How can you influence sustainability in your field?

Every business can be more sustainable! Small businesses of 1-25 employees tend to overlook the positive impact they can have on the environment and society. The original pillars of sustainability were People, Planet, Pocketbook. Small businesses can create a culture of caring and sharing by making sustainability a top value. They can utilize a carbon footprint calculator to evaluate current practices and develop goals. A sustainability coach can provide a quick assessment of personal, cooperate, and financial practices. Then a measured method can be created. A business's culture can influence employees mindset and actions. This can lead to helping clients and family members be more sustainable in all areas of life.

To influence sustainability, begin by evaluating your field’s current state. Examine, for example, workflows in manufacturing for energy waste. Use tools like SWOT to identify areas needing improvement. This insight is crucial for creating actionable, realistic sustainability plans. Practical, informed assessments lead to impactful, sustainable solutions

Encourage businesses and entrepreneurs to expand their focus beyond immediate concerns and assess the long-term and interconnected effects of their actions.

Most of the damage that we are causing to the planet has stemmed from our inability to understand the interconnections between Environment, Economy & Society. Why are we in this situation today? What we thought was a boon has turned into a curse!!!!!!! IPCC reports give us the best view of the challenge humanity is facing. Climate Fresk is a 3-hour long workshop that summarises the Nobel prize winning IPCC climate report in an fun, interactive group activity. This is a global challenge and we need all hands on deck.

Influencing sustainability in one's field entails championing eco-friendly practices and principles. Firstly, lead by example, adopting sustainable practices in daily operations or projects. Continuously educate yourself about the latest sustainable trends and technologies relevant to your field. Advocate for sustainable policies at an organizational or industry level. Collaborate with like-minded professionals to amplify the collective impact. Implement eco-friendly metrics and reward systems to promote sustainable outcomes. Lastly, actively engage with stakeholders, understanding their concerns and feedback, ensuring sustainability becomes a shared vision rather than just a personal agenda.

Defining a vision and a strategy for an organization, client, or, just for your own career, means shifting into thought leadership and future foresight mode. Thought Leadership can be both creative, expansive, and big-picture, but also grounded, data and research-driven, and time-bound. It means venturing deeper into unexplored ideas, structuring dialogue across disciplines, and using the power of imagination and foresight to develop compelling sustainability visions and strategies that will inspire and motivate. A sustainability journey requires us to envision the destination, which means thinking about a future that is perhaps drastically different than our present day. Not being afraid to propose a bold vision and strategy is step #1.

Harness the power of artificial intelligence to refine and adapt your sustainability strategy continually. AI-driven analytics can process vast datasets in real-time, identifying trends, risks, and opportunities.

To drive sustainability, pinpoint a vision, outlining what you aim to accomplish. Next, create a robust strategy delineating the steps to realize this vision. For instance, if leading a manufacturing unit, envision ‘Zero Waste Production’ and strategize through waste reduction and recycling initiatives, aligning every action with overarching sustainable goals. This approach, grounded in my years of executive coaching, ensures clarity and measurable progress towards sustainability.

Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030 Agenda), with 17 SDGs and 169 targets, is a plan of action for people, planet and prosperity. The SDGs are universal, transcend borders and apply across the workplace, marketplace and community. The SDGs are deeply interconnected – progress on one goal can have a significant impact on progress in meeting others. Business cannot thrive in a world of poverty, inequality, unrest and environmental stress, and so it has a vital interest in ensuring the 2030 Agenda is delivered.

Bajo los objetivos de una mejor sostenibilidad se debe ampliar un panorama llamada visión para la mejor toma de decisiones, pero para llegar a ello es importante determinar objetivos claros, precisos y cortos

Effective communication and collaboration are pivotal. For instance, having regular, clear dialogues with team members and stakeholders ensures everyone is on the same page regarding sustainability goals. Practical collaboration could mean co-creating solutions with suppliers to reduce environmental impact.

Actualmente en este mundo globalizado y actualizado diariamente se debe lograr la comunicación efectiva ya que es lo que va ayudar en un mejor entendimiento sobre los objetivos, misión y visión de la empresa

One reaction that I've observed rather frequently towards sustainability targets and plans are that most of the team currently around would either be retired or dead by the time 2050 or 2100 comes round. Whether or not this is chronologically or medically true, we need to recognise that the world's climate ecosystem has been changing even when compared to more recent history. It would be irresponsible for us to do nothing now, but sometimes the long timelines used create a mental barrier or block for people to actively engage in this topic currently. While we cannot predict the future, it would not be too much of a stretch to do good now. Doing good now can also make commercial sense and confer a frontrunner's competitive advantage.

