A New Perspective on Sustainability: ‘Sustainable Wellbeing’

‘Sustainability’ is a topic that seems to come up a lot in my conversations.  Not surprising, considering that I am a sustainability communications advisor by day and the token ‘greenie’ in my personal life.  Perhaps a little more surprising however, is that for all the time I spend thinking and talking about ‘sustainability’, I still haven’t found a suitable one-size-fits-all definition for it.  Intuitively, one might think that a communications professional would have found a snazzy one-liner that fluidly rolls off the tongue.  I haven’t.

The challenge, of course, is that ‘sustainability’ is a notion that is constantly evolving within the context of our changing times, spanning across the realms of environment, politics, society, science, psychology, economics, ethics and beyond.  How one defines it, therefore, depends largely on who you are, who you are speaking to, and what point about ‘sustainability’ you are trying to get across.  Communications experts recognise the powerful, intensely personal and emotional nature of language.  So, when you are choosing the words to describe an issue as important as ‘sustainability’, you want to get right.

You can imagine my pleasure, therefore, when I found an alternative way of reframing the ‘sustainability’ conversation.  I came across it in a lecture entitled, “Sustainable Wellbeing – an Economic Future for Australia” that Australia’s Treasury Secretary, Dr. Martin Parkinson PSM, delivered this week at the University of Western Australia.

I am not suggesting that this is the silver bullet be-all and end-all of ‘sustainability’ definitions, but I do feel that Dr. Parkinson does a good job of encapsulating sustainability’s nuanced complexities. Using tangible examples to which people can readily relate, he offers a different way of illustrating the economic, social and environmental spheres so deeply entangled in the concept of ‘sustainability’.

In his lecture, Dr. Parkinson deliberately shifts away from defining ‘sustainability’ in purely environmental terms, instead describing the concept as ‘sustainable wellbeing’. Our personal finances, knowledge, skills, health, access to clean air and sense of community, among other things all factor into our ‘wellbeing’, he says.  In fact, in an overarching framework, he identifies four forms of capital as the productive base for ‘wellbeing’: (1) physical & financial capital, (2) human capital, (3) environmental capital and (4) social capital.  ‘Sustainable wellbeing’, therefore, occurs when one generation passes on as much of these four stocks of capital as it inherited in the first place. When we think about ‘sustainability’ in this light, its nuanced complexities become suddenly self-evident.   Dr. Parkinson also makes reference to the Australian Treasury’s “Wellbeing Framework”, which describes Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as merely a “proxy” measure of wellbeing, insisting that we need to be measuring more than increased income and consumption rates to assess levels of social welfare.

Encouragingly, Dr. Parkinson is not alone in this line of thinking.  The Kingdom of Bhutan is credited with coining the phrase Gross National Happiness (GNP) in the 1970’s, measuring its success based on its people’s happiness rather than GDP alone.   Under David Cameron in 2010, the United Kingdom announced its intentions to start measuring its citizens’ psychological and environmental wellbeing. Numerous others, like the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), France, Canada and Germany are following suit investigating various forms of happiness, wellbeing and progress indices.  Add to that, the United Nations’ recent July announcement of an adopted resolution, acknowledging the need to place more importance on happiness and wellbeing in social and economic development policy.

I take these all as strong signs that the world is increasingly looking beyond just dollars and cents to assess success.  How we will assuage our compulsion to measure everything in hard numbers and figures has yet to be determined.  Quantifying the qualitative and assigning price tags to priceless necessities like air and social stability is a challenge sustainability professions have grappled with for years.  Yet, the growing dissatisfaction with our current models and definitions, together with the mounting recognition of the value of life’s intangibles, reassures me that we will eventually get to a place where I will no longer have to struggle to find the right words to define ‘sustainability’, because its meaning and significance will be self-evident.

Aligned Incentives and Engaged Employees Improve Triple Bottom Line Performance

We thought people might be interested in this recent article (August 2011) on CSR Wire which clearly outlines why organisations need to look at engaging their employees around their sustainability efforts.  Something our OgilvyEarth team has known since our first environmental behaviour change program back in 2004.

It shows that having an engaged workforce can positively influence the key components of ‘Triple Bottom Line’ performance: people, planet and profit.   An engaged workforce not only contributes to a company’s bottom line, but also improves the organisation’s social and environmental sustainability impacts too.

http://csrwire.visibli.com/share/bXnYAY

Over the years our OgilvyEarth team has combined its sustainability expertise with Ogilvy Impact’s rich understanding of employee behaviour change to run internal sustainability programs for some of the largest companies in Australia.

Our message is simple. It’s one thing to enhance corporate reputation and attract talent with great sustainability commitments. It’s quite another to ensure you’ve galvanised all your internal troops behind these goals. Achieving engagement around your sustainability initiatives does not happen through osmosis. Like all good internal communication, you’ve got to work at it. Invest the time to make it happen. Make it engaging and really drive true ownership and behaviour change at all levels of the business.

