We all have a role to play in making sustainability more sustainable
Tracey Herald
ESG Lead, giffgaff and former Chief Sustainability Officer, O2
Sustainability professionals are at the forefront of driving a crucial paradigm shift in business, moving away from traditional profit and shareholder-centric models towards more sustainable, inclusive and regenerative practices.
Capitalism (even of the stakeholder kind) is a force to be reckoned with – and it's not going down without a fight.”
It’s easy to nod and agree that this paradigm shift is an essential part of how we safeguard our shared future – but the fact is that it’s easier said than done. Capitalism (even of the stakeholder kind) is a force to be reckoned with – and it's not going down without a fight.
Every day, sustainability professionals are facing into this fight – and it can be combative. It's your job to convince everyone to do business that the world needs, to set the guardrails for growth and to translate the lived realities of social inequality and climate change into meaningful actions that can contribute, even in sometimes small and incremental ways, to broader a movement for change.
It's a values-led profession – which can mean that the job often feels deeply tied to your own sense of identity.
This can make it difficult to disentangle yourself from the performance and progress of your business. To see yourself deeply implicated and even complicit in metrics that are going in the wrong direction – and to chastise yourself for not being better at persuading others of the need for bolder ambition or more robust investment in the innovation pipeline that will secure your future license to operate.
It can also be lonely.
I’m not one for violins but it’s easy to feel like an outsider. To endure eye-rolls for not being commercially savvy enough. To face yet another piece of research that says consumers don’t really care about sustainability if the price isn’t right - and to wait for social tipping points that never seem to come.
Plans are either too idealistic and worthy – or they lack ambition and cut through. ‘Sustainability as competitive advantage’ has also played havoc with our ability to collaborate pre-competitively to drive meaningful change at scale.
Plans are either too idealistic and worthy – or they lack ambition and cut through.
A personal sense of responsibility for huge existential challenges – climate change, poverty, inequality – often leads to overwork and burnout.
Some might say this egocentric view is misplaced - but the cocktail of cortisol and adrenaline that fuels this boom-and-bust approach to driving change is prevalent across the impact sector.
The cocktail of cortisol and adrenaline that fuels this boom-and-bust approach to driving change is prevalent across the impact sector.
EdenLab’s research bears this out with over two thirds of respondents citing exhaustion, frustration, anxiety and disillusionment.
This sends an important signal about the need to share this responsibility more equitably – supporting and bolstering sustainability functions and creating the conditions for genuine business, social and environmental transformation.
There’s a lot to hold onto in this agenda.
But there are also a lot of incredibly talented and passionate people – both inside and beyond the profession – who are truly leaning in and helping to create new tools, maps and blueprints to re-imagine our shared future. Those who are no longer prepared to accept the status quo – and stand ready to challenge and go further to play their part.
So whether it’s joining and supporting communities and movements for change, finding and celebrating your allies, collaborating joyfully and generously, or sustaining your own energy and vitality for the journey ahead – we all have a role to play in making sustainability more sustainable.