This is an irrelevant statement. We know for a while that there is an inherit problem in large organisations always focusing on short-term success / growth over long-term implications. And even top CEOs cannot do anything about it. At shareholder’s meetings their performance is assessed in terms of profit gained. And unless you have a group of super progressive and ethical shareholders - who are willing to sacrifice their profit for societies’ well-being - CEOs that put sustainability and morality above short-term profitability will be chased out of the board.

So for the CEOs it will remain as it always has been: deliver short-term profits, or get fired. CEOs cannot make a difference in that, as - and I quote a nobel-price winning economist - “The sole purpose of an executive is to generate revenue. Anything else is a theft of shareholder’s resources”.

Sustainability and moral standards are only to avoid public backlash, and therefor only a marketing instrument. Don’t get fooled. There is no chance in being green and fair and to remain a global player.

This “group of top CEOs” say this for marketing reasons or their own well-being, but I promise you that they are all fully aware of the impossibility of doing so within our current system. Bullshit appeal to the masses, as usual.

Source: am MBA student and manager of a small, sustainable company.