How to build a green mindset

Navigating the challenges

Knowing what the challenges are – and having some idea of how to address them – can help us overcome the obstacles.

1) Sustainability deprioritised

Superficially, there is often emphasis on sustainability, when in reality internal stakeholders, both senior and junior, see it as significantly less important than publicised. Driving change relies heavily on buy-in from the rest of the business.

What you can do:

• Frame sustainability as a business imperative, rather than an ethical one. Highlight business-specific risks and opportunities – for example, what value of contracts are at risk if commitments such as net zero aren’t progressed? Is there an opportunity to sell products or services to new markets that have sustainable procurement requirements?
• Embed sustainability into existing priorities such as tying it to cost-saving projects like energy efficiency or waste reduction.
• Show how sustainability supports business goals by meeting customer, investor or target market requirements.
• Build relationships with leaders throughout the organisation who can help champion and shape the relevance of your ideas.
  
  

2) Cultural resistance

People resist because sustainability feels like extra work or conflicts with the status quo.

What you can do:

• Accept that influencing corporate culture to bring about organisational change can take a long time.
• Understand your organisation’s culture. Does it work collaboratively or from the top down? Recognising this can help you frame your case and find sustainability champions.
• Don’t just find the ideas people, find the ‘doers’. Creating green teams or hosting brainstorming sessions is great for generating ideas, sharing successes and building momentum, but it can mean the sustainability professional is left to implement the ideas. Developing relationships with the doers can save your sanity; they know how to get things done within the business.
• Start with small wins and keep them business-relevant: for example, if your business specialises in making products, can you reduce wastage or find a new market for waste products?
  
  

3) Developing sustainability knowledge

We know that sustainability is cross-cutting, but your colleagues may consider it irrelevant to their role.

What you can do:

• Listen. Find out what their job is like, what their priorities and objectives are. Are they passionate about their role or is it just a job?
• Educate. Host workshops, share simple guides and use relatable examples to connect sustainability to their roles. We are systems thinkers, which can help us see opportunities where others can’t.
• Keep it simple. While many aspects of sustainability are complex, implementing sustainable actions
  and processes doesn’t have to be. When sharing knowledge, focus on what the colleague needs to know to achieve the goals.
  
  

4) Inadequate measurement and reporting

Measuring sustainability progress can feel daunting, especially in organisations that are new to the journey.

What you can do:

• Focus on key metrics. Work with colleagues to determine metrics that align with existing goals or commitments, are easy to measure and can tell a story.
• Delegate. Is there already a role that is better placed to collect and monitor the data? If you’re having to chase data, you won’t have time to do the rest of your job.
• Communicate what the data is used for and how it will be used effectively.

If you stay focused on business-relevant (i.e., material) initiatives, you will see momentum build over a relatively short space of time. And that’s a legacy worth building.

Core elements to consider

Embedding sustainability in your organisation requires focusing on a few core elements that drive organisational change. Keep in mind:

Decision-making points

Sustainability should shape how your organisation makes decisions. That means considering environmental and social impacts in every choice and making reporting and discussion of sustainability ‘normal’.

• Advocate for sustainability representation in leadership meetings or strategy discussions. This can be a champion – it does not have to be you!
• Integrate sustainability into existing processes such as risk assessment templates or procurement policies.

Budgeting

• Have budget conversations before big decisions are made. Get support from multiple decision-makers and don’t underestimate the importance of a well-prepared business case.
• Be creative. Look for low-cost initiatives, ways to spread the cost or share resources between teams or even across different companies.

Roles and responsibilities

We know that sustainability is everyone’s job but that isn’t the prevailing attitude.

• Advocate for clear accountability. Senior leaders should own sustainability goals, and every department should understand its role in achieving them.
• Collaborate. Work with the HR department to incorporate sustainability into annual objectives or with Operations to reduce resource use.
• Empower employees. Provide training and recognise contributions to build a sense of ownership.

Employee engagement

Engagement is crucial. You will often be the bridge between ideas and action.

• Use storytelling and share compelling examples of how sustainability makes a difference.
• Create opportunities for involvement by inviting teams or individuals to drive their own sustainability projects.
• Celebrate achievements and make sustainability feel rewarding.
  
  

Final thoughts

There is a need for urgent action, but most of our time in the private sector is spent with people who don’t have that knowledge. This can be difficult to embrace but it is not insurmountable. Here are four practical takeaways:

Accept your limitations and use your influence: You may not have budgetary or operational authority over the elements that need to change – but you can influence the people who do.

Seek mentors and allies: Use IEMA – this network of professionals can help with knowledge sharing. Use your internal allies to scale your impact.

Be resilient: Celebrate small victories, learn from challenges, and keep pushing forward. Be aware that what didn’t work a few years ago might work now thanks to a changing business landscape.

Keep learning: Sustainability is evolving rapidly. Stay curious, seek out training, and build your expertise. But don’t let the sheer volume of information and the evolving standards be a burden to progress – simplification is key. 

Emma Knight-Strong FIEMA CEnv is the founder of Green Arch Consulting