How to champion sustainability through your work – without being a sustainability expert

I've lost count of the number of times people have told me they want to re-train to get a job "in sustainability" so that their work can be a force for good in the world.

Re-training is certainly a route into working on sustainability in your professional life, but it isn't necessary!

The reason is simple: we need to advance sustainability in businesses, public service, nonprofits, education, finance, law, marketing, tourism and everywhere else. Sustainability experts have expertise in sustainability, but the majority don't have experience, knowledge and influence in these areas - unlike professionals with established careers in these fields. 

If you care about the climate and nature crises, and social evils like poverty and inequality, your existing skills and experience can be applied to make a real difference, even when sustainability isn't in your job title and you are not an expert in it.

Tried championing sustainability at work?

But maybe you've tried talking with senior managers, your colleagues, clients or suppliers about the importance of tackling sustainability, and been rebuffed or not made as much progress as you'd like.

Or maybe you've held back because you aren't sure of your facts, or you're worried about being dismissed as a 'tree hugger' or coming up against a climate denier.

Whatever the reason, caring about the state of the world but believing you need some kind of sustainability ninja skills to make a difference can leave you feeling lost, overwhelmed and powerless.

When you're lost, you need a map to work out where you are and to plan your journey to where you want to be. With a map and a plan, you feel positive and empowered.

It's the same with championing sustainability, but in this case your map is understanding how change happens – and your journey plan is working out how to apply your existing skills and experience to tackle the sustainability issues that you care about. 

At heart, sustainability is simple 

Sustainability can seem mindbogglingly complex with solutions ranging from new technologies to better financial systems, laws and international agreements. But at its heart sustainability is very simple, it is about more people, doing more things that enhance, rather than erode, the well-being of people and nature.

Doing things differently spans the spectrum from making different transport and food choices, through implementing sustainability projects and plans, to fundamentally changing organisational priorities or enacting new laws. 

To create a sustainable world, we need more people like you motivating groups to work together to do things differently, at whatever level you are best able to influence and create change. Together we become part of a wider sustainability movement working together for good.

So how does change happen?

There are two ways in which changes spread through groups - the 'Ripple Effect' and the 'Cascade Effect'. 

The Ripple Effect is when new values, beliefs and ultimately behaviours, are shared within a group and then spread as they are taken up by other group members. As we all belong to overlapping groups, these changes can potentially spread to other groups and across organisations or society – like ripples spreading out from a stone dropped into a lake.

The Cascade Effect is when new policies, procedures, rules, technologies, infrastructure, etc. that affect multiple groups make sustainable behaviours easier and unsustainable behaviours more difficult - practically or financially. In response, new behaviours cascade across groups, departments, organisations and sectors, like a river cutting a new channel after a flood.

Find out more about the ripples and cascade effect, and how change happens in this video.

Planning your sustainability journey

Start by asking yourself what sustainability issues you care most about, and identifying the areas where your organisation has most impact. Then explore which of these issues you have some influence and control over in your professional life.

If you keep your attention on high profile, attention-grabbing sustainability issues where you have no influence (rainforest destruction perhaps?) it saps your energy leaving you despairing and dis-empowered.

To feel empowered to take action, you need to focus where you have control and influence. (If however you work for a company that sources products from the rainforest, you might well have some influence and control on this!)

Use this matrix to work out where you can best focus your time and energy:

Choose one issue to focus on where you can make most difference right now. The matrix will also help you work out where you should be seeking allies and partners, and the areas where you have control or influence that you might want to research to better understand their relevance to sustainability. 

Find out more

Webinar Thursday 15th September at 12.30 

Join us for 'How to create change for sustainability through your work – even when it's not in your job description'. Sign up here.