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How to use design thinking to achieve sustainability goals
Implementing sustainability programs is notoriously difficult. Here’s how to use a stakeholder-centered design-thinking approach to boost the chances of successful implementation.
Phase 1: Prepare
The first phase focuses on securing buy-in from employees by crafting a compelling change story that explains the reasons and benefits and supports the sustainability journey by “talking the walk.” Early adopters, or front-runners, are essential to testing and sharing success stories, helping build momentum.
Phase 2: Train
In this phase, employees actively engage in learning and practicing new processes and behaviors by upskilling at scale. Whether it’s mastering new tools, adopting new processes, or collaborating with partners, the goal is to equip the workforce to realize the big changes.
Phase 3: Master
The final phase is about realizing the benefits of change. Processes, partners, and employees need time to adapt, and benefits from sustainability strategies typically take time to materialize. Continuous evaluation, celebration of wins, and ongoing improvements all contribute to ensuring long-term success.
Three common pitfalls
Pitfall 1: Underestimating the learning effort required
Many organizations fail to grasp the time, effort, and resources needed to implement sustainability strategies successfully.
Remedy
- Break the change process down into three phases: prepare, train, and master.
- Develop an ambitious yet achievable timeline.
- Formulate the change story (the “walk”).
- Implement a right-size program for upskilling at scale.
Pitfall 2: Poor problem definition
Without a clearly articulated and validated problem statement, sustainability solutions will likely miss the mark.
Remedy
- Double-check your problem definition with the case data and materiality assessment.
- Check your change story with early adopters.
- Collect impact data on your products and services.
Pitfall 3: Lack of stakeholder involvement
Too often, key stakeholders (employees, customers, and partners) are insufficiently involved in the ongoing planning and execution process.
Remedy
- Engage early, engage continuously.
- Look out for required iterations.
- Communicate frequently to ensure transparency.
- Make your messaging easy to digest.
- Recognize stakeholders’ contributions.
- Bring different stakeholder types together to develop and test ambitions and actions.
Key learning
By designing the implementation of sustainability strategies according to three phases – prepare, train, and master – organizations can better guide their employees and partners through a structured and supportive journey of change.
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