When it comes to sustainability, there’s no "I" in team

From games of four square to an event-wide scavenger hunt, it was easy to see the theme of this year’s Sustainable Brands 2011 conference - “Play On” - resonate throughout the halls and breakout sessions.

It became clear just how much sustainability is a team sport. For example, a Chief Sustainability Officer cannot make a difference without the buy-in of the company’s Chief Executive Officer. A maker of a greener shampoo bottle must also look to consumers and water suppliers when assessing the environmental impact the product has with regards to water consumption and reuse. And sustainability initiatives are much more effective when less traditional, cross-functional relationships are developed between consumers and brands or NGOs and corporate governance, for instance.

This collaboration is especially important when it comes to how industries and governments are defining sustainability. We are in a “greening frenzy” where everyone is trying to make up their own definition and slap a label on it – I know I’m not the first to look at a product and wonder what the words like “green…eco-friendly…good for the environment…natural” really mean. It’s a push and pull among different influencer groups, NGOs, companies and governments all needing a seat at the table to develop standards. But here’s where each team member can bring value: NGOs bring specialized knowledge, society credibility and trust; brands bring innovative capacity, efficiencies, and can embed the standard into products and operations; while governments bring the authority to enforce the standard; and finally, consumers bring the value of the unified standard to life with their purchasing power. Gregory Unruh of the Thunderbird School of Management put it into perspective saying it took 15 years to develop a standardized nutrition label, but unfortunately for our plant and population, we don’t have that long in the sustainability standards game. We’ve got to find a way to win now.

So I learned that there is simply no “i” in team when it comes to the triple bottom line. It takes collaborative forces to positively impact people, the planet and profits.  Jeffrey Hollender, co-founder of Seventh Generation put it this way: “Sustainability is compartmentalized. The biggest problem we face is that we don’t think holistically.” What good is there in creating a more recyclable soda can if the content in the can is hurting the person consuming it? What good is there in sustainable manufacturing operations if it’s putting indigenous people out of jobs and harming access to clean water?

This year's theme - "Play On" - represented a powerful shift in the corporate sustainability mindset.  Businesses are learning that they are not separate but a part of nature and society. If a business impacts society negatively, these impacts will pose limits to its existence and growth. So when forces come together, sustainability can help its many players protect their reputation or improve their image, comply with important regulations, secure future resources like energy and water and simply do the right thing for future generations.

Check out the video below for more on the 2011 Sustainable Brands conference: