Building an SOS: The Key Elements and Basic Structure

• Author: William R. Blackburn
• Pages: 123-161

CHAPTER 4

Building an SOS: The Key Elements and

Basic Structure

“Youcan’tcross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water.”1

—Laurence J. Peter

An oil tanker as long as five football fields is difficult to maneuver, and

even at modest speeds, it may take three miles or more to bring the behe-

moth to a stop. Considerable care and planning are required to make the

necessary turns and adjustments to deliver the ship safely to port. But

this won’t happen unless the crew is well trained and focused and the

captain skilled and experienced. So it is when one tries to change the

course of a company and bring it to some new destination—a destina-

tion like sustainability.

It’s often easy to excite corporate people about a trip toward that noble

goal. After all, who would disagree with changing a company to improve

its management of economic and natural resources and heighten its re-

spect for people and other living things? The thought of reaching that end

sounds most pleasant, but then come the details of the trip, such as: How

do we start? What are the steps? How do we convince the captain, his

crew, and the entire roster of passengers that they should make this trip

with us? What will sway them if they are already on course to another

more familiar place?

One approach to setting a company on course to sustainability is the

SOS. This approach—like piloting a tanker—requires focused, skilled,

well-trained leaders and teams; careful planning and execution; and, of

course, plenty of patience. Other assets are required as well. Here are some

critical elements of an SOS, which are graphically depicted in Figure 4.1:

1. The Drivers. These are the elements that help assure the orga-

nization is continually motivated to drive forward toward

sustainability. They include the following:

·A champion/leader. Achampion within the company must

bring the idea of sustainability forward and start things mov-

ing. After the effort is underway, a leader keeps it rolling.

123

·Approach for selling management on sustainability. One

person can’t steer a ship or make a permanent change to a

company without first having a vision of what is needed and

then convincing others to help. It’s this convincing that is the

biggest initial challenge for the champion and other early sup-

porters. It’s also important for supporters to continue to sell

the merits of sustainability at lower levels of the organization

on an ongoing basis.

·Accountability mechanisms. These mechanisms are the

teeth of the program. They show that the company is serious

about this effort—so serious it will dole out or withhold re-

wards based on how well the effort progresses.

2. The Efficient Enablers. These elements enable the organiza-

tion to undertake its sustainability efforts in a logical, coordi-

nated, efficient way. They include:

·Organizational structure. A few teams of supporters are

needed to move the company along its course. They must

communicate the sustainability message throughout the orga-

nization, collect and compile feedback, and assure appropri-

ate actions are being taken. Their roles must be clarified and

efforts coordinated so they can optimize the effectiveness and

efficiency of their work.

·Deployment and integration. A sustainability initiative

won’t be successful unless it becomes part of the culture of

the organization. People in all corners of the organization

must understand, accept, and support the concept. This own-

ership doesn’t happen unless a conscious effort is made to

deploy the idea into the ranks of the company and meld it into

the company’s existing tools, processes, procedures, pro-

grams, and values.

3. The Pathway. These elements, which map the path toward

sustainability, are the following:

·Vision, values, and policy. These statements define what

sustainability means within the organization. They describe

the ultimate objectives of the SOS.

·Operating system standards. Operating system standards

document the cyclical management process that serves as the

124 THE SUSTAINABILITY HANDBOOK

engine for change. They help the organization establish a

sustainability culture and stay on course over the long term as

it moves closer to achieving the vision and policy.

·Strategic planning for aligned priorities. One part of the

operating system is strategic planning, which is essential for

prioritizing among the many possible actions toward

sustainability. This tool helps the organization focus its re-

sources on those things that provide the greatest value. Align-

ment and coordination on these priorities across the organiza-

tion are necessary to produce the most pronounced change

with the least resources.

4. The Evaluators. Evaluator elements are needed to gauge the

organization’s progress toward sustainability. They enable the

operation to make appropriate adjustments when performance

comes up short. These elements include:

·Indicators and goals. Specific goals create a clear picture

of our destination. Various indicators, such as earnings per

share of stock, percentage of women on the board, and tons of

toxic waste generated, give us a way to tell whether we are on

track and making the expected progress.

·Measuring and reporting progress. What gets measured

gets managed; what gets managed gets done. Effective mea-

surement, analysis, and reporting provide a clear picture of

progress to those inside and outside the organization. Inside,

it enables the organization and those involved to receive due

recognition for performance, whether good or bad, which in

turn provides further motivation for achievement. Outside, it

helps establish the company’s credibility for being economi-

cally, socially, and environmentally responsible as well as

sincere, open, and honest.

·Stakeholder engagement and feedback. This element of an

SOS gives a company a true view of how others see it. It is im-

portant that a corporation calibrate its views of itself with

those of outsiders who care. This dose of reality can aid the

process of constructive change and, at the same time, help

build credibility with key stakeholders.

BUILDING AN SOS 125