How do you succeed as a change agent in the green transition? Mie Munck Bielefeldt works to make sustainability a driver of PostNord’s business – and she shares three lessons from her journey.
What do you do when sales targets and bottom-line results no longer feel like enough? For Mie Munck Bielefeldt, the answer was to move beyond a narrow focus on profit and to combine commercial growth with sustainability.
Today, she works as Commercial Sustainability Manager at PostNord Denmark, where she translates the company’s green ambitions into value for both customers and the business.
Mie’s professional career has spanned roles in sales, marketing and project management. But after many years focused solely on financial performance, her desire to contribute to something greater grew too strong to ignore.
“I needed to work with something that carried more meaning,” Mie explains. “Five years ago, the opportunity finally came when PostNord Denmark was looking for a profile that could bring together the commercial and the sustainable.”
From Theory to Practice with the SBCM Programme
Although Mie was already working with ESG and sustainability, she decided to take the Sustainable Business Change Manager (SBCM) programme in order to gain theoretical grounding, new perspectives and concrete tools for her role:
“My original aim was to get formal recognition for what I was already doing, but also to deepen my theoretical knowledge and learn about the latest trends,” she says. “One of the big challenges has been proving that sustainability also makes commercial sense – especially when it’s not always possible to present a straightforward positive business case.”
The SBCM programme gave her exactly what she needed: tools to structure her work and the ability to argue her case convincingly with management.
Making the Case for Green Value
PostNord has long pursued ambitious sustainability initiatives. Yet challenges still arise – particularly when economic pressures threaten to slow the pace of green investment.
“We are seeing growing pressure from our largest business customers. Sustainability has become a licence to operate, and if we fail to keep up with demand, we risk losing revenue,” Mie explains.
This is where she feels her role is particularly crucial. She acts as a translator between technical ESG concepts and commercial benefits, helping customers clearly see the value of PostNord’s green solutions. “My most important task is to make sustainability tangible and value-creating – both internally and externally.”
From Learning to Everyday Results
Since completing the SBCM programme, Mie has achieved significant results. She has initiated new commercial partnerships that place a stronger emphasis on sustainability, and has engaged the press and marketing teams more actively in PostNord’s green efforts.
“I’m proud that I’ve succeeded in involving more departments and creating broader awareness of our sustainability work. I’ve also been invited to participate in several EU-funded projects, where my increased knowledge has really made a difference,” she says.
The programme also reaffirmed how much she thrives on learning and being part of an engaged learning community: “It was a fantastic mix of passionate teaching, group work and talks from external experts. Even with our different professional backgrounds, the discussions were incredibly rewarding. It was both fun and inspiring to dedicate whole days to the programme.”
Mie’s Three Tips for Fellow Change Agents
1. Stay the course – even when it’s tough:
Change work in sustainability often meets resistance and can be difficult to push through. But Mie emphasises that this makes the victories even more rewarding. Patience and persistence are key.
2. Create meaning and understanding: Acting as a “translator” between the technical and the commercial, Mie stresses the importance of making sustainability concrete, relevant and valuable for both customers and colleagues. Strong storytelling and clear communication make the work more powerful and easier to grasp.
3. Combine passion with commercial value:
Mie believes the greatest strength lies in creating win-win situations, where green initiatives benefit both climate and nature – while also strengthening the business. Change agents, she argues, must insist that sustainability can also drive commercial success.
Looking ahead, Mie wants to continue highlighting the commercial potential of sustainability.
“I love it when we succeed in doing something positive for nature and the climate while also creating business value. It’s a true win-win for everyone.”
Read more about PostNord’s ESG work here.
Sustainable Business Change Manager
The Sustainable Business Change Manager is a recognised practical mini MBA with certification for specialists, managers and advisors who want the knowledge and tools to embed ESG and sustainability at the heart of business and organisational strategy in a structured, systematic and value-creating way.
