The scope of sustainable development is undoubtedly growing, and becoming increasingly more important due to the process of globalization, amounting in complex environmental, societal and economic issues. Although the subject of business sustainability has been gaining traction and resulted in increased knowledge in the field, the business sustainability discourse is still at a young stage, where the different streams of approaches, definitions, systems and measures are fragmented and challenged. Today's global challenges are so large and complex that they require a new kind of problem-solving and way of doing business. Identifying solutions requires a diversity of perspectives, approaches and capabilities, and the business sector plays a critical role. The integrated approach has been examined to some extent, proposing a holistic manner of moving on to true business sustainability, and a sustainable development on a global scale. This article presents the concept of Inter Business and the Inter Business Index, a tool for measurement and comparability of holistic sustainability in businesses. The Inter Business framework consists of four key-components that describe the skills needed for future-preparedness. In our research, we have analysed the 50 biggest corporations in Sweden and identified purpose, empathy, system approach and transformation as components that respond to the hypothesis that interconnection and integration are key for companies to survive and thrive, whilst contributing to society at large.

In this report, we are continuing the discussion on the conclusions from the article “The Inter Business Index: Developing a Tool for Measurement and Comparability of Holistic Sustainability in Businesses” that was published in May 2017 by Hallin et al (2017) and claim that there is need for a new perspective that bring sustainability to a new level – that might be more successful at solving our shared global problems. In an attempt to understand business sustainability and its journey from early day CSR initiatives – towards being a central part of business strategy, we have looked at the structures and strategies companies use to understand sustainability, via reporting and profitable models. To deeper understand the importance of leadership and mindset in regard to sustainability, we have examined how the Inter Business Principles of purpose, empathy, system approach and transformation applies to the sustainability challenges leaders are facing today. Through dialogue with business leaders in Sweden and literature on business sustainability, we have identified leadership and investors as keys for corporate sustainability to take its next step.

Civil society organizations in Sweden are facing new challenges and opportunities in a rapidly changing context. Demographical changes, a new political climate and a broad professionalization of the sector demand a transformational shift in business. In the project Tailwind, four leading CSOs in Sweden develop new strategies and policies to navigate the new landscape. The project explores the question of how these organizations will have to transform to be able to thrive in the future. Using positive psychology and appreciative inquiry as a method for this piece of research, key insights found include: the CSOs need to draw on the strengths of the organization when strategically developing the operations, to build their operations on empathic meetings with the target group, and to step up to claim an expert position in the public eye, sharing knowledge and insight with decision-makers about the needs of the target group.

<p><em>A new complex and global society demands new approaches to solving our shared challenges and making businesses thrive. As a result, applying a systems approach is becoming more important for businesses when forming strategies for the future. The Inter Business Index is a measurement tool to understand a company’s holistic value creation, and one part of the index is a specific measurement focused on a company’s ability to adapt a systems approach to core strategy and operations. By qualitative analysis of annual and sustainability reports of Sweden’s 50 biggest companies, looking at how the companies relate to future needs and requirements, their own sense of responsibility and place in the system, ability to analyze complex problems and ability to make strategic priorities thereafter, the index ranks the companies by ability to apply a systems approach. Our findings show that companies are better at analyzing what needs to be done, but are having a hard time prioritizing their actions to fit. In discussion, we argue that short sightedness of profits companies traditionally has might make this process harder, albeit necessary. </em></p>

<p><em>Corporate sustainability is a field in rapid development. As our global challenges gain more attention through the overarching strategies forged through for example, Agenda 2030—the role of companies become more important in working towards a sustainable world. Via interviews with students and sustainability professionals, this piece of research examines how the two different groups perceive the future of corporate sustainability and what companies should prioritize to be a part of the solution for a sustainable world. Three different themes per group arose as important, and the result shone a light on how differently the groups perceived responsibility for solving our shared challenges, as well as the need for collective frames as to what a company is and what purpose they serve in the world moving forward. </em><em></em></p>