Collaboration and partnerships: Foster collaborations with like-minded organizations, businesses, or individuals to develop and implement sustainable projects, initiatives, or campaigns that contribute to environmental conservation and promote sustainability in your field.

Simple, straightforward and succinct communication enables cohesive outlook and frictionless work. Tone is important and patience is key. Roles, responsibility KPI articulation, inclusivity, cadence, progress measurement, results cascade, recognition and knowledge sharing are key communication attributes especially for the field of sustainability where change impacts work more significantly than adjacent domains.

To enact sustainability, diligently implement and monitor plans. For instance, if aiming to cut waste, delegate clearly and check progress routinely. Acknowledge each success and adjust methods based on outcomes, maintaining a proactive and adaptive stance.

Innovation and research: Encourage and participate in research and innovation efforts that aim to develop and promote sustainable technologies, products, and practices, driving positive change and progress toward more environmentally friendly solutions in your industry.

Prepare to mitigate, address or accept issues, blockers, risks and challenges. Only collect data that is required to support the goal and roadmap. Over ambitious plans and stretch goals are risks in their own right. Calibrate purpose and objective when legitimate change or impact is present. The mirror of sustainability is reuse - good for working groups and project teams to reuse good practices, processes and experiences.

Talk, team up, transform! Your vision is only as powerful as your ability to communicate it. Establish alliances with stakeholders across the board—your vision can't go it alone. Build trust, face resistance head-on, and broker mutually beneficial agreements. Your strategy becomes unstoppable when it's a shared mission. It's not just about what you say; it's about creating a movement. Let's turn dialogue into action! We can talk all day but if there are no action taken... nothing is done. -N

Your sustainability efforts should be sustainable. That is, it shouldn't be a "one-and-done" effort; it should be something that you and your team continually invest in. You can't make progress with sustainability if it's not a measurable goal that your team is responsible for. After all, if they're responsible for other goals, they're going to tackle those instead. Pick something that you can actually measure. Is it "carbon emissions per employee per year"? Or is it "plastic waste per office per month"? Or something else? Whatever metric you wind up choosing, ensure that your team can actually make progress on the metric. Don't ask for "number of sustainability bills passed by Congress" if that's not what your company does day-to-day!

Innovate or stagnate! To drive sustainability, think beyond the status quo. Champion a culture where creative risks aren't just tolerated, they're celebrated. Flexibility is your superpower in a world of change; resilience, your armor. Keep an eye on emerging trends and pounce on opportunities like a hawk. Sustainability isn't a final stop—it's an ever-evolving path. Lead the charge; the world is waiting for your footprint, make it a green one! Have a great week! hope this helps. -N

Innovation and adaptability are the lifeblood of driving sustainability forward. Drawing from my journey as an edtech founder and experiences in risk consulting, I believe fostering a forward-thinking culture, paired with agility, sets the stage for meaningful change. Sustainability, in essence, is a perpetual quest, and with proactive leadership, we can etch lasting, positive imprints on our industries and the broader global canvas.

Corporate social responsibility: Advocate for corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives within your organization, encouraging the integration of sustainability practices into business strategies, operations, and decision-making processes to achieve long-term environmental sustainability goals.

Focus on interventions that deliver socio-economic values to communities through active collaboration and advocacy. This will ensure that more people benefit from the same pool of resources.

To genuinely influence sustainability, inculcate a sustainability mindset in your everyday leadership. Think, "sustainability-first" – whether that's reducing paper usage in office or encouraging remote work to decrease carbon footprint. Real, impactful change starts with the small, everyday decisions. Leadership should exemplify this, fostering an atmosphere where sustainability is interwoven into every action and choice made within the organization.

Sustainablity is the need of the hour. And in each industry it plays a vital role. For instance if I talk about digital marketing, sustainability can be supported by choosing green hosting, promoting eco-friendly products, reducing printing, hosting virtual events, partnering with sustainable suppliers, and educating your audience.

1) Don't be afraid to grow! 2) Leadership is the key. Roll out straight-forward surveys to the employees to evaluate specific or overall leadership. 3) Target right clients. 4) Ensure efficiencies in overall operations. Internal operation teams should treat internal employees as customers, and then you will see the difference! Live the motto of 'Customer first' by starting within. 5) TOP TALENT - Success will follow, and hence the sustainability. 6) Focus on customer retention. 7) Even more focus on Employee attrition rate.

I think one can drive partnerships with other leaders in the same/related field of interest through social impact evaluations and efforts that drive long term benefits for all.