Communication
Raise awareness and make sustainability every employee’s responsibilityObjectives
- Practical tips on how to make sustainability every employee’s responsibility
Green Value indicator
While many organisations talk the talk of sustainability — doing things like integrating environmental and societal concerns into their business models — very few walk the walk.Companies that are winning the sustainability battle have created the conditions for their stakeholders to own sustainability. In these companies, sustainability is not someone else’s problem, it’s everyone’s responsibility.
Explanation
Psychological ownership refers to feelings of possessiveness and connection that we develop toward an appealing object such as a person, company, or even an idea. And research has shown that feelings of organisational ownership lead to greater job satisfaction, engagement, productivity, and profits. This makes ownership a powerful concept for those seeking to galvanise a company around sustainability. Confronted daily with evidence of climate change and other issues that harm our well-being, most of us yearn to do something but don’t know what or how. Companies can fill this need and gain competitive advantage by transforming their stakeholders from bystanders into owners and making sustainability part of their purpose.CB Bhattacharya, who is the H.J. Zoffer Chair of Sustainability and Ethics at the University of Pittsburgh’s Katz Graduate School of Business, states a framework for creating such sustainability ownership has three phases: incubate, launch, and entrench.
Incubation is the process of, first, defining the contours of your sustainability domain by reflecting on the purpose of your business and its specific role in the world. The second step involves concretizing your Objectives by generating a research-based list of material issues across your entire value chain.
Launching your sustainability plan entails enthusiastically introducing it to stakeholders and setting the idea of ownership in motion. To entice employees and relevant stakeholders to own sustainability, sell it as an opportunity to contribute to the future well-being of both the company and society. Sometimes you have to appeal to the head (monetary incentives, cost savings, career advancement), other times to the heart (look at the difference we make), and very often, both.
Entrenching these feelings of ownership makes sustainability routine — something people just do. Having measurements of success and providing ongoing feedback on sustainability targets will demystify stakeholders’ contributions and gradually move them to own sustainability as indivisible from their jobs. Managers can use sustainability goals to evaluate their direct reports and compare employees, departments, divisions, and business units.
PROS/CONS of the action
Pros:- Making sustainability a collective responsibility will not only make all implementation activities more environmentally friendly but will also regularly generate fresh ideas on how to improve processes.
- An organisation-wide approach needs to be sustained, a plan on paper is not enough. The effort needs to be consistent and sustained. Time and funds may need to be allocated to this, but the effect should generate a return on the investment.
Certified
ISO 14001 and ISO 9001 (for environmental management and quality, respectively)Link to useful sources
Concrete steps on how to engage staff in “going green” - www.nbs.netEnsuring employee buy-in when implementing ISO 14001-based Environmental Management System - advisera.com
If you are familiar with the Business Model Canvas (things you need to consider when starting a business activity), now there are two more layers added to include an Environmental Cycle Layer and a Social Stakeholder Layer. Company policies can be tested against this new Triple Layer Business Canvas. This link is most inspiring - https://sustainablebusinessmodel.org
