There are surprisingly few tried, tested, accepted, available and affordable management tools and systems
for use by the evolving ‘economic sustainability manager’. Furthermore, there is evidence that this role
spread between varied functions, such as finance teams, investor relations, strategy units, brand managers,
corporate communications, risk assessment, the board, human resources (HR), and information technology
(IT). This mixture of roles and their fragmented application to sustainable development creates the
impression of being haphazard.
Innovative concepts such as intellectual capital, as well as interesting techniques including brand valuation,
are beginning to make some inroads into this confusing terrain. Managing ‘sustainability’ – whether the
starting point is economic, social or environmental – can help many organisations escape from what they
themselves consider as a highly constrained approach based on short-term aims, growth, sales and profits.
The alternative is a more strategic environment that enables steady organic growth, a planned accumulation
and distribution of increasingly intangible assets, and prudent management of risks and opportunities