LAYER 5: CORPORATE ACTION
Corporate Action
Where strategy becomes reality – targets, transitions, and transformation.
In 30 Seconds
Corporate Action is where sustainability commitments become operational reality. This is the layer where organisations set targets, develop transition plans, allocate capital, and change how they operate.
The challenge: Most corporate sustainability strategies are disconnected from the layers below. Targets are set without understanding landscapes. Transition plans ignore ecosystem dependencies. The result? Ambitious commitments that can't be delivered.
The opportunity: Organisations that understand the full system – from planetary foundations to governance frameworks – can set realistic targets and build credible pathways to achieve them.
Where This Fits
Corporate Action is Layer 5 in our 5-layer sustainability model:
L5 is where most organisations start – but effective action requires understanding everything below. A net zero target without supply chain visibility (L3) or landscape context (L2) is just a number on a page.
What Corporate Action Includes
The corporate sustainability journey spans four key phases, each building on the last.
Foundation
Govern, Understand, Measure
Governance creates the mandate to act. Materiality assessment reveals what matters. Measurement establishes your baseline.
Skip the foundation and everything built on top is unstable.
Direction
Strategy
Decide where to go. Strategy sets priorities, ambition level, and the overall approach to sustainability across the organisation.
Without strategy, you're reacting. With it, you're leading.
Accountability
Disclose, Commit
Tell stakeholders where you stand and commit to specific goals. CDP, CSRD, UK SRS create disclosure pressure. SBTi, SBTN translate strategy into measurable targets.
Disclosure is the catalyst. Many organisations set their first targets in response to it.
Execution
Transition Plan, Delivery
Map the pathway and make it happen. Transition plans connect targets to action. Delivery is where commitments become outcomes – real emissions reductions, nature-positive action.
Execution is the emerging frontier. Most organisations are strong on commitment, weak on delivery.
The Corporate Sustainability Journey
How organisations progress from understanding to action – a cyclical process, not a one-time project.
↩ Report & Improve – after delivery, report progress and cycle back to refine your approach.
Where Are You in the Journey?
Most organisations enter at different points. Some start with disclosure requirements, others with target-setting pressure. Wherever you are, understanding the full journey helps you move forward with coherence.
Click any stage above to explore that part of the journey.
The Strategy-Action Gap
There's a well-documented gap between sustainability commitments and delivery. Targets proliferate, but emissions continue to rise. Why?
Common Problems
- • Targets set without understanding feasibility
- • Transition plans disconnected from operations
- • Sustainability siloed in central team
- • Lack of internal capability
- • Misaligned incentives
What's Required
- • System-level understanding (L1-L5)
- • Embedded capability across functions
- • Clear governance and accountability
- • Realistic pathways grounded in science
- • Aligned incentives and decision-making
Closing the gap requires embedding sustainability across your organisation – not just setting targets from the centre.
Learn About Embedment →Who Operates at L5
Corporate Leadership
Setting direction
Boards, C-suite, sustainability directors
Is our strategy grounded in system reality?
Investors
Allocating capital
Asset managers, pension funds, PE/VC
Can our portfolio companies deliver on commitments?
Advisors
Supporting action
Consultants, lawyers, auditors
Are we helping clients set achievable targets?
The Pandion View
We believe effective corporate action starts with understanding the full system. That's why we begin every engagement by mapping where our clients sit in the 5-layer model – and what they need to understand to act effectively.
A target without a pathway is a wish. A pathway without system understanding is a guess. Effective corporate action connects L5 decisions to L1-L4 realities.
As a hybrid professional, we bridge the gap between corporate strategy and on-the-ground implementation. We speak the language of boardrooms and the language of landscapes. That's what makes the difference between targets that stick and targets that slip.