get the boss on board with sustainability _ ethical corporation

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6/1/13 Get the boss on board with sustainability | Ethical Corporation

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The Et hical Corporati on Awards 2013

24/06/2 013 - 24/06/2 013 , London, UK

A c elebr at ion of su sta in abi lit y an d CSR best practice fr om a rou nd th e world

Get t he boss on board with sustaina bilit y

By Toby Webb on May 1, 2 013

Toby Webb has 15 ideas your ch ief executiv e wont be able to resist

Convin cing senior leadership that sustainable business ma tters rema ins a major challen ge. Heres a few prov en way s of doing so, in no particula r order.

1) Get a non-executive/in dependent dir ector on your side

Find the one most amena ble to the agen da, and ha v e them ta bling board agenda questions and adding some steel to y our corporat e responsibility commit tee meetings.

Inv est some personal tim e and ask th em to mentor y ou. Flattery works.

2) Lay the breadcrumb trail

Your idea s dont m at ter . Y our CEOs, of cour se, do. So find sm ar t w ay s to pla nt seeds th at may ta ke a y ear or t wo t o take r oot. Th en wh en y our CEO su mmons y ou t o hea rtheir idea, feign y our surprise well, and put y our pre-prepared plan into action quickly.

3) Map out board roles and tasks, based on personal interest

Wha t does y our CFO like t o do in h is/h er spar e ti me? How abou t y our leg al dir ect or? T his ca n b e connec ted to th e r esponsibi lit y ag end a spe cifi ca lly or in gen era l. Map ou t

roles and tasks/speeches for the board aligned with their interests.

4) Use the fami ly

As c ree py as t his sounds, i t can wor k. Gaps pr esiden t, Pau l Pressler , sa id i n 2 00 4 th at wh en he joined t he com pan y from Disney , h is da ug ht er ask ed, dont th ey ru n

sweatshops? an d the path was set for disclosure leadership. I cant tell y ou exactly how to do this, but k ids count .

5) Present your CEO wit h solid case studies of opportu nit y

Yes, th is is bl in din gl y obv ious. But too man y hea ds of corporate r esponsib ili ty let CEOs fin d sha ky Mich ael Porter Har v ar d Bu sine ss Rev iew ar tic les on th eir own . Wh y

leave it to chance? Create a quarterly CEO update on wa y s companies are commercializing sustainability

6) Pitch it as a governance issue

Few heads of corporate responsibility do this well. It should be an easy w in. Make it clear to your board/bosses that badly ma nag ed compa nies trade at a discount , and t hat

transparency and engagement is clearly linked to better managem ent by inv estors.

7) Link it with where they are going next

Lets say y our CEO isnt a lifer. Most are not. Its quite helpful to plant a seed that m eans wherev er they work next, t his stuff is going to matter there too. Theres not an

industry or orga nisation tha t wont expect some kn owledge of the responsibility agenda .
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8) Pick an issue and offer a l eadership opportu nit y

Note how some CEOs jumped on the UN CEO wat er m andat e some y ears ago and m ade the issue their own. Wha t else is mov ing u p the agen da? The Plastics Disclosure

Project is a new one gaining t ract ion. Why n ot use it, or someth ing else?

9) Evoke the competiti ve spirit

The idea of keeping up with peers, and over takin g them , is v ital to get a CEO motiva ted on corporat e responsibility . Competition should be fram ed in way s they can

understan d: less truck m iles per tonne, lower power costs, better em ploy ee enga gemen t

10) Use a bucket of cold water

This is a serious point. Sh ock tactics ar e risky , but some can w ork. Bring in a couple of outside v oices (not consultants) w ho can tell a business leaders meeting some home

tru ths about the competition. This must be followed quickly by a focus on the opportu nity to catch up an d ov ertake.

11) Send them in to the supply chain

Back in 201 0, I trav elled to Ghana to visit cocoa farms w ith the UK CEO of Kraft, Nick Bunker. He was clearly v ery affected by wh at we saw. Theres nothing like meeting

a smallh older farm er on two dollars a day to conv ince a CEO of the moral an d logical ca se.

12) Put them in front of some critical stakeholders

CEOs mu st understan d how others see them. Middle age m ale (m ostly ) delusion is a big problem. One-on-one meetin gs with a conserv ation NGO could be followed up with

something more substantiv e, such as a non-tame stakeholder m eeting where the CEO mu st stay quiet(ish).

13) Show them just how the really unfortunate live

Its a simple idea. Take y our board or some of them , an d show th em th e pov erty tha t exists so close to top financia l centr es all ov er the w orld. Just because its old schooldoesnt mean it ca nt be effectiv e.

14) Demonstrate how motiv ati ng responsible business is for employees

Relying on the employee ann ual or quart erly surv ey is not enough . Use proper studies, books, credible sources, and tell stories. Create an nua l indiv idual sustaina bility

innovation awar ds and make th e board judge them , with some outside help.

15) Take out t he jargon

CEOs hat e to feel left behind. Tha t ma y in v oke a reaction of retrea t. Take out the acrony ms and talk th e langua ge of simple business impr ovem ents.

Toby Webb is founder of Ethical Corporation and Stakeholder Intelligence. He blogs daily at tobyweb b.blogspot.c oluk.

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The Et hical Corporati on Awards 2013

24/06/2 013 - 24/06/2 013 , London, UK

A c elebr at ion of su sta in abi lit y an d CSR best practice fr om a rou nd th e world

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get the boss on board with sustainability _ ethical corporation

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