Many sustainability programs struggle because they are developed or integrated in ways that miss important organizational dimensions. Participants will learn how to incorporate four key pillars of success for lasting, sustainable change: leadership, strategy, communication and global-context. This cross-functional team of expert practitioners and faculty will provide insights on how to: Create and identify sustainability strategies that promote broad organizational success through an effective suite of actions. Apply global sustainability principles to your specific organizational context by integrating your organization's own perspective through a lens of sustainability with a global-context. Employ leadership competencies and behaviors that are critical to leading lasting, transformational change. Communicate effectively about sustainability with key stakeholders and audiences.

1. Welcome to:
Driving Organizational Success
through Sustainability Leadership
Dr. George Basile Bruno Sarda Park Howell Dr. Kevin Gazzara

2. • Apply sustainability using a global-context lensGlobal Context
• Develop sustainability strategies for successStrategy
• Identify leadership practices for sustained
transformationLeadership
• Create effective sustainability communicationsCommunication

3. Sustainability as
Strategy
Who
Cares?
Status Quo to
Sustainability
Your Unique
Leadership
Skills
Initiate and
Sustain Change
Today’s workshop

4. Two breaks: Approx. 10:00AM and 11:15AM
30-minute chunks: 20 min content + 10 min activity
Turn devices to silent
Chatham-house rules
Slides can be shared afterwards
Have fun!
Housekeeping

5. Reframing Sustainability
as a Strategic Opportunity

6. Congress Big Business SME
Multi-Natl Other

7. Rockstrom. Et al. Nature
Sustainability as a Problem…

8. Sustainability as Decision Challenge:
You are in charge!

9. Reframing Sustainability for Success

10. New Frame: Sustainability as a Success
Lens…
Better
Decision
s &
Outcom
es
Growth &
Adaptation
Leadership
&
Success…
Being energized by a changing
and expanded reality.
Opportunity
&
Innovation

11. Case for Sustainability
Drive business
growth
1 Enhance brand and
reputation
3Mitigate risk and
ensure continuity
2

12. Drive business
growth
Build brand value
and enhance
reputation
Mitigate risk and
ensure business
continuity
Examples:
§License to operate
§New markets
§Hidden costs
§Unmanaged risks
1 2 3
§Employee engagement, talent acquisition/retention
§Brand equity, reputation
§competitive differentiation/parity
§Customer requirements & standards
§Company culture & values
Case for Sustainability

13. Knowing Your Audiences
and What They Care
About

14. The Story Cycle

15. Alarmed Concerned Cautious
Disengaged Doubtful Dismissive
Know Thy Audience

17. Stakeholder Prioritization Mapping

18. Moving From Status
Quo Into Sustainability

19. So if this is what we want, how do we get it?
The sustainability context is broad, inside an even
broader global context. How do organizations
decide what to believe, what to say, what to do?
Drive business 1 Enhance
brand
3Mitigate
risk
2

20. There are two basic dimensions that guide us:
Does this always lead to focus on most material issues?
Internal External

21. “Materiality is like packing a backpack for a hike:
you can only bring the supplies that are absolutely
critical, otherwise the weight will slow you down and
eventually bring you to your knees.”
Gary Niekerk
Director, Global Citizenship
Intel Corporation
Source: Redefining Materiality II: Why it matters, who’s involved and what it means for corporate leaders and boards, AccountAbility, 2013.

23. Sustainability goals and activities need to align to business strategy and performance
metrics. Sustainability success cannot be separate from organizational success.
Source: The Materiality Report: Aligning Strategy, Performance, and Reporting, AccountAbility, 2006.

25. Motivation
Capability
Underachieve
Over Promise

26. Sustainability Motivation
Tier 1 Compliance focused
SustainabilityAmbition
Tier 2 Eco-efficiency beyond compliance
Tier 3 Sustainability integrated into core strategy
Tier 4 Organizing to change society

27. Being Strategic: A Systems Approach
Principles for Success
defining success in the system
Systems & Science
A way to understand the world
Strategic Principles
for achieving success
Actions
initiatives on several fronts
Tools
implementation and assessment

28. Principles for Success
System
Strategic Principles
Actions
Tools
Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 3 Tier 4
Immediate bounds
of business
Supply web and life
cycle
Global systems
relevant to biz
Global systems
relevant to society
Growth and profit Growth, profit,
optimal efficiency
Sustainable growth
and profit via
sustainability
Reshaping society
so sust biz is an
advantage
Classic business
strats
Classic plus life
cycle perspective
Classic plus
sustainability as
core strategic lens
Sustainability req’s
as lens for strategy
Business
management
actions
Business
management and
resource
management
Sustainability as a
management
paradigm
Beyond bounds of
business
Classic accounting,
biz case, market
analysis, etc.
Classic plus LCA,
WRI CO2 EMS,
DFE, GRI, E-Goals,
LEED
SMS, personal sust
plans, NC,
Integrated sust
planning, C2C..
Lobbying, civic
engagement, public
campaigns…
How?

