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Sustainability Generalist

Embracing Sustainability Generalists: The Transition to a Just & Inclusive Green Economy Includes Us All

Panelists from Ingevity, HarbisonWalker Int. and CSB Fellows discuss benefits of sustainability research at the 3rd Anniversary Celebration, October 20, 2022.

Once upon a time, a sustainable business was viewed as a niche interest amongst corporations. Today, the urgency of climate and social issues such as depleting natural resources, the degradation of land and air quality, and the ever-widening wealth gap have increased the necessity for all business functions to integrate sustainability:

How can businesses respond to this demand? Often, the overwhelming nature of sustainable issues can make business leaders paralyzed to act. However, we propose that sustainability generalists – workers who are literate enough about core sustainability principles to adopt them as a lens for daily decision-making – are fundamental people within a sustainable business.

Here’s why:

  • Just like successful efforts on cyber security and financial controls, a truly sustainable business has sustainability embedded in how work gets done in a company rather than as a set of siloed initiatives.
  • Becoming a net positive company requires the participation of employees of all levels, functions, and departments, not just the corporate sustainability team, particularly when those teams have historically been under-resourced to achieve their purpose.
  • Most of the world’s businesses are small and only staff a few employees, making them unlikely to devote resources to a Chief Diversity/Purpose/Sustainability Officer while still navigating the market contexts highlighted above.

Embedding sustainable generalists into your company culture could look like:

  • Procurement managers recognizing the impact of the triple bottom line and that seeking the cheapest deal may lead to slavery in the value chain.
  • A marketing team refusing to greenwash but instead proclaiming authentic sustainability efforts.
  • A financial planning team making budget decisions with a respect for the wellness of all stakeholders in addition to its shareholders.
  • A research and development team conducting assessments of project impacts on the broader ecosystem.
  • An HR team ensuring equal access by implementing hiring practices that accommodate people with disabilities.

Certainly, sustainability generalists do not replace the role that experts play in developing robust sustainability strategies. However, transformation requires the power of a collective that is aligned in purpose by embedding sustainability into every company role.

If you're interested in adding sustainability skills to your career, look out for a sustainable business micro-credential coming soon, a flexible mini-qualification which will be open to both current graduate students and non-degree seeking professionals!

For research-based insight on the benefits of making sustainability a shared purpose amongst all employees, take a look at this CSB Working Paper:

Corporate Purpose and Employee Sustainability Behaviors

  • CB Bhattacharya, H.J. Zoffer Chair in Sustainability & Ethics, Professor of Marketing and Management, Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business, University of Pittsburgh
  • Sankar Sen, Zicklin School of Business, Baruch College - City University of New York
  • Laura Marie Edinger-Schons, Chair of Sustainable Business, University of Mannheim
  • Michael Neureiter, Geschwister Scholl Institute of Political Science, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München

Abstract: This paper examines the effects of employees’ sense that they work for a  purpose-driven company on their workplace sustainability behaviors. Conceptualizing corporate purpose as an overarching, relevant, shared ethical vision of why a company exists and where it needs to go, we argue that it is particularly suited for driving employee sustainability behaviors,  which are more ethically complex than the types of employee ethical behaviors typically examined by prior research. Through four studies, two involving the actual employees of construction companies, we demonstrate that purpose drives the sustainability behaviors of employees by causing them to take psychological ownership of sustainability. In addition, we show that the sustainability-enhancing effect of purpose is stronger when employees perceive that they have higher autonomy in enacting their sustainability actions and for those employees for whom being moral is more central to their sense of self. 

Resources through the Center for Sustainable Business

Free tools and resources for students, professionals, and companies on sustainable business practices you can implement today.

Accenture Panel at COP26:

Join our Sponsor, Accenture, for an interactive cross-sectoral panel discussion with the not-for profit organization Youth Business International; the research group International Institute for Environment and Development; and global Human Resources provider Adecco, to explore how Inclusive Green Jobs will play a role in enabling those most vulnerable to climate change to prosper through sustainable and inclusive development.

 

 

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