The Significance Of Proper Presentation Of Sustainability-Related Projects Or Strategies

Author Bob Willard tells the story in his book, The Sustainability Advantage, of when he worked at IBM. He writes that he spent six months drafting a letter to the then CEO, Lou Gerstner, asking him to embed sustainability into IBM ’s business strategy. His let-ter included phrases such as ‘business will play a vital role in the health of our planet’ and ‘funding research on causes of environ-mental issues. ’ When written, in 1997, the letter was treated as a phil-anthropic request and directed to the corporate community affairs director. Thinking back, Bob says that his original letter should have said ‘Dear Lou: I have some thoughts on how IBM could increase its profit by 38%. Interested? Yours truly. . . ’5‘That all sounds nice but. . . ’ is a familiar phrase to sustainability champions. In fact, it seems to be much easier for people to come up with excuses and reasons for why not, than to try new things, even if they think that it may make sense. Proper presentation of sustaina-bility-related projects and strategies is crucial in gathering initial and continued support. To do so, consider the following advice:

1. Be informed. Collect all the information you can about what is happening in your own company, in other companies (not just your competitors), work being done by NGOs, and current issues relating to the work you want to do. If you know what you are talking about, it will make answering questions and getting peo-ple on board a lot easier.
2. Create a coalition. Engage other people who share your view-point or who are also interested. Focus on getting key people on board who can really help move these issues forward.
3. Pick your moment carefully. Different individuals, teams, departments, or whole companies will be ready at different times to put some of these tools into action. Focus on doing things right the first time, rather than finding a quick fix.
4. Package that information appropriately. People react to information in different ways, so knowing what kind of informa-tion to present to a specific decision-making person is key. An HR manager will be interested in employee motivation and hir-ing better people, while a CEO will be interested in reputation, brand, and financial impact.
5. Choose who will give the information. Whether rightly or wrongly, people tend to believe information when it comes from What does this Mean for Business? For example, many are skeptical when NGOs tell business what they should do, as they are seen as outsiders. Find the right people to present the information, people who are well respected in the organization – even the converted skeptic – and you can make your case more compelling.
6. Think of the reasons why not. In bringing these issues to your team or your organization, make sure you think carefully about the objections your company might raise to doing this. Consider the different perspectives around the table, the roles they play in the organization, their backgrounds and personali-ties, and you can gain critical understanding of why people may be unwilling to move on certain issues, as well as ideas on how your interests could converge.
7. Make a strong case. Have a strong case for why people should be interested in moving forward on these ideas. Make sure you outline all the potential benefi ts, both the direct ones and the indirect ones. Just as important, describe what would happen if the organization doesn’t move forward, such as missed opportu-nities or negative PR.
8. Offer a vision. Offer a vision of where you want to go in the short, medium, and long term, and concrete ideas on how to get there. Use stories, pictures, and videos along with hard facts to make your case. Build excitement about being part of something bigger. Think big.
9. Present the underlying problem rather than your solution. Don’t just show up at your team meeting proposing your solu-tion. Instead, discuss the original problem that needs solving. This helps an organization or team gather around an issue and work together to solve it.
10. If calling it Sustainability or CSR won’t work, then don’t. In marketing, a product is often more successful if it’s marketed as high-performing rather than solely as an environmentally or socially friendly product. In this same way, if a business is skeptical of sus-tainability, present it as what it is, good business sense, as ways to cut costs, generate revenue, and make production more efficient.
11. Make it straightforward. Where possible, integrate new thinking and requirement into existing processes, which enables others to more easily revise their thinking about existing company resources. Make it easy and straightforward for people to start. Link projects to the company’s ambitions, values, culture, and history.
12. Be patient. Even though you may be ready, for others this may represent a change in mindset and it will take them longer to come on board.