Securing Board Buy-In for Long-Term Value

For boards, the cost of inaction on sustainability grows every year. Private equity firms that fail to embed sustainability into business practices risk losing value, credibility, and competitive advantage. For those that act, the rewards are tangible, with research showing a 6–7% multiple uplift at exit through sustainability-linked value creation.

Yet in many boardrooms, sustainability is still seen as compliance, not opportunity. At our autumn breakfast briefing, Seismic’s Steph Holme, Chief Growth Officer, and Paul Lewis, Cofounder and CEO, were joined by Mirja Weidner, Head of Sustainability at Charterhouse, and senior PE investment directors and ESG leads to explore how to win board buy-in and make sustainability a true value driver.

“ESG is dead” is a phrase often heard in the boardroom but rarely supported by reality. While traditional sustainability narratives may no longer resonate, business leaders are moving beyond politicised debates to deliver tangible outcomes. A new phase is emerging — a thaw in what many see as the “winter of sustainability.”

The priority now is to equip leadership teams to educate, persuade, and build internal advocates who can reframe sustainability as a commercial imperative rather than a cost centre. The evidence is clear: sustainability drives value creation, mitigates risk, and enhances exit potential.

• 72% of investors have abandoned transactions over ESG concerns (Deloitte, 2024)
• 6–7% multiple uplift is the estimated gain at exit through sustainability-linked value creation (PRI & Bain, 2025)
• 75% of executives attribute revenue growth to their sustainability efforts, with those embedding it outperforming peers on profitability (IBM, 2024)

Boards are under pressure from multiple fronts; AI, regulation, geopolitics, and shifting market dynamics. According to PwC’s 2025 Annual Corporate Directors Survey, sustainability has slipped down the priority list, highlighting the need for a strategic shift in how it is positioned.

When presented as a driver of efficiency, resilience, and risk mitigation, sustainability moves from a side agenda to a central pillar of commercial performance.

Unlocking board engagement is often the hardest part of a sustainability leader’s role. Success requires clear roadmaps that show both quick wins and long-term value, backed by consistent metrics and transparent reporting. When boards can see progress, and the cost of inaction, sustainability becomes part of everyday decision-making.

Drawing on her experience engaging boards across a portfolio of more than 20 companies, Mirja Weidner, Head of Sustainability at Charterhouse, highlighted what really works when it comes to winning board commitment; framing ESG as “business hygiene” has proven particularly effective. 

When sustainability is positioned as essential to resilience, risk management, and readiness, it attracts stronger support. Visible tools, such as live impact dashboards, can also unite teams and empower employees to communicate impact with confidence.

Winning over the board requires speaking to what matters most to each leader. Across the C-suite, we identified four common “challenger” mindsets to the sustainability conversation, and how to engage with each;

• Finance (CFO): Focus on ROI, cost, and margin protection to position sustainability as a driver of efficiency and profitability. Back this up with regular, quantifiable reporting.
• Operations (COO): Link impact to short-term KPIs and process improvements, showing how sustainability enhances engagement and performance.
• Vision (CEO): Connect sustainability to credibility, reputation, and resilience, emphasising that near-term investment safeguards long-term competitiveness.
• Growth (CCO): Highlight transparency, differentiation, and innovation as routes to market advantage and long-term loyalty.

• Sustainability is a profit driver, not a side project or compliance exercise.
  Month one action: Map one immediate revenue, cost-saving, or risk-mitigating opportunity in the next month and communicate this back to stakeholders.

• Cross-departmental embedding is vital.
  Month one action: Break up silos by setting up a cross-functional working group with finance, operations, HR, and supply chain to align on ESG priorities and understand blockers and drivers.

• An embedded sustainability model supports clients by placing expert teams within their business.
  Month one action: Map the expertise gaps in your business and identify where you most need support to accelerate progress.

• Skills transfer creates a multiplier effect.
  Month one action: Run one knowledge-sharing workshop this month to equip non-sustainability colleagues with the language and tools to apply ESG thinking in their roles.

Seismic’s embedded sustainability model accelerates this journey, ensuring every function knows what sustainability means in their context and how to apply it to key decisions. Learn more about our approach here.

Ready to turn board awareness into action? Seismic helps private equity firms and their portfolio companies build the structures, language, and evidence needed to make sustainability a driver of growth and performance. Find out how.