How can you keep your team informed of the latest sustainability trends?

The initial step in keeping your team informed about sustainability trends is to establish clear and realistic goals for your team's performance and impact. These goals should align with your organization's vision, mission, and values, as well as the expectations of your stakeholders. Defining the parameters of sustainability for your team and establishing metrics for measurement helps the team concentrate on the most pertinent and actionable information.

Setting clear goals is foundational to keeping the team informed. Establishing performance and impact metrics aligned with organizational values focuses the team on actionable information. Clear goals act as guiding principles, ensuring that sustainability efforts are purposeful, measurable, and in line with the broader mission.

To keep your team on the cutting edge of sustainability, cultivate an environment where learning and dialogue are constant. We actively engage with seasoned experts deeply invested in sustainability, both professionally and personally, to share their profound insights. Additionally, we curate a selection of key resources—such as industry reports, newsletters, and case studies—ensuring our team has access to a diverse array of knowledge. This commitment not only enriches our understanding but also empowers us to integrate sustainable practices into our daily operations seamlessly.

As a SCM Sustainability Manager, I agree that setting clear and achievable goals is the first step in keeping your team informed about sustainability trends. These goals should not only reflect our company's vision and mission but also align with the expectations of our stakeholders. By precisely defining what sustainability means for our team and how we will measure it, we create a focused framework. This allows the team to concentrate on the most essential and actionable aspects of sustainability, enhancing our overall supply chain strategy. By continually monitoring and adjusting these goals, we ensure that our team stays informed and actively contributes to a more sustainable future.

It is important to establish ‘alternative thinking’ practice in the organization and within the team members applicable for the new or ongoing activities that can be possible through the constant feeding team with the updated sustainable trends in the industry. Any kind of communication channel or method can be used that works better for the team to get science-backed-up brief-style information translated into regular language, easily understandable for everyone. Overall, supporting the team to use ‘alternative, cross-cutting thinking’ as a behavior will increase interest and motivation in the team to become informed of the latest sustainability trends in their industry.

There are a lot of free resources available now on sustainability topics. These resources include weekly or monthly newsletters by law firms and news outlets, which summarize the latest regulatory developments, for example, by region. When I share articles with the team, I usually summarize them using lists and bullet points. They can quickly get up to date by skimming through my summaries even if they have only a limited amount of time. Reports are also a great source of information. I filter them first, however, based on their relevance to our organization, since there are so many of them. Then I summarize the main points. A webinar is often held to announce the release of these reports. I recommend attending some of those, too.

Drawing from my industry expertise, curating and sharing pertinent resources is essential. Leveraging AI and LinkedIn, tools like Feedly and Flipboard organize diverse content. Encouraging team members to contribute their findings fosters a shared knowledge pool. This dynamic approach ensures the team remains updated on the latest developments, fostering a culture of continuous learning and adaptability.

If you're having trouble curating relevant resources, hire help! This is a good task to delegate to an intern, who can put together weekly newsletters for the internal team to get briefed on the news from the industry.

It's really important to stay on top of developing news, especially in a fast-moving industry like sustainability. I regularly share articles and reports with my team, but I find that it's not just about me sharing information with them, it's about encouraging them to research it themselves. Tools like Trello really help with this and are vital in keeping everyone in your team informed about the latest developments within sustainability.

It's crucial to regularly share curated news, updates, and resources about sustainability with your team. This not only keeps sustainability at the forefront of people’s thoughts, but also inspires action. I'm a huge fan of radical collaboration, so naturally, involving the team in the curation process is something I believe is very important. This also helps foster a culture of sustainability within your organisation.

As sustainability is a fast-evolving field, I find that discussions and debates are especially important to find solutions to the inevitable difficulties and challenges. Remote teams often use video calls, but nothing beats a face-to-face meetings and workshops. Those coffee breaks and lunches between structured activities are often where the best ideas are born. In my experience, it's a good idea to facilitate or moderate these discussions. Most people are very passionate about sustainability, so debates can easily escalate in this field. It is important to know and respect discussion rules, especially for such a difficult and high-stake topic with several controversial issues. Oftentimes, it's so easy to get emotionally charged up...

Most people who work in sustainability spend a lot of time thinking about it, even outside of work. We talk to our friends and family about it. We read books and articles about it. Your team is an incredible wealth of knowledge. Tap into it. Even unstructured time for social conversation usually results in new ideas and new learning.

In my experience, facilitating discussions through platforms like Slack or Zoom sparks innovation. Creating channels for team members to exchange insights and feedback nurtures a collaborative environment. Regular meetings and workshops provide opportunities for in-depth exploration, ensuring the team remains engaged and proactive in addressing evolving sustainability challenges.

I am a strong advocate for cross-collaboration and the mutual exchange of knowledge within a team. I propose allocating a dedicated three hours per week for team members to actively share insights, including the latest developments in sustainability and practical experiences from client projects. This sharing shouldn't be confined to current affairs alone but extended to project experiences. Encouraging debates rather than passive learning is crucial in fostering a dynamic learning environment. Additionally, it's essential to emphasise key learning points and outline actionable steps that each team member can take after discussions to enhance their contributions in their respective roles.

