For the better part of two decades, corporate sustainability has been defined largely through the lens of ESG—environmental, social and governance. Boards became conversant in carbon disclosures, diversity statistics and governance scores. A sprawling infrastructure of standards and rankings has grown up around these metrics, with much of it focused on what regulators, investors or stakeholders wish to see.

To foster engagement with material sustainability issues in the future, companies need to ensure leaders are skilled and ready.

In 2021 we wanted to understand who will lead the agenda on sustainable business. Who are the players that might drive it?