Bain & Company, in collaboration with the World Governments Summit (WGS), launched today the Sustainability Readiness Tool, an innovative AI-powered solution designed to help organizations assess and enhance their sustainability preparedness. This tool builds on insights from Bain’s research, including last year’s LEAD report, which examined how businesses in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region are integrating sustainability into their operations.
“This tool provides organizations with a structured approach to assess their sustainability readiness and align with global best practices. And as global sustainability challenges intensify, it is crucial for organizations to take decisive action,” said Samer Bohsali, senior partner and EMEA leader of the public sector practice at Bain & Company.
Identifying sustainability readiness
The Sustainability Readiness Tool offers an AI-powered assessment consisting of 27 questions. This assessment helps organizations gauge their sustainability readiness.
Users receive a benchmarking analysis, allowing them to compare their performance against industry leaders. The tool also generates a detailed report with actionable recommendations to enhance sustainability integration across business operations.
One of the key features of the Sustainability Readiness Tool is its ability to provide organizations with a strategic benchmarking framework against industry leaders who are setting the standard for sustainability. The tool goes beyond simple comparisons by offering deep insights into best practices, innovation drivers and emerging sustainability trends within top-performing companies.
By analyzing how these organizations integrate sustainability into their core business models, supply chains, and operational strategies, companies can identify key gaps in their own sustainability approach and prioritize high-impact initiatives, develop targeted strategies that align with global sustainability benchmarks and regulatory expectations, and enhance competitive positioning by adopting proven best practices and innovations that drive long-term value. Companies can also leverage data-driven insights to build stakeholder confidence, improve ESG ratings and attract sustainability-conscious investors.
This benchmarking functionality serves as a powerful decision-making tool, enabling businesses to transform sustainability from a compliance-driven obligation into a strategic growth enabler.
Navigate the complexities of sustainability transformation
According to Bain’s research, nearly 70 percent of organizations in the MENA region report incorporating sustainability into their business models. However, only 3 percent are on track to achieve their sustainability goals. This gap underscores the urgent need for actionable insights and strategic interventions, which the new tool aims to provide.
The Sustainability Readiness Tool is built upon Bain’s extensive research into what differentiates leading organizations in sustainability. Through its LEAD Framework, Bain has identified four key aspects that set sustainability leaders apart:
- Link sustainability ambitions to corporate strategies: Sustainability becomes a core part of the business strategy and is managed in tandem with other corporate targets.
- Engage cross-functional teams: They remove boundaries and build organization-wide ownership for sustainable outcomes. They also develop skills and organizational structures to support sustainability.
- Activate achievable sustainability missions: Ideation is bi-directional, so sustainability missions are co-developed and then verified through bottom-up assessments.
- Drive innovation and rapidly scale sustainable business solutions: Leaders establish agile systems to accelerate, test, and scale sustainability solutions.
“The launch of The Sustainability Readiness Tool represents a significant step forward in helping businesses navigate the complexities of sustainability transformation. Many organizations recognize the importance of sustainability, but few have a clear roadmap to achieve their goals. The tool provides the necessary insights and benchmarking to bridge this gap,” said Wissam Yassine, partner and leader in the sustainability practice at Bain & Company Middle East.
As sustainability continues to be a top priority for governments and businesses worldwide, the Sustainability Readiness Tool provides a practical solution for organizations seeking to move from intent to impact. By leveraging AI-driven insights and Bain’s strategic expertise, companies can accelerate their sustainability journey and align more effectively with global sustainability goals.
