Business acumen means having the insight, knowledge, and sound judgment to make decisions at the fast-paced speed of business. It means understanding how companies operate and how to analyze business reports to assess progress. And it helps one to see the big picture, speak the language of business, and frame problems correctly to determine effective solutions.
Business acumen can be critical in managing the additional demands of a triple-bottom line.
Here are some examples of how business acumen may help to implement sustainability strategies.
- Skills in cross-functional collaboration and finding ways that ESG practices deliver business value help when reimagining operations, supply chain, strategy, and culture.
- The ability to realign goals and performance targets as data evolves and trends shift helps when integrating rapidly-changing ESG requirements into the current strategy.
- Skills in relationship building, creating trust, and effective communication are essential for engaging a wide range of internal and external stakeholders.
Business acumen can be learned and improved with practice. The Green Business Lab helps environmental scientists and engineers to develop business acumen so that they can be more effective with business clients.