The author cites many of the key components of great internal communication, but most importantly, companies should take heed.  Business communication does not need to be bland. Making it creative and engaging will give you a better chance of making it work and getting the sustainability results you’re looking for.

Howorth goes green with mySmart CTI

Howorth began work with mySmart CTI in late 2009 and together, have worked to raise awareness of the solutions available for commercial building owners, facility managers, electrical engineers and lighting consultants.

mySmart CTI is an Australian company that saw a burgeoning market for energy efficient solutions, as early as 2001, when the business was formed.  The concept of green buildings was once deemed ‘new age’ and the challenge was in educating potential customers about energy efficiency. For some, it can seem overwhelming – business owners seeing both time and initial costs as barriers to making the switch.

Howorth has helped mySmart CTI to further enhance its reputation as a leader within the industry, building long term equity with key customers, partners and stakeholder groups. The campaign to-date has taken a phased approach:

• Phase 1: Educating target audiences about the issues, obligations and opportunities associated with sustainable practices.
• Phase 2: Demonstrating the effectiveness of mySmart CTI solutions through case studies, showcasing both the features and benefits of mySmart CTI products and projects.
• Phase 3: Elevating mySmart CTI’s profile through the use of opinion-driven content, by providing commentary on topical and regulatory issues.

mySmart CTI Managing Director, Peter Garrett, said the PR program had shown tangible results: “There were several examples of leads directly attributable to PR in 2010,” he said. “The heightened awareness of our products and services has made a real difference in having conversations with customers.”

“We are working with Howorth to educate the industry, and our prospective customer base, on the energy efficiency issues directly relevant to them; to help them get the most out of their surroundings, while remaining environmentally responsible.”

The campaign has delivered coverage for mySmart CTI across a range of business titles, including The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and Open Forum, and industry publications including Sustainability Matters, The Circuit and Electrical Solutions.

Triple global recognition for Ogilvy PR’s employee communications consultancy

16 APRIL 2010.  Today Impact Employee Communications, Australia and Asia-Pacific’s leading employee communication consultancy, has been recognised on the world communication stage three times over.  The fifteen year old Sydney-based company, which is part of Ogilvy PR, has won two International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Gold Quill Awards of Excellence and has been named best in show, winning the IABC’s annual 2010 Special Business Issue Award.  The awards are recognised as the most prestigious and highest level of professional acknowledgment within internal communication globally.

The first Gold Quill of Excellence and the 2010 Special Business Issue Award were won by Impact’s change communication team for its work for Ford Australia. The awards recognised what was a complex campaign for a company in an industry facing a challenging operating environment. The work ensured crucial public employee and union support for a difficult business announcement, contributing to an overwhelming raft of positive media articles across all media outlets.

Impact’s second Gold Quill was won together with client, Bayer Australia and New Zealand.  This award recognised communication excellence for the development and execution of Bayer’s B-Green project which drove and achieved measurable behaviour change across its Australian and New Zealand workforce around sustainability.  The project, steered by a specialist team operating under Ogilvy PR’s sustainability OgilvyEarth practice, led to a raft of energy, recycling and other initiatives and was also recently awarded the best internal communications program for all Bayer companies worldwide.

“These awards demonstrate Australia can compete on a world communication stage and recognise we’re delivering the highest possible level of strategic and creative counsel to gain vital employee support for business critical initiatives for companies in Australia,” says managing director, Tam Sandeman.

“This is the first time two top awards have been won by the same company in Australia and winning the overall Business Issues award was the icing on the cake.  More importantly, it showcases work in two areas gaining increasing importance on every Australian business’ agenda – sustainability and change,” she continues.

The awards will be given at the IABC’s international conference in Toronto in June 2010.

For further information:

Tam Sandeman

Impact Employee Communications

tam.sandeman@impact.com.au

02 8281 3205 / 0404 847 256

Is sustainability and climate change still on the agenda?

While the planet continues to warm, Australian politicians are using the science around climate change as a political football. The question has to be asked, is this political “static” causing the issue to slip off the agenda in the world of C Level decision makers?

The Opposition leader in Australia , for example, says  that we  simply have to get used to a world with an average mean temperature 3 degrees hotter, despite the impact this will have on usable land for food production and water resources a. So is the issue still on the corporate agenda?

PWC’s 13^th Annual Global CEO survey released in January 2010 had some interesting feedback from major decision makers from companies in every region.

Their key concerns (those rated ‘somewhat concerned’ to ‘extremely concerned) on sustainability, were:

• Climate Change 2009 – 26% and 2010- 37% or a 42% increase in the level over  the previous year’s survey. So the issue is growing in importance and ranks even higher than terrorism.