29. Your Business
Principles for Success
defining success in the system
Systems
A way to understand your world
Strategic Principles
for achieving success
Actions
initiatives on several fronts
Tools
implementation and assessment

30. Tier ?
Action
Why
How
Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 3 Tier 4
Exercise: What Tier isYour Biz?

31. Taping Your Unique
Sustainability Leadership
Skills

32. Why you do what you do

33. Cartman’s storytelling secret

34. The And, But & Therefore

35. Sustainability issues are growing in awareness, and
positions taken by the new administration of denying
the science is underscoring its urgency to many,
but our messages are often clouded by jargon and have
difficulty cutting through the clutter of today’s attention
economy.
Therefore, the ancient power of storytelling remains the
purest way to connect with audiences and move people
to action by tapping the mind’s quest for survival.

36. And, But, Therefore

37. Source: Jim Collins – Good to Great 2001

38. Source: The Sustainability Leadership Institute 2013
Models
Source: The Sustainable
Operations Western Collective
2010

39. Source: BSR Report on Leadership 2013

40. 2015
What Leaders Need to Develop
Source: The 2015 Global Leadership Development Study

41. On a regular basis I consistently:
1= none of the time 2 = some of the time 3= half of the time 4 = most of the time 5= all of the time
3
5
1
4
5
2
1
4
1
5
4
2
5
3
1
3
2
1
3
2
4
3
3
4
Based on - Bennis, W. and Goldsmith, J. - Learning to Lead. Reading, MA. Perseus Books
Are You More of a Manager or a Leader?

42. Question Question Rating M L
1 Administer tasks or activities for or with my staff or co-workers.
2 Investigate opportunities for my organization.
3 Maintain elements that contribute to the current work environment.
4 Asks questions of my staff or co-workers to determine the “what and why” of proposals and
projects.
5 Accept the status quo during good and bad times.
6 Focus on the people in the organization more than the work itself.
7 Retain a short-term view to ensure tasks are completed.
8 Am considered as an original thinker.
9 Do things the right way.
10 Focus on the horizon rather than being distracted by items within immediate sight.
11 Am considered by management a person that does what is asked of them without question.
12 Am considered my own person and authentic.
13 Focus on the bottom line for my organization and the company.
14 Take a long-term view beyond what is necessary for immediate business needs.
15 Accept projects or activities requested of me and /or my organization.
16 Provide or insight innovative new ideas.
17 Rely on my ability to control the environment for organizational success.
18 Inspire trust in me from my team and others in the organization.
19 Ask the questions of “how and when” of my staff or co-workers regarding projects and
deliverables.
20 Develop my organization, coworkers and/or projects.
21 Copy or replicate outside best practices, processes or systems for my organization to use.
22 Challenge the Status Quo regardless of impact to myself, if it is in the best interest of my
organization or for the company.
23 Focus on organizational systems & structure.
24 Make decisions to do the right things.
Totals
On a regular basis I consistently:
1= none of the time 2 = some of the time 3= half of the time 4 = most of the time 5= all of the time
33
55
1
4
5
2
1
4
1
5
4
2
5
3
1
3
2
1
3
2
4
3
3
4
3
1
3
2
1
3
2
4
3
3
4
1
4
5
2
1
4
1
5
4
2
5
37 34
Based on - Bennis, W. and Goldsmith, J. - Learning to Lead. Reading, MA. Perseus Books
Are You More of a Manager or a Leader?
Red (odd #s) = Management Black (even #s) = Leadership
Red (odd #s) = Management
Black (even #s) = Leadership

43. How to Initiate
and Sustain Change
Within the Organization

44. You’re ready to take on the challenge.
Now What?

45. Inside Outside Strategy

46. • Rare to get all that you need to get going – so don’t let that stop you.
‘Fake it till you make it!’
• Bootstrap early efforts until you earn right to scale
• Be creative to generate support, attention and pressures to act
• Those who will help you will do it because they want to, not have to
• Finding and nurturing engaged employees is key to early traction
Helpful Tips

47. Sustainability
as a Success
Engine…
Aha!
New Perspective
Permission
Creativity

48. Business Goals & Drivers
Operations Product ExternalSupply Chain
• Global energy efficiency
• Paper reduction
• Green power
• Green purchasing
• Greener facilities
• Global water
• Employee incentives
• Internal comms
• Packaging
• Energy efficiency
• Green contest
• Solar roadmap
• Design for Env
• Eco training
• External comm’s
• Govt engagement
• Green build demo
• Trade sponsorship
• Tradeshow offsets
• Policy leadership
• Green fleet
• Green purchasing
• Key Components
• Sector leadership
• Eco guidelines
Sustainability Vision | Goals | Strategy | Success
CEO Aha!
Slide

50. Demetri Martin

51. Heading toward sustainability principles & organizational goals?
Creating a flexible platform?
Can garner required resources or sufficient ROI?
Become a Muddle Expert: Accountability Matrix

52. Barriers
Carriers
Action
Exercise
Action?
1 to 3 Barriers
1 to 3 Carriers

53. Exercise
Action(s)
Barriers
Carriers

54. Bringing Meaning to
your Sustainability
Initiative

56. Communication
CreativeAuthentic
Stewardship
Cultural Visionary
Competent Reinforcement
Confident Empowerment
Organizational
Performance
Business
Results
Leadership Practices

60. Thank You for Attending Today’s Workshop
• Dr. George Basile - george.basile@asu.edu
• Bruno Sarda - bruno.sarda@asu.edu
• Park Howell - park.howell@asu.edu
• Dr. Kevin Gazzara - kevin.gazzara@asu.edu
• Jennifer Griffin – EMSL information jennifer.l.griffin@asu.edu