Becoming a Sustainable Organization's Global Impact

My book, Becoming a Sustainable Organization, is a primer on embedding sustainability and corporate social responsibility into an organization's culture by leveraging human capital management professionals and project management professionals. While the world of creating and maintaining a regenerative organization is constantly evolving, the tools, techniques, case studies, and best practices outlined in the book provide a strong foundation for those undertaking these challenges.

I am very pleased to share that globally, many academic researchers have used my work to support their own research on creating a more sustainable and socially responsible organization. Here is an excerpt of some of the research citing my book. Further citations can be found at Google Scholar.

Framework for Creating a Culture of Sustainability

In my book, Becoming a Sustainable Organization-A Project and Portfolio Management Approach, I discuss many tools and techniques for baking sustainability and social responsibility into an organization's cultural foundation. An impactful tools is the Framework for Sustainable Culture Change Management found in Chapter 11, which is entitled Adopting a Culture of Change to Unlock the Benefits of Sustainable Strategy.

One of the most important areas is addressing why an organization's sustainability strategy is important to both internal and external stakeholders. A key starting point is asking, "What does sustainability mean to our customers, employees, and community?" The answers to this question begin the help form a plan for action as well as a list of priorities.

As part of the planning process, it is important to engage with leadership and to create alliances with C-suite influencers. Once the plan has been adopted, drive the change management process using ongoing C-suite engagement, recruiting senior level sustainability champions, identifying key organizational influencers, and empowering teams to select initiatives and implement change. Creating an effective communication plan supports the process including clear messaging around sustainability goals. Aligning performance metrics and incentives with these goals reinforces leadership's commitment. Ensuring that status updates are reporting both failures and achievements gives a more authentic and actionable outcome. Often the most important lessons are learned from failures. Promoting a culture where it is safe to fail creates an environment that supports innovation and change. Sharing results, adopting best practices, and revising plans as needed moves a an organization toward success.  Encouraging feedback from all levels of the organization as well as key external stakeholders promotes engagement and provides meaningful input.

In the following table, I provide a provide a framework to guide this change management process as well as highlight key best practices for success.


( Source: Kohl, Kristina, Becoming a Sustainable Organization, Boca Raton, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC, 2016)

While a plan facilitates the process, it is important to not underestimate the the time, resources, and commitment that will be needed to drive change in people, processes, and policies. Understanding that there will be resistance and anticipating risks by identifying and incorporating them into the planning process helps to ensure success. In the change process, it is also crucial to take an appreciative approach asking what is working and how can a successful project or pilot be scaled effectively across the organization.

Best wishes for your sustainability journey!