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What’s the value of sustainability?

27 Jan

Often, we measure sustainability in quantifiable metrics, things like financial savings or carbon footprint. This is not a bad thing, and I encourage it for my clients. It makes things a lot easier when trying to justify investment. But I do wonder, what would happen if we measured sustainability in a completely different way? Would it mean that no one would take it seriously? Or could it mean that people would finally start taking it seriously?

The reason I pose the question is that I’ve returned from running a three-day workshop in the UK for my lovely museum clients who are learning to be sustainability leaders and champions at their museums. And though we focus on the figures, I routinely get awesome emails like:

Thank you for the life changing work you have done

and

I keep plugging away and I’m sure we will move forward

and

I cannot thank you enough for this opportunity

I find it so inspiring. It’s easy to get down in the dumps and think that the small work of one person cannot possibly make a difference. But then I remember that the whole point of sustainability is actually to make life better for people. So that they can achieve their goals and have a more prosperous future. I’d like to think that the work I’m doing is helping to achieve that, one small step at a time.

What do you think? What difference are you making? Leave a note for me in the comments!

COP XX: Oops I missed it again

6 Dec

This post was going to be titled, “Durban: Does anyone know or care?” But then I realized that I had in fact missed over half the event anyway. Plus, it’s not being covered in depth in any mainstream media. I only knew sort of what was happening because of my friends’ facebook posts.

This is truly lame.

It’s not that I don’t think international dialogue on climate change isn’t important. Of course I do. The problem I see is that these meetings don’t seem to be achieving anything anymore. And while this isn’t necessarily an argument to stop holding them altogether, I do see an argument for significant change in the purpose, size, scope and goals of these meetings. Sure, they are a lot of fun for people to go to. You get out of the office and get to meet other people who are interested in the same issues. These are good goals in and of themselves. But they are not the goals of the COP.

Diplomacy is not my strong suit (just ask my husband). But directness and honesty are. And honestly, I think the UNFCCC needs to rethink the results they hope to achieve through these meetings, because I don’t think the current plan is cutting it.

A Chief Sustainability Officer by any other name?

1 Dec

The latest addition to the growing cadre of sustainability-related positions is the Chief Sustainability Officer. The addition of “Chief” would seem to indicate that this is the highest level position within a company focused on sustainability that one could aspire to. Does a CSO do anything different than past positions such as Head of CR?

Just to demonstrate, here is a list of positions culled from the almighty oracle of the internet (e.g. Wikipedia)

  • Director, VP, EVP, or SVP of Sustainability
  • Environmental Policy Manager
  • Director of Environment, Energy, & Safety
  • Director of Social & Environmental Responsibility
  • Chief Officer of Environment
  • Social & Environmental Sustainability Manager
  • Chief of EHS
  • Certified Sustainability Administrator

Seriously, these are not reflecting the same thing. I have worked with many people in many companies, organizations, etc and the person in charge of sustainability is the one with the budget and decision-making ability. I don’t care what your position title is, this is the truth.

The sustainability decision makers I’ve dealt with have included the Global Head of Communications, the Chief Operating Officer and the Partner-in-Charge. Does that mean these are the new CSOs? No. But what it does mean is that companies aren’t really taking sustainability seriously unless they are allocating the same level of responsibility and budgetary authority as any other C-level executive, Director, or SVP.

Is raising awareness overrated?

8 Nov

I spent a number of years working for a corporate communications agency. And one of the elements we sold clients on was the idea of raising awareness to create action. But I always felt that raising awareness could often create a very aware group of people who were completely disempowered. After all, who cares if you are more aware of a problem if you don’t do anything about it?

This is one of the overlooked, but classic leadership challenges:

How  to raise awareness while at the same time finding meaningful ways to act?

If you raise awareness, and can’t find a meaningful way for people to act on that awareness, your audience will merely feel powerless. A disconnect exists between the size of the problem and the size of the solution. When the problem seems very large, and an individual’s ability to act seems very small, the chances of that individual taking action are very small. As a leader, you must identify what the organization and the individuals within it can and must do. As a leader you must find the window of opportunity to act and then start to build momentum.

When individual actions may not seem meaningful, individuals need to come together and act in partnership. Groups can be formed at different levels. For example, at the departmental, organizational and sector level.

This approach can be particularly powerful in relation to issues requiring geographic proximity, such as regional transport provision or procurement. You can also develop partnerships through associations that are not geographically based: for example working with partners you find through internet groups, internal associations, or common suppliers.

The key thing to remember is that you must help your colleagues to find ways to act, and then report back to them the results of their actions. Otherwise you wind up with a well-educated group that is no better off than before!

We live among the walking retired

8 Nov

My organization needs leadership but I can’t say that to my boss!

I was talking to a good friend of mine the other day who has instantly become a case study for me. He works in a small office, fewer than ten people, and he’s great at what he does. The problem? He lives among the “walking retired.” Meaning he wants to advance in his career, he doesn’t necessarily want to leave his current role, but it may be the only way. Here’s a bit of our conversation:

Him: my organization needs leadership but I can’t say that to my boss!

Me: interesting. what’s the problem?

Him: end of career boss, one to two years away from retirement, sorta riding it out

Me: is it a systemic problem or just your boss?

Him: oh it’s him, he’s not a manager, so no employee reviews, no guidance, no involvement, except at the last moment.

Me: isn’t he managing you?

Him: not really. I don’t feel empowered to do anything. The Assistant Director was supposed to step down almost a year and a half ago and retire, but the stock market hasn’t been good, so she’ isn’t going anywhere. I don’t have a clear view of what my potential is at this organization and the goals.

And that’s when we hit on the real crux of the issue. My friend is now stagnating in a position because everyone else at his organization is doing the same. He clearly needs to have a discussion with the Director of his organization and find out where he stands in terms of skills and ability for the job he really wants.

At the same time, this organization and many others of its kind need to figure out a way to better utilize the skills of those at the top who are just “waiting it out.” Waiting for the stock market to improve so that you can retire is not a plan that will help anyone. We need to look at how we can creating win-win situations for workers who thought they’d be retired by now, as well as those workers waiting in the wings to advance their careers.

If you’re a leader in your organization, how many of your workers feel the same way as my friend? You need to find out. It’s a dangerous situation for business development that just cements stagnation when what you need is to propel yourself into growth.

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