Issue:   Creating Organisational buy-in for sustainability

Situation:  Sustainability was considered peripheral to this multinational packaging company.  It was  considered the purview of a specialist group in headquarters, and not a part of daily business.  As a result, the organisation was not speaking with one voice, issues were managed post-hoc, and the relatively good sustainability performance was not used to differentiate and grow the business.

Solution:  Leverage good sustainability position by creating common understanding of the value of sustainability to the business.  Trained environmental, communications and commercial teams; developed and delivered interactive show for top 800 managers which highlighted competitive advantages, trends, and need for investment; and increased visibility of sustainability initiatives.  Created optimistic, humorous, and engaging formats that were sufficiently instructive to generate action.

Result:  

• Positive internal and external reputation; 
• sustainability now part of core strategy;
• all countries have senior-level responsibles for environment/sustainability; 
• development and agreement of ambitious goals and vision; 
• partnerships with environmental groups.

Another example of a Sustainability Business Strategy can be found here.