• Energy Costs 2009- 50% and 2010- 54% or an increase of 8% on the previous year. A high level of concern. (Yet OgilvyEarth has created internal programs that have reduced companies’energy use by 8- 12% in twelve months with added benefits of high levels of employee engagement and improved employer brands. So why are companies fighting internal programs when there are both brand and cost saving benefits attached?) The same report showed that 75% of these CEOs saw employee engagement as a key issue after the GFC. So an easy win.

PWC’s report re-inforces our own OgilvyEarth research findings in which C-level executives link sustainability strongly to corporate reputation. The PWC report found corporate reputation as a key concern:  “ Participation in industry initiatives to improve the sectors reputation” at 64%, ‘Expansion of CSR programs ‘ at 50% and ‘Engagement with NGO’s that affect reputation” at 31%.

But back to the specific issue of climate change : The PWC report revealed that 60% of CEOs are making preparations for the impacts of climate change. An average of 48% of CEO’s in developed nations saw that climate change would lead to significant new products and services and for the same group 61% reported that acting would increase their reputation.

So the issue of sustainability is not only still well and truly on the agenda but is also going to have significant opportunities for those business leaders who have the vision to invest in a solution.

OgilvyEarth Communications Partner for Enviro 2010

The Enviro Conference and Exhibition will be held in Melbourne from 21 to 23 July 2010.  The main objective of Enviro 2010 is to provide networking opportunities for the leaders of the Australian environment industry and business and policy makers.

The Enviro Conference and 2010 Exhibition will run concurrently with the conference including speakers and workshops dealing with the sustainability issues facing governments, business and the public.  There will be over 100 exhibitions on display in the 2010 Exhibition, including OgilvyEarth, showcasing the latest in environmental and sustainability innovation.

To register for Enviro 2010 go to http://www.enviro2010.com.au/

Pulse hoses down competition and wins “Creme de la Crème” in international WPP award

Pulse Communications and BlueScope Steel have received international recognition, after being awarded the prestigious “Creme de la Crème” award and ‘Best Consumer Public Relations Campaign’ for the Tank a Day Challenge in the WPP – WPPed Cream Awards.

This achievement makes the BlueScope Tank a Day Challenge the most awarded consumer marketing PR campaign in Australia, bringing the total number of award wins to ten!

The WPPed Cream Awards recognise the very best work produced by WPP companies globally, across all its marketing disciplines.

Campaign winners are those which have already garnered awards at the best shows in the world, and participation is invite only.

Conceived by Pulse Communications in 2007, the BlueScope Tank a Day Challenge aims to kick-start primary schools’ water conservation programs by giving away a 27,000 litre rainwater tank, every school day of the year.

The campaign was based around the creative insight that part of the wider solution in tackling Australia’s water problem is to inspire sustainability through the younger generation.

The Tank a Day Challenge had a strong educational component, designed to empower the next generation with the message that they too, can help Australia manage water better.

The campaign has also helped to increase BlueScope’s corporate reputation ranking – which has jumped

from 10^th place (in 2008) to 8^th place (in 2009) in AMR’s analysis of Australia’s top 50 companies.

To date, over one third (33%) of all Australian primary schools have taken up the Tank a Day Challenge and well over half a million students have completed the online educational water saving quiz.

Samantha Allen, Managing Director of Pulse Communications said, “We are incredibly proud of the success of the Tank a Day Challenge and the nine global and national awards we have achieved to date. The BlueScope campaign demonstrates how PR can significantly assist in building corporate reputation in a measurable and meaningful way.”

Examples of work from the BlueScope Tank a day Challenge will be published in the WPPED Cream book and appear on the WPP website, which showcases the Group’s talents.

To find out more about the BlueScope Tank a Day Challenge visit: www.tankaday.com.au.

Woolworths Eco Ambassador Program

Woolworths Limited wanted to enhance its existing sustainability strategy by engaging employees (across its 3,000 sites) to undertake positive behaviours that would reduce the company’s environmental impact. The communication challenge presented to OgilvyEarth was significant – 85% of Woolworth’s 188,000 employees had limited or no access to company intranet or email. A strategy session was held with key stakeholders around the creation of peer influencers, since named ‘Eco Ambassadors’, that could champion ideas and help develop a greater awareness of the everyday actions that could be taken. The Eco Ambassadors were trained via a half-day workshop, where they were equipped with everything they needed to make a difference. During the workshops, participants were taken through the challenges and engaged to play a part in delivering solutions. By highlighting Woolworths’ commitment to sustainability, the workshops equipped participants with tools and action plans to support their roles as mentors. Ultimately, this enabled them to act not only as a source of information and inspiration for other employees, but as a conduit for company-wide communication.