At the recent GROW Symposium in Atlanta, hosted by Georgia State University’s Robinson College of Business, experts encouraged global businesses to reframe sustainability not as a peripheral compliance function but as a strategic driver of long-term value.
Anu Piduru, the senior director of sustainability at Carter’s, Inc., emphasized the need for companies to integrate sustainability into the very fabric of their operations.
“We do it because it supports the health of our business,” she stated during a panel discussion in March 2025.
Piduru highlighted the evolving expectations of stakeholders, including customers and investors, stating that sustainability efforts face increasing scrutiny.
“There are a lot of eyes on this work,” she noted, underscoring the importance of transparency in corporate sustainability initiatives.
Collaborative efforts across various departments are essential for Carter’s sustainability strategy, according to Piduru.
“Day to day, it means collaborating with my peers in different divisions within the company so we are not siloed,” she explained.
Her role, which is situated within the company’s legal department and reports directly to the General Counsel, provides a strategic advantage as regulations around sustainability rapidly evolve.
Piduru cautioned that legislation is advancing quickly, particularly at the state level, as federal policies waver.
“The speed at which regulation is coming keeps me up at night,” she admitted, referring to the challenges of navigating various state regulations while operating nationally and globally.
While compliance is imperative, Piduru argued that ESG considerations also present opportunities for businesses.
“Some risk can turn into opportunities and vice versa,” she asserted, indicating that modern consumers and investors are increasingly aligning their preferences with corporate sustainability practices.
Dr. Jordan Siegel, a professor from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, joined Piduru on the panel. He shared his expertise on how companies can leverage sustainability to create competitive advantages.
Dr. Siegel pointed out that companies can benefit from examining sustainability strategies adopted by organizations in countries with more established regulatory frameworks.
“Companies can immediately be global by tapping into institutions from other countries,” he said, pushing the narrative that sustainability should encompass all three pillars of ESG rather than viewing them in isolation.
He referred to the electric vehicle (EV) industry as a cautionary example, noting that while many EV companies focus on environmental innovation, they often still source materials, like cobalt, from regions with serious human rights issues, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“We need to think about how to make progress concurrently on all dimensions, rather than saying it’s okay to focus on just one at a time,” Dr. Siegel cautioned.
The challenge remains for companies to avoid treating ESG as a simple checklist.
Dr. Siegel urged business leaders to embrace the complexities of environmental, social, and governance initiatives.
“Real strategic leadership means navigating contradictions and aligning all three ESG pillars in a coherent, credible way,” he asserted.
While there are numerous short-term environmental initiatives that companies may undertake, sustainability requires long-term commitment to ensure true competitive advantage.
Dr. Siegel mentioned that organizations often face the temptation to focus solely on short-term, financially favorable initiatives, which can detract from longer-term investments that promote sustainable growth.
“We have to convince companies not to fall to the temptation of only doing short-term NPV-positive activities, but also to think about investing in long-term NPV-positive activities because they’re the source of truly sustainable competitive advantage,” he explained.
To thrive in the competitive global market, companies must embed sustainability within their core business strategy.
“If you want to be smart as a company and think about long-term competitive advantage, you have to create value,” Dr. Siegel advised.
He reiterated that many environmental initiatives often lead to sustained value creation over time.
Both panelists also addressed how the political landscape around ESG in the United States has led companies to rebrand their sustainability efforts under terms like ‘impact’ or ‘responsibility.’
Despite the evolving language, Piduru affirmed that the work continues unabated.
“It’s an adoption and a kind of flexibility that you have to have in this field,” she said.
The consensus was clear: sustainability is an ongoing conversation that is not going away.
For organizations looking to build resilience and maintain global relevance, now is the crucial time to shift ESG from the margins to the heart of corporate strategy.
Dr. Siegel concluded with a reminder about the inherent role of governance in value creation: “Governance will always be important to how companies build value and make value-creative decisions.”
In essence, sustainability is evolving from a moral obligation to a competitive necessity, urging companies to act wisely and promptly.
image source from：https://www.globalatlanta.com/beyond-compliance-why-global-companies-must-embed-sustainability-into-their-business-strategies/
