SustainabilityOnline recently published its inaugural ‘Ambition Into Action’ report, featuring interviews with senior leaders about how they are turning sustainability vision into business reality at the mid-point of the decade.
At inoqo, Hélène Saurais serves as CMO and Chief Customer Success Officer, overseeing market positioning, client success and delivery operations. She works closely with retailers, brands, and internal product and data teams to ensure the platform delivers scalable, high-quality sustainability assessments – while enabling clear, credible communication with consumers and regulators.
How has inoqo moved from ‘ambition to action’ in terms of turning sustainability into a core value driver – in other words, how have you made sustainability ‘good for business’?
At inoqo, we’ve moved from ambition to action by helping retailers and brands across Europe embed sustainability directly into their core operations. Our platform enables them to accurately measure the environmental footprint of their entire food and beverage assortments, giving them a reliable baseline as a first step.
With our newest Optimisation Insights feature, we go further: we provide clear, data-driven guidance on how to reduce impacts and improve product performance. This has made sustainability not just a reporting exercise, but a tangible source of value creation from portfolio optimisation and improved supplier collaboration to more credible consumer communication.
We also play an active role in driving system-wide progress. Through our work with the European Sustainable Food Coalition, we bring together key players from across the food system and build alignment on critical topics such as farm-level data exchange. This collaborative approach accelerates the transition to more sustainable supply chains and ensures that sustainability becomes both actionable and commercially meaningful for the businesses we support.
We’re now at the mid point of the decade. What do you see as the single biggest barrier for businesses in moving from ambition to measurable action – and how can it be overcome?
The biggest barrier today is that many businesses still approach sustainability primarily through the lens of regulation and compliance, rather than seeing it as a strategic lever and a source of competitive advantage.
As a climate-tech founder, I see significant risks for companies that delay meaningful action – not just regulatory or reputational risks, but increasingly serious supply-chain risks. Climate volatility, resource scarcity, and shifting consumer expectations will make supply-chain resilience one of the defining business challenges of the next decade.
The way to overcome this barrier is to shift the mindset: treat sustainability as an investment in long-term value creation. Companies that embed it into product development, sourcing strategies, and operational decision-making will be far better positioned to stay competitive, agile, and resilient.
What role can (and should) leadership play in ensuring sustainability commitments actually deliver results, rather than remaining aspirational? And how can you ensure buy-in from all stakeholders?
Leadership’s role is to anchor sustainability in a clear business case and adopt a long-term perspective rather than reacting to short-term pressures. Once the case is defined, it needs visible CEO sponsorship and clear communication across all departments.
From a project-management standpoint, success depends on structured execution: setting measurable targets (i.e. Scope 3 reduction target / year, SBTi targets, etc) , establishing a steering committee, defining responsibilities, tracking progress regularly, and ensuring teams have the resources they need. Finally to drive real buy-in, accountability matters.
Some CEOs now link part of team bonuses to sustainability goals, a highly effective way to align incentives and accelerate implementation. Taking the first step is often the hardest, but once embedded, sustainability quickly becomes part of how the business operates.
Learn more at www.inoqo.com.
