There’s an uncomfortable truth lurking in the conversation around ethics, governance, and corporate responsibility: most leaders only think about accountability when they’re forced to. By then, it’s usually too late.

For Andy Norris, that’s the crux of the issue. Accountability, he argues, doesn’t start with frameworks, board charters, or glossy ESG reports. It starts with people. And more often than not, it starts with childhood.

“The lessons we absorb about fairness, right and wrong, and responsibility — they shape every decision we make, whether we’re conscious of it or not,” says Andy.

It’s an insight born not from textbooks, but from a career that’s spanned the operational trenches to the boardroom. Andy has worked with multinationals, advised on governance across sectors, and seen firsthand how flimsy accountability mechanisms can be if the foundations aren’t there.

🚧 The Flaw in Modern Governance

In today’s corporate landscape, governance often feels like a checklist. Diversity targets? Ticked. ESG policy? Published. Whistleblower hotline? Installed.

But as Andy points out, “You can have all the policies in place, but if people don’t truly feel responsible for their actions — if accountability isn’t part of the culture — those mechanisms collapse under pressure.”

It’s not about removing structures, but understanding their limits. Real change starts earlier, deeper.

🛠 Building a Culture of Pre-Boardroom Accountability

So how do organisations embed this ethos? Andy suggests three starting points:

✅ Values before policies: Hire for integrity, not just technical skills.
✅ Reward the uncomfortable: Celebrate those who raise concerns, even when it’s awkward.
✅ Model it at every level: Leaders set the tone — not with slogans, but with actions.

It sounds simple. It isn’t. It requires what Andy calls “the courage to care,” a willingness to have the difficult conversations long before crisis hits.

⚡ The Business Case for Ethical Foundations

Beyond the moral imperative, Andy is clear: ethical leadership isn’t just about ‘doing the right thing’ — it’s commercial common sense. Organisations built on genuine accountability attract better talent, weather reputational storms, and create long-term value.

“The companies that succeed,” Andy explains, “are the ones where responsibility isn’t an add-on — it’s part of the DNA.”

FINAL THOUGHT

In a world obsessed with quick fixes and external validation, Andy Norris offers a refreshing — and necessary — reminder. Responsibility doesn’t start in the boardroom. It starts long before.

The real challenge? Having the humility, at every level, to accept that.

Her new venture—S4: the Secret Society of Sustainability Spies—isn’t a stunt. It’s a philosophy: train people at all levels to embed sustainability into their everyday decisions, no job title required.

“If companies won’t go to sustainability, sustainability must go to the company—whether they want it or not.” — Magali

🕵️‍♀️ Changing the System Quietly

As Holcim’s first Chief Sustainability and Innovation Officer, Magali helped shape the cement industry’s first net-zero commitment and aligned executive pay to ESG metrics. But the CSO role, she says, is being hollowed out—stuck in reporting loops, isolated from the business’s core.

That’s why she’s turning toward “systemic subversion.” The new goal? Empower procurement officers, engineers, and marketers to push change from within—what she calls changing your job without telling anyone.

“Sustainability isn’t a job title. It’s a way of working.”

🧠 Why the CSO Role Isn’t Working

Magali is blunt about the burnout plaguing sustainability leaders. When asked why, she doesn’t hesitate:

“Too many CSOs are doing reporting instead of reshaping business models. That’s like asking a CEO to focus only on financial disclosures.”

Her solution: embed ESG where the power is—finance, operations, product. The job of a CSO should be to make themselves obsolete.

“The goal is for the CSO role to disappear because everyone is doing the job.”

🧱 Building Holcim’s ESG Edge

During her time at Holcim, Magali led some of the boldest moves in the building materials sector:

• The first net-zero pledge validated by SBTi

• Integration of nature targets into business strategy

• Launch of the Roof Over Our Heads campaign to house 1 billion people

But for all the public wins, her focus was always internal: realigning incentives, simplifying systems, and rooting sustainability in business logic.

“We treated sustainability like a business transformation—not a comms campaign.”

🔮 From Oil Rigs to Boardrooms

Magali’s career began in oil and gas. She doesn’t hide it; she embraces it.

“I don’t feel guilty. Guilt locks the past. I use it to unlock the future.”

That honesty fuels her mission now: to help professionals everywhere reframe their roles, histories, and power to act.

✨ If She Had a Magic Wand…

No jargon. No tech. Just this:
Tie executive bonuses to long-term ESG metrics.

“You can’t ask factory workers to care about sustainability if their bosses aren’t paid to care.”