Sustainability is not about being a hero, says Dis-Chem ESG exec Lesiba Kgoogo

“It was an adjustment coming into the big city from the countryside. I lived in Cape Town for four years and am currently based in Johannesburg, so I appreciate how culture and diversity shape our view of the world. We need to be agile enough to make a difference and we need more leaders who are adaptive to change. Leaders who are not rigid and driven by compliance but desire to be the best in the industry,” he explains.

Lesiba is well versed in leadership, having headed sustainable development teams in Australia, Africa, South America and Europe, during his tenure at Aspen Pharmacare.

“My career in ESG really took off when I joined Aspen. I was fortunate to be at the forefront of developing the company’s sustainable development portfolio when it was growing its wings offshore,” he explains.

It was during his time at the pharmaceutical giant that Lesiba realised that he had to break out of his comfort zone.

“I considered myself a scientist, even though I have always had green fingers. Now, with leading teams, I had to study courses relevant to HR, financial management, supply chain, project management, corporate governance. I realised then that I had to be open to continuous learning,” he explains,

Little surprise then that in addition to his honours in industrial hygiene, Lesiba also holds well over 12 certifications in various fields.

In addition to improving his academic knowledge, he also had to brush up on soft skills during his time working with diverse teams across the world.

“When I was with Aspen building the safety, health and environment team, I had to learn fast as I was the go-to person to liaise with the Australians, Americans, Sub-Saharan Africa and Europeans to align to one world standard for the organisation. The level of rejection I initially received really got me down but I knew that what I was doing was right. They also knew that what I was doing was right but first I had to overcome the perception around this young, black African telling people in first world countries what to do,” he explains.

“It was difficult, but I turned the situation around. We had the corporate standard which we had established, so we trained employees and then gave them a year to implement. After a year, we conducted an audit. Then I used that data to show the countries which were compliant and once the executives saw that other countries were achieving higher compliance ratings, it brought out their competitive spirit and elevated the importance of compliance to the standard set,” he adds.

Executive buy-in

Little wonder then that Lesiba counts that successful level of project and change management as a huge milestone in his career.

It was also a point in time where he began appreciating the value of getting executive buy-in on the value of both financial and non-financial indicators.

“Dis-Chem operates in South Africa as a business and therefore needs to make a profit. This needs to happen while keeping the momentum on the non-financial side as well,” he says.

In order to achieve this, Lesiba supports the approach of having executive variable pay linked to non-financial measures as well.

“We know that from a finance perspective, Ebitda is the order of the day. However, non-financial indicators like unethical business conduct can jeopardise a company’s market share. It is in achieving a good balance between the financial and non-financial which gives you sustainability,” he explains,

To further demonstrate the importance of sustainability on a company’s bottom line, Lesiba notes that stakeholders in general are more aware and more vocal.

“I’m not only referring to Gen Z, but the other generations as well. People are doing conscious things and like to be associated with organisations fulfilling their desires to be a sustainable somebody,” he says.

It is for this reason that Lesiba is of the strong belief that ESG must be woven into the very fabric of the strategic intent of an organisation.

“I’ve seen organisations doing sustainability just for the sake of doing it, and those initiatives are always questionable. The reality is that the current environment we find ourselves dancing to the outside noise. In South Africa, we don’t have industry and sector specific deliverables so it has become a case of dancing to the tune of who shouts the loudest rather than interrogating the standard being used,” he notes.

Social change
This is why Lesiba has chosen to look at sustainability metrics via a materiality reality assessment.

“For me it’s not about the TCFD or the GRI standards, which we can use as a guide. But to be a market leader, we have to have a different angle. So, not using the noise as a reason why but rather using the value we bring with the ESG interventions we put on the table,” he says.

“It’s about creating social change. At Dis-Chem, we have customers all over South Africa and we have a duty to give back. With sustainability, we have to be cognisant of where we can affect change. In mining, they aim to save water. That doesn’t resonate with the nature of our business where we are at the forefront of selling,” he adds.

Lesiba therefore believes that the biggest impact will be realised through stewardship and medical products.

“Sustainability is not about being a hero but about being realistic and having impactful value relative to the organisation’s responsibilities and resources,” he concludes.