What do you do if your sustainability efforts are not driving innovation and change?

If your sustainability efforts are not driving innovation and change, it may be helpful to reassess and strategize. Evaluate your current sustainability initiatives and their impact. Identify areas where innovation and change are lacking. Assess the alignment of sustainability goals with overall business objectives. Seek input from key stakeholders, including employees, customers, suppliers, and investors. Encourage open communication to identify potential gaps or areas for improvement. Research and benchmark your sustainability efforts against industry leaders. Establish clear and measurable sustainability goals that align with your organization's mission and values.

Actively seek feedback from key stakeholders, including employees, customers, suppliers, investors, and community members, to gain insights into the effectiveness of your sustainability efforts. Organize focus groups, surveys, interviews, or workshops to gather diverse perspectives on the perceived strengths and weaknesses of your sustainability initiatives.

Most often, inadequate resources, lack of leadership support, or outdated processes hinder innovation and change. It is advisable to continuously monitor resources and processes.

Since sustainability requires a new way of doing business, mental transformation also brings resistance to change. Businesses can manage this change process with Kotter's 8-step change management method.

Provide training and education programs to increase awareness of sustainability goals. Empower employees to contribute ideas and innovations that support sustainability efforts.

Break down silos within your organization by facilitating collaboration between different departments and teams. Encourage cross-functional working groups or task forces dedicated to exploring sustainability opportunities, identifying innovative solutions, and driving change across the organization.

Cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset within your organization by encouraging employees to think creatively, take calculated risks, and seize opportunities to drive sustainability innovation. Empower individuals and teams to pursue entrepreneurial ventures within the company, whether through intrapreneurship initiatives, innovation labs, or incubator programs focused on sustainability.

Share success stories and lessons learned to inspire internal and external stakeholders. Be willing to adapt your sustainability strategy based on feedback and changing circumstances. Continuously iterate and improve your initiatives to drive ongoing innovation.

If it is a case of "failing quickly", the route could be steered in a different direction swiftly. There is great value in learning from failure, but first it needs to be recognised as such. In any case, an internal analysis should be made to identify cohesion between all areas within the organisation. Is everyone sharing the same vision, and acting beyond statements? Is the company strategy and actions aligned? Is there the necessary investment? Is the right people involved? Are expectations realistic? And, who is the company benchmarking its success against? Change velocity might be overwhelming for some, whistl organisations need to remain nimble, rushing or cutting corners in strategic planning rarely bear fruits.

It's essential to collaborate and learn from companies that have successfully integrated sustainability into their agenda. One effective strategy is to organize a company-wide lunch and learn session where ideas can be shared and experiences evaluated. By bringing together employees from various departments, perspectives can be exchange, and innovative solutions can emerge, that would drive change in the long-term.

Highlight innovative solutions, showcase case studies, and demonstrate the positive impact of sustainability initiatives on the organization and its stakeholders.

At craigberoch.org we say, that most of the above (on tool, process, skill i.e. Doing level) - are abundant in most organisations. and if not, its available online or well catered for by the service industry. We believe that the biggest lever to overproportionally improve sustainable innovation is reinvigorating essential human qualities, that almost all of us underutilise. Artistry/Creativity; Nurture (deep instrospection and self-awareness/care); Community (deeply trusted, collaborative tribes); Nature (sense of belonging and connection to this earth and all its ecosystems)... // Another impactful aspect in our work is cross sector collaboration on SDG impact topics. bringing Biz, NGO, Gov, Individuals, Finance, together.