When transforming a business to make it more sustainable, there are several roadblocks that can pop up along the way. The Harvard Business Review came up with a list of four different areas in which these roadblocks can show up, along with methods of getting past them.
1: Structure and Governance
Sustainability is often kept in its own department. This can lead to a disconnect between the sustainability department and the rest of the company. To solve this issue, some companies have combined their sustainability departments with other departments, while others have created teams of experts that support projects within all business units.
2: Processes and Metrics
Many companies are still using the same procedures and metrics that were set in a pre-sustainability era where all of the focus was on profit, not people or planet. Clear and accurate sustainability-specific metrics are needed for a successful business transformation.
3: Culture and Leadership
Most older organizations were formed before sustainability was considered important. This means that a cultural transformation is needed for a more sustainable future. This transformation can involve collaboration with customers, partners, and stakeholders to create solutions to complex problems, paired with concrete steps to enact those solutions.
4: Methods and Skills
Methods and tools designed for sustainability are new, and organizations are often behind on implementing them. Additionally, most employees are not very familiar with sustainability terminology and frameworks. Often, co-creation with partners can help companies transform their methods. Circular business models are a great example of this.
Seeing these roadblocks and having a plan to get past them can help businesses unleash their full potential and thrive in a sustainability transformation.
