GrowCFO Show

#237 The CFO’s Guide to Leading Sustainability in Business with Paula Kensington, GrowCFO Facilitator


Listen Later

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paid3zTnC6U&t=22s
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2ywfZ18iMIe7TSHdpaVsYU

In this episode of The GrowCFO Show, host Kevin Appleby is joined by Paula Kensington, a seasoned finance professional from Australia with over 30 years of experience. Paula shares her journey from traditional accounting roles to becoming a passionate advocate for sustainability in business. With her unique perspective as both a former corporate CFO and now a fractional CFO, Paula offers valuable insights on how finance leaders can drive meaningful sustainability initiatives beyond mere compliance.

The conversation explores the evolving role of CFOs in sustainability leadership, highlighting the critical need for finance professionals to develop an ESG mindset. Paula emphasizes that while many businesses have been engaged with sustainability for years, finance leaders are often “10 years late to the sustainability party,” only becoming involved when reporting becomes mandatory. She makes a compelling case for CFOs to leverage their ethical foundation and financial expertise to lead businesses toward practices that benefit all stakeholders, not just shareholders.

Key topics covered:
  • The unique position of CFOs to lead sustainability initiatives due to their ethical training and financial expertise
  • The importance of moving beyond compliance to integrate sustainability into business strategy and culture
  • The challenges of measuring and valuing non-financial impacts in traditional financial reporting
  • The tension between investor expectations and sustainable business practices
  • The need for finance professionals to develop new skills and mindsets to effectively lead in sustainability
  • The upcoming wave of sustainability standards and how finance teams should prepare for them
  • Links
    • Paula Kensington on LinkedIn
    • Kevin Appleby on LinkedIn
    • GrowCFO Mentoring
    • Timestamps
      • 0:05:53 Paula shares her background and journey from traditional accounting to becoming a sustainability-focused CFO
      • 0:08:15 Discussion on the CFO’s ethical foundation and responsibility to consider impacts beyond shareholders
      • 0:09:56 Introduction to Paula’s work developing ESG mindset courses for finance professionals
      • 0:12:30 Exploration of whether sustainability standards drive meaningful change or just compliance
      • 0:18:45 Conversation about measuring and valuing sustainability impacts in financial terms
      • 0:25:10 Discussion on the influence of different investor types on sustainability initiatives
      • 0:32:20 Overview of skills finance professionals need to develop for sustainability leadership
      • Find out more about GrowCFO

        If you enjoyed this podcast, you can subscribe to the GrowCFO Show with your favorite podcast app. The GrowCFO show is listed in the Apple podcast directory, Spotify and many others. Why not subscribe there today? That way, you never miss an episode.

        GrowCFO is a great place to extend your professional network. Join GrowCFO as a free member today and participate in our regular networking events and webinars. Premium members can also access our extensive training center and CFO Digital Toolkit. You can enroll in our flagship Future CFO or Finance Leader programs here.

        You can find out more and join today at growcfo.net

        ...more
        View all episodesView all episodes
        Download on the App Store

        GrowCFO ShowBy Kevin Appleby

        • 5
        • 5
        • 5
        • 5
        • 5

        5

        3 ratings


        More shows like GrowCFO Show

        View all
        Freakonomics Radio by Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

        Freakonomics Radio

        32,078 Listeners

        This Week in Startups by Jason Calacanis

        This Week in Startups

        1,282 Listeners

        PwC's accounting podcast by PwC

        PwC's accounting podcast

        182 Listeners

        Coaching for Leaders by Dave Stachowiak

        Coaching for Leaders

        1,455 Listeners

        HBR IdeaCast by Harvard Business Review

        HBR IdeaCast

        170 Listeners

        The Game with Alex Hormozi by Alex Hormozi

        The Game with Alex Hormozi

        4,463 Listeners

        The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett by DOAC

        The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett

        8,470 Listeners

        Inside the Strategy Room by McKinsey & Company

        Inside the Strategy Room

        173 Listeners

        My First Million by Hubspot Media

        My First Million

        2,648 Listeners

        The High Performance Podcast by High Performance

        The High Performance Podcast

        541 Listeners

        All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg by All-In Podcast, LLC

        All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg

        10,020 Listeners

        CFO Weekly by Personiv

        CFO Weekly

        44 Listeners

        Coaching Real Leaders by Harvard Business Review / Muriel Wilkins

        Coaching Real Leaders

        669 Listeners

        The AI Daily Brief: Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis by Nathaniel Whittemore

        The AI Daily Brief: Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

        636 Listeners

        5 in 5 with ANZ by ANZ

        5 in 5 with ANZ

        3 Listeners