embedding sustainability in organizational culture - Network for ...

Chapter 1: Introduction
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We view sustainability as a goal rather than as an end point. In today’s business
environment, sustainability is something that many companies are striving toward,
but few (if any) have yet achieved. One key component of this journey involves
embedding sustainability into organizational culture.
Like sustainability, organizational culture is also defined in many different ways.
Academic definitions make reference to shared assumptions and values as well as
expected behaviours and symbols. An organization’s culture guides the decisions of
its members by establishing and reinforcing expectations about what is valued and
how things should be done. For this reason, culture is often described as ‘the way
we do things around here.’ Over time, an organization builds up its own culture,
providing a sense of identity to its members about ‘who we are’ and ‘what we do.’ An
organization’s culture is both reinforced and reshaped through the daily practices of
its members.
...a culture of sustainability is one
in which organizational members
hold shared assumptions and beliefs
about the importance of balancing
economic efficiency, social equity and
environmental accountability.
For our purposes, a culture of sustainability is one in which organizational members
hold shared assumptions and beliefs about the importance of balancing economic
efficiency, social equity and environmental accountability. Organizations with strong
cultures of sustainability strive to support a healthy environment and improve the
lives of others while continuing to operate successfully over the long term.
What differentiates sustainability from other
culture change initiatives?
Organizations launch change initiatives—even cultural change initiatives—all
the time. In fact, many organizations are undergoing multiple change initiatives
simultaneously. There is an enormous literature on organizational change from
a strategic perspective as well as on specific kinds of culture change such as
implementing total quality management, building cultures of health and safety
or building cultures of compliance. While the lessons learned from these kinds of
culture change may prove useful, a shift toward a culture of sustainability presents
some unique challenges.
Most organizational change initiatives are largely confined to the boundaries of
the organization. In contrast, sustainability is part of a broader societal agenda
that extends beyond the organization. The motivation for a sustainability change
initiative can often be driven by external forces and, at times, the benefits may not
appear to directly enhance value. In cases where the change is motivated internally,
the change may be initiated because one or more organizational members deem
it to be ‘the right thing to do.’ Furthermore, key levers required for change may
be beyond the control of the organization and may reside in the organization’s
supply chain or with its key stakeholders. This often means that organizations
embarking on a sustainability journey must be willing to engage in significant
interorganizational collaboration. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, transitions
to sustainability may involve the need for paradigm-breaking business models or
approaches.
In our review, we focus on summarizing what we have learned from both research
and practice about embedding sustainability into organizational culture. However,
we also draw information from analogous cultural interventions such as total
quality management, the health and safety movement, and studies of high reliability
organizations and attempt to draw parallels to embedding sustainability.