How should companies with fragmented sustainability efforts proceed?

I recently attended a conference with the environmental managers of large firms. There was substantial discussion about the fragmentation of sustainability efforts within their companies. Some companies had a comprehensive top down vision and coordination of sustainability efforts, but many did not. How should companies with fragmented sustainability efforts move forward?

Sustainability at any company typically involves an “environmental champion” – a leader who “gets” the concept of sustainability, and is willing to put in the effort to move it forward within the company. It might be the CEO or CFO, but it could also be a division manager, plant manager, environmental manager, or marketing manager. Depending on the individual’s position and influence, the effort might become a corporate-level initiative or it might have more limited local impact.

The implementation of sustainability is very similar to the implementation of quality control initiatives in the ‘70’s and ‘80’s. Many of the ideas for quality improvement came from the bottom up and were tactical in nature. The most successful programs, however, required a top down vision, planning, and coordination. They also required a recognition that the needs of customers and the impact of the supply chain needed to be taken into consideration for maximum effect.

The same holds true for sustainability. This does NOT, however, mean that top down coordination must exist from the very beginning at the very top of the organization. In companies that have initiated some lower-level activities, an intermediate step might be to plan and coordinate sustainability efforts within a plant, a division, or in a functional area across the company (e.g. maintenance, environmental management, purchasing.) The scope and scale of the coordination depend on the influence and involvement of the “environmental champion.” Over time, such bottom up coordination efforts might lead to a sustainability plan that is driven from the very top of the corporation.