Sustainability as Zebra Stripes
As a consultant, I have the opportunity to see a variety of sustainability programs through my clients. It is fascinating to observe the way sustainability manifests differently in different company cultures, sizes, and industry types. But overlaying all of this is one top-level distinction: Is sustainability the goal, and the question how to do it most profitably, or is it business-as-usual, with the question of how to include a sustainability component?
Is the zebra black with white stripes, or white with black stripes?
You could easily say, So what? They both want to have a sustainable and profitable organization. But there is a world of difference in the thinking behind these two approaches. And the thinking affects the whole tone of the program. I have noticed that when sustainability is foremost, there is ongoing energy, interest, joy, and creativity. And when the bottom line reigns supreme with sustainability merely one more program that has to justify its existence, there is foot-dragging, poor focus, and dissipation of interest. More effort must go into team motivation and bureaucratic processes, instead of into the sustainability program itself. Hence, the second mode becomes self-defeating.
Sustainability is not an add-on for the simple reason that it includes everything — even financial profitability is subsumed into true Sustainability, and must take its place alongside other aspects like environmental protection/restoration, social equity, and human respect. So treating sustainability as a subset of profit is like treating bodily well-being as a subset of eating. Imagine a person declaring, “I want to maximize my overall health subject to the condition of eating only pizza, donuts, and soda.” That is no different than saying, “Let’s make our company as sustainable as possible, subject to the condition of achieving a financial ROI of x% no matter what.” You can do it, but the result will hardly be optimal.
What are you really doing with your sustainability program? If it’s just business-as-usual with new clothes, you’ll get the same results as always. And probably have a lot of fruitless meetings to boot. Sustainability is a wonderful opportunity to start doing business in a different way! Are you ready and willing?