“We haven’t a hope in hell in meeting this target, but we’re going to try anyway.”

“The management redefined our target to one which we were going to meet anyway.”

These are two real, if slightly paraphrased, quotes I have heard recently which show two polar opposite attitudes to sustainability targets in major corporations. Guess which one is doing better environmentally – and financially?

Odysseus famously lashed himself to the mast of his ship so he could hear the voices of the sirens whose song would seduce him onto the rocks, but wouldn’t be able to give into them and change from his true course. Sustainability is difficult, I make no bones about it. But, as the Green Executive concluded, persistence is key. There is always the temptation to go easy on yourself and fall for the those siren voices and try and cheat the system – this usually fails as everyone can see such cheats a mile off.

Are you prepared to lash yourself to the mast and tough out the tough times? It’s called leadership.