Why I Have Stopped Pitching the Business Case for Sustainability

WHY I’VE STOPPED PITCHING THE
BUSINESS CASE FOR
SUSTAINABILITY

SSC Blog

Why I’ve Stopped Pitching the
Business Case for Sustainability

One of the most frequent questions
that I get when I talk to people about
my job as a sustainability consultant is
this: How can I convince [my boss, my
company, my crazy aunt, etc.] that
sustainability makes good business
sense?
There is an overwhelming amount of
evidence that sustainability can drive
innovation, save money, improve
employee morale, and create
competitive advantage. There are
oodles of reports, case studies, and
company executives proclaiming from
the rooftop that sustainability is good
for business.

www.sustainabilityconsulting.com
Copyright © 2012, Strategic Sustainability Consulting. All rights reserved.

Why I’ve Stopped Pitching the
Business Case for Sustainability

Now, there are a lot of ideas about
how to most effectively make the
business case for sustainability and
why businesses should care. I won’t
go into them here. What I want to talk
about is why I’ve stopped making the
business case.
Yup. I refuse to do it. Here’s why:


It Doesn’t Work

Unless you’ve been hiding in under a rock, you can’t have escaped all the
press around sustainability success stories. That means when you draw me
into a conversation about the business case for sustainability, you probably
have an agenda. You want to argue, or debate politics, or just want to be
disagreeable.


It Doesn’t Work

If you are a sustainability skeptic,
chances are there is absolutely no way
to convince you that sustainability
makes good business sense. In fact,
the more evidence I put in front of you,
the more you will resist the truth. (This
is a brilliant link. Go read it. I’ll wait.)

Frankly, I have enough frustration in
my life without engaging in pointless
debate. Let me instead politely refer
you to any of the hundreds of excellent
resources and be on my way.


It Doesn’t Work

OK, I can admit that my position
may be a little harsh. Certainly not
everyone who asks me about the
business case is intentionally being
an ass. There is occasionally the
honest and open-minded inquiry
about whether there is a solid
business case for an organization’s
pursuit of sustainability.

In cases like this, do I change my tune? Instead of booting this person to
the curb, do I have a refreshing discussion in which we both walk away
better people?
No, I do not.

You See, It’s a Waste of My Time

First, there are more than a dozen
places I can point you that will do a Second, every minute that I spend
much more eloquent job of explaining convincing you that sustainability is
the business case for sustainability something you should take seriously
than I can. These resources have is a minute that I can’t spend helping
references, footnotes, and quotations someone actually figure out how to
from business icons that will do more implement sustainability into their
to inspire you than anything I can business.
come up with on the spot.



I like to tell people that I work on the
how of sustainability, not the why. If
you need the why, do a quick search
on Google. Read any of Bob Willard’s
books. Take an Intro to Sustainability
class at your local university. It’s not
rocket science, I promise.
What’s more challenging, and
therefore more interesting to me, is
how to take the broad benefits of
sustainability and apply them directly
to your organization. That’s where my
skills and experience come into play—
that’s how I want to spend my time.



I’m not saying that we should forget
about the business case for
sustainability. I just wish that
sustainability experts would just skip
ahead to the good stuff. By continually
spending time rehashing the same
fundamental basics, we are hobbling
ourselves.
It’s the same problem as explaining
and re-explaining the evidence for
man-made climate change (which I’ve
written about before). It’s a waste of
time—at some point we need to push
the doubters to the side and just get
on with the business of climate
change adaptation and mitigation.



Can we all just agree that—when it comes to the business case
for sustainability—the evidence has been presented, a
judgment has been rendered, and we can all move on with our
lives? There is too much work on our plates to get stalled now.


Read this blog and more by visiting the SSC website
today:
Strategic Sustainability Consulting Blog

What are your thoughts? Join the
conversation on twitter @jenniferwoofter!

Why I Have Stopped Pitching the Business Case for Sustainability

Recomendados

Recomendados

Mais conteúdo relacionado

Último

Último (20)

Destaque

Destaque (20)

Why I Have Stopped Pitching the Business Case for Sustainability