SustainableMags

According to The Guardian UK David Grayson, from the Doughty Centre for Corporate Responsibility, has come up with seven habits that companies should practice to support Sustainability Champions.

1. Cultivate ‘cafe culture’

Create time and space for people at all levels of your organisation to learn, think and talk about what is happening in the wider world and how your business can be a force for good in it.

2. Humanise your organisation to promote egalitarianism and generosity

Social intrapreneurism flourishes in egalitarian environments with flat hierarchies. People unencumbered by bureaucracy and politically induced fear will be free to think about “their mainstream day jobs in the broadest way”, and are more likely to take responsibility for innovation, sharing their ideas and learning with others with improved results.

3. Account for the social and environmental, as well as the economic, value you create

Conventional accounting rules and timeframes make it difficult to develop socially innovative projects. Managers of aspiring social intrapreneurs should look for ways to assess the social and environmental, as well as economic value that their proposed projects can create.

4. Network inside and outside your organisation to create consortia for action

Successful social intrapreneurs build alliances with partners outside, as well as inside, the organisation. Cross-border and cross-sector partnerships can form the basis for powerful consortia for change. Senior managers need to be open to working, not only with people in other departments, suppliers and other business partners, but with other organisations in other sectors in order for these partnerships to work.

5. Grow people into leadership roles for sustainable business

People given opportunities to develop self-confidence and skills for collaboration gain a deep understanding of the business and “do good” through volunteering and mentoring. If they are then recognised and rewarded for such behaviour, they are more likely to develop into successful agents for social change.

6. Experiment with social intrapreneurism pilots that can be scaled up for impact

Social intrapreneurs start with time-limited, small-scale projects – often in their spare time, at the margins of their organisations – which can provide proof of concept with minimal financial or reputational risk to the company before being scaled up. While it is desirable to be able to predict or calculate return on investment for such projects, most pilots cannot be assessed against quantitative criteria and therefore alternative qualitative criteria will need to be used to define success.

7. Strategise to achieve sustainable business and societal goals

The ultimate goal is for leaders of the business is to understand its wider societal purpose and to develop business strategy, vision and values that encompass this.

Perhaps if corporate leaders took Grayson’s advice, they would not only win the loyalty of a grateful staff, but might find their own way to integrate their heads with their hearts. Then the dream of a sustainable future may come a little closer to reality.