IEF Launches Chief Value Officer of the Year Award

Growing societal crises require executives to fundamentally redefine value in the board room. Societal impact should be central to organizational decision-making. The Chief Value Officer (CVO) of the Year award spotlights the new leaders (CFOs) who do this best and creates a race to the top for organisations that steer on well-being.

Companies worldwide are not on track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, climate targets and biodiversity promises. The far-reaching consequences of this are becoming increasingly tangible and the pressure on executives is increasing due to amongst other things new regulations and climate lawsuits. Executives are increasingly expected to use money, talent and innovative power even more effectively to accelerate sustainability transitions and to make societal impact central to decision-making.

But despite the growing pressure to change, the practice of managing on impact is still in its infancy. “Sustainability is still too often a thin layer of varnish on top of the existing revenue model. Impacts such as climate, biodiversity, living wage and human rights are still far too little anchored in the decisions of companies,” says Werner Schouten, director of the Impact Economy Foundation. “Decisions are often still mainly based on euros and not on impact. Issues such as the well-being of employees in the value chain, biodiversity or contribution to climate change do not yet count on the balance sheet.”

“That can be done differently! It is crucial that directors not only focus on financial profit, but also measure, report and manage the impact their company has on society and the environment. To achieve a fundamentally sustainable economy, an Impact Economy, it is essential that companies put this impact at the center of every investment, purchasing decision and strategic choice. This requires new leadership from the CFO who must not only focus on financial value, but also on societal value (social, human, natural).”

CVO of the Year

“With the Chief Value Officer of the Year award, we put the financial directors (CFOs) who lead the way in this in the spotlight. It is the directors (CFOs) who manage their organization (+250 employees) on the basis of the True Profit, the real profit of the company for society. CVOs are directors who want to incur as few external costs as possible and as much external profit as possible. They are really committed to fundamentally different, regenerative revenue models and innovations. They also do not do this alone, but they take other executives, organizations and even entire sectors with them to focus on impact.”

Schouten: “By placing the leaders for the new economy, the Impact Economy, in the spotlight, we are setting the standard for impact in the boardrooms in the Netherlands. Th

is is how we create a race to the top for broad prosperity!”

About the CVO of the Year Award

Until the 30^th of June it is possible to nominate directors of large companies (+250 employees) for the title of Chief Value Officer of the year on www.cvovanhetjaar.nl. The nominees are judged on their ability to create broad value for all stakeholders, including employees, customers, shareholders and society at large. The 5 CVOs of the Year are chosen by a professional jury including Jeroen Smit (journalist), Hans Reus (Managing Director Russell Reynolds) and Jellie Banga (CEO Impact Institute).

Nominate your CVO now for the Chief Value Officers of the Year Award at www.cvovanhetjaar.org!

The CVO of the Year Award is an initiative of the Impact Economy Foundation, in collaboration with De Baak and SeederDeBoer.