As a SCM Sustainability Manager, fostering discussions and debates among team members is indeed a key strategy to stay updated on sustainability trends. Utilizing platforms like Slack, Teams, or Zoom to create dedicated channels or groups allows our team to exchange ideas, opinions, and feedback on relevant topics. This open forum encourages a vibrant exchange of perspectives, enriching our collective understanding. Additionally, organizing regular meetings or workshops where team members can present their findings, learn from each other, and brainstorm solutions to sustainability challenges is invaluable.

In the ever-evolving field of sustainability, promoting experimentation is pivotal. Encouraging the team to explore new approaches, tools, and collaborations fosters a culture of adaptability. Partnerships with external experts and cross-departmental collaboration offer diverse perspectives, contributing to a culture of continuous improvement and learning.

As a SCM Sustainability Manager, I advocate for hands-on experimentation in sustainability. Encouraging our team to try new methods and tools can significantly improve our sustainability efforts. Collaborating with other departments or external experts broadens our perspective and expertise. Through this practical approach, our team learns from successes and failures, uncovering new opportunities and fostering a culture of continuous improvement in sustainable practices.

Engaging in practical experimentation is one of the most effective ways for your team to learn about sustainability. Encourage your team to explore new approaches, methods, or tools that can enhance your team's sustainability performance and impact. Foster collaboration with other teams, departments, or external partners possessing expertise in sustainability. Through these experiments, your team can gain valuable insights from both successes and failures, unlocking new possibilities and opportunities for sustainable practices. This hands-on approach not only accelerates learning but also instills a culture of continuous improvement within your team.

Drawing from my professional journey, recognizing and rewarding efforts is a powerful motivator. Platforms like Kudos and Lattice provide tangible acknowledgment for contributions to sustainability. Showcasing success stories internally and externally enhances the team's morale and reinforces the value of staying informed and proactive in sustainability endeavors. Recognition inspires a sense of pride, encouraging sustained commitment to professional growth in the field.

As a SCM Sustainability Manager, I believe in the power of recognizing and rewarding our team's sustainability efforts. Using platforms like Kudos, Bonusly, or Lattice for positive feedback and rewards boosts morale and motivation. Showcasing our sustainability achievements to the company and clients also highlights the importance of our work. This approach encourages continuous learning and improvement in sustainability practices among our team members.

In addition to fostering a culture of continuous learning, it's essential to recognize and reward your team's efforts and achievements in sustainability. Utilize platforms like Kudos, Bonusly, or Lattice to provide positive feedback, recognition, and rewards for your team members' contributions to sustainability. Showcasing your team's sustainability stories and results to the broader organization and customers not only acknowledges their hard work but also highlights the positive impact of their efforts. This recognition serves as a powerful motivator, encouraging your team to persist in their pursuit of sustainability and inspiring further innovation and commitment.

The recognition award has lost its impact unless it stimulates the organization. If you are serious reward people with things they value. Leadership works wonders. I would send a team member home on their birthday to motivate the group. I would take a person out to lunch with my own money. We rewarded dinner cards for people who sacrificed family time. Lump sum payments of a percentage of financial impact shocked the corporation into overdrive. There is so much that can be done in this area to motivate your organization.

There's no better way to learn than by getting involved in a project that might be outside your job description. For example, I work in fundraising but was always part of the climate team. And if that team doesn't exist in your organisation or company start it up and encourage others to join. And don't be afraid to volunteer for something you are passionate about. I was encouraged to join a Board by a friend and have learned an enormous amount from taking the leap and committing to this work. Finally, if you are lucky enough to have volunteers in your workplace, spend time with them and learn as much as you can as to what motivates them to support in this special way.

It all starts by building awareness around the topic. And then encouraging knowledge sharing by establishing the appropriate platforms to communicate, brainstorm and discuss. People need to know what’s in it for them and what’s in it for the organization on the short end long run, why sustainability should be embraced, how it can be aligned to the strategy, what value it can bring to the table, how it should be implemented, how technology can help facilitate and accelerate the implementation.

Online Courses and Webinars - Encourage participation in relevant online learning. A department head offered incentives for completing sustainability courses, resulting in increased team expertise. Internal Sustainability Challenges - Organise competitions around sustainable practices. A creative director launched a 'green ideas' challenge, fostering a culture of innovation and environmental consciousness. Collaboration with NGOs - Partner with environmental organisations for workshops. A CSR manager facilitated these partnerships, offering hands-on experience in sustainability initiatives. Feedback and Idea Exchange Forums - Create platforms for sharing sustainability ideas and feedback.

Move the team outing from the escape room into hands on, engaging workshop moments. Think of creating glass coasters from recycled plastic, to a vegan cooking class to getting them tickets to a local sustainability related event where there are relevant key-note speakers invited. This way, the latest 'trends' are more impactful in the mind of a person, all while doing fun teambuilding activities.

YouTube influencers are a great place for stories. Mr Beast created 100 wells for water in drought areas. It embarrassed corporations because why didn't they do it? Video content is a paradigm shift that humanity has never seen. Stay tuned.