It’s common knowledge that sustainability is a big deal. It is a multidimensional issue that impacts all sectors of society. Companies wrestle with how they are going to respond beyond the obvious of energy conservation and waste reduction, when sustainability begins to blur with corporate social responsibility (CSR).
Some direction and insights are provided in an excellent article, “The Sustainability Imperative: Lessons for Leaders from Previous Game-Changing Megatrends,” by David Lubin and Daniel Esty. This article frames sustainability in ways that allow organizations to take actionable steps to impact their sustainability efforts (Harvard Business Review, May 2010).
Many readers are familiar with Esty’s landmark book, Green to Gold, and his work in the environmental policy arena. He evolves the ideas presented in Green to Gold in the “Sustainability Megatrends” article. Lubin and Esty assert that the current sustainability movement can be viewed as a megatrend, as popularized by John Naisbitt in 1982. As such, there are lessons that companies can learn by examining other megatrends, such as IT and quality.
Practical advise is presented on what is called “getting the right vision,” “getting execution right,” and “building a sustainable performance system.” The authors also echo what other thought leaders, such as Michael Porter and Peter Senge, are saying about sustainability: companies should start by developing a sustainability vision that is appropriate for them. Porter talks about this in terms of strategy—a sustainability strategy should be aligned with a company’s overall business strategy. A vision or strategy that works for UPS, for example, may not be appropriate for BP or 3M.
Lubin and Esty correctly emphasize the importance of developing “methods for assessing value” in a sustainability program. New skill sets and fresh ideas are needed throughout the organization. This is presented in terms of updating traditional business tools, such as risk modeling and scenario planning.
The steps identified by Lubin and Esty to develop, implement, and manage a robust sustainability program can be mapped onto and filled out even more completely through a number of approaches in ISO documents, particularly ISO’s evolving generic management system. By using systems thinking and organizational learning tools to develop the sustainability vision, and management system structures to bring the vision to life, companies can effectively ride the sustainability megatrend with confidence.
© Redinger EHS, Inc. (2010)