Saying is one thing, doing is another: Implementing sustainability programs with success

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If you have a tween or teen living under your roof, you’ll be able to relate to this: When I tell my daughter to clean up after herself, I can pretty much expect that it will not get done.

On the other hand, when I lead by example and help build a culture of cleanliness, this becomes self-gratifying and I get the critical mass I need to have a clean house — that makes my wife happy too.

If you work for a well-meaning company that talks a good sustainability talk but lacks on the execution, well, you may be able to relate too.

Getting to “Git ‘er Done”

I have written about the foundational aspects of the triple bottom line and sustainability and the strategy of planning for it. But once the talking is done and the planning is complete, it’s time for the heavy lifting, time to “git ‘er done.”

It’s at this point that your staff might scurry for shelter like when the lights come on and the mice scramble to their hidey holes — unless you’ve already established a culture of change. It’s been proven time and again that when a company says that it’s going to implement a sustainability initiative, but lacks the cultural framework or inertia for stakeholder “buy in”, it’s less likely to succeed.

Why? First, in Bob Doppelt’s Overcoming the Seven Sustainability Blunders, organizational traps that can lead to implementation failures often stem from weaknesses in cross-organizational communication and empowerment. In this 2003 article, Mr. Doppelt (who is executive director of resource innovations with the Institute for Sustainable Environment at the University of Oregon) discusses the “Wheel of Change Toward Sustainability.” This process shows how seven interventions can systematically deflect those blunders, and form a continuous reinforcing process of transformation toward sustainability. Communication, feedback loops and transparency are key elements to successful transformation.

Also, in William Blackburn’s indispensable Sustainability Handbook- The Complete Management Guide to Achieving Social, Economic and Environmental Responsibility, he points out three key elements needed to achieve the critical mass for sustainability program execution:

• • Deployment into the rank and file.
• • Integration with existing tools and resources.
• • Alignment across the entire organization.

These critical factors place organizations in a position where all parts are pulling together. While top management commitment is vital to the success of any organizational change, it will fail without proper execution. The foundation for implementation success then rests first on selecting a “cross functional” team, consisting of one or more talented and motivated individuals from across all organizational departments. This team will be well versed in the system elements, mechanics and will essentially be the “champions” by which the system can be deployed.

Here are the essential sustainability team roles and responsibilities:

• • Administration and purchasing: Develop and implement controls for chemicals and other materials, administer environmentally preferable purchasing processes and fill the “document control” in support of sustainability.
• • Human resources: Integrate sustainability management systems into reward, discipline and appraisal processes.
• • Maintenance: Implement preventative maintenance for key equipment.
• • Finance: Track data on environmental and CSR management costs, prepare budgets for sustainability initiative and evaluate economic feasibility of environmental projects.
• • Engineering: Consider lifecycle environmental footprint impacts of products and processes and identify pollution prevention opportunities.
• • Top management: Communicate importance of sustainability throughout the organization, provide necessary resources, and track and review “triple bottom line” performance.
• • Line workers: Provide first-hand knowledge of the environmental aspects of their jobs and support training for new employees.

Outcomes

Implementation of a cross-functional team and top management commitment are the first steps to support an effective sustainability initiative and enable employees to embrace change. Each member of the cross-functional team serves as adviser, coordinator, and facilitator — as champion — although the ultimate responsibility lies with executive management.

Doing so enhances:

• • Integration of environmental factors into the responsibilities of all enterprise employees.
• • Employees acceptance and support of the system.
• • Employees understanding of what they must know to support the sustainability initiative (what they are to do, how they are to do it, and that they are empowered to do it).

Are you ready to pull up your bootstraps and ‘git ‘er done? I would love to hear some success stories from the trenches that can be shared in this forum.

Dave Meyer is VP of Sustainable Economic and Environmental Development Solutions (SEEDS) Global Alliance (Northwest Operations), assisting organizations on business process improvement, “triple bottom line” sustainability, green supply chain and regulatory compliance management. You can follow Dave on Twitter @DRMeyer1.