
- • Jurisdictional REDD+ programmes
- • Landscape restoration initiatives
- • Biodiversity credit projects
- • Water fund participation
The ecosystem of actors
Delivering sustainability outcomes in landscapes involves navigating a complex ecosystem: project developers, standards bodies, verification providers, finance intermediaries, NGOs, government agencies, and local communities. Understanding who does what – and finding the right partners – is critical for effective delivery.
Making Delivery Happen
Embedding sustainability into operations and delivering outcomes requires systematic change across the organisation.
Cross-functional integration
- •Sustainability KPIs in business unit scorecards
- •Capital allocation criteria that include carbon pricing
- •Procurement policies with sustainability requirements
- •Product development stage-gates for sustainability
Capability building
- •Training for operational teams on delivery levers
- •Supplier engagement and capacity building
- •Technical expertise for decarbonisation pathways
- •Project management for transformation programmes
Partnerships and collaboration
- •Industry coalitions for pre-competitive action
- •Supplier partnerships for joint innovation
- •Landscape partnerships for nature outcomes
- •Finance partnerships for capital mobilisation
Governance and incentives
- •Executive incentives tied to delivery metrics
- •Board oversight of delivery progress
- •Clear accountability for implementation
- •Regular reporting on delivery milestones
Where This Fits
Delivery is Stage 8 – where all the preceding work translates into real-world outcomes. Governance, materiality, measurement, strategy, disclosure, targets, and transition plans all lead here.
↩ The journey is cyclical – as you deliver, report progress and return to understanding with new insights.
The emerging frontier
Much of corporate sustainability to date has focused on the earlier stages: measuring, disclosing, committing. Delivery is the emerging frontier – and many organisations are finding they don't have the capabilities, partnerships, or pathways they need. This is where the next wave of sustainability innovation will happen.
The Pandion View
We believe delivery is the defining challenge of the next decade of corporate sustainability. The companies that figure it out will transform their industries. Those that don't will be left explaining why their ambitious commitments didn't translate into outcomes.
The sustainability profession has excelled at frameworks, metrics, and reporting. Delivery requires something different – operational knowledge, landscape understanding, partnership brokering, and the ability to connect corporate strategy to real-world implementation. This is where we see ourselves adding value.
As a hybrid professional working across corporate sustainability and landscape-level action, we help clients bridge the implementation gap. We understand both the corporate context and the landscape reality. We can navigate the ecosystem of actors, identify credible partners, and connect the dots between commitments and outcomes.
This is where sustainability connects to planetary foundations and capital flows. Corporate delivery doesn't happen in isolation – it happens in landscapes, ecosystems, and communities. Connecting these worlds is at the heart of what we do.