Understanding Unsustainability
Recently, I have been re-exploring the concept of Sustainability Audits and the types of tools businesses use to get an initial baseline ESG assessment. Many of these tools are pre-set checklists and questionnaires that divide sustainable business practice into various areas that cover economic, social and environmental impacts. Another approach is to start by focusing on unsustainability.
The reasoning behind the understanding unsustainability approach means that instead of trying to fit your business practice into somebody else’s questionnaire, you take the time to understand what unsustainability is and then use that knowledge to guide your focus within your business on what your key priorities and changes need to be.
This approach often does not use a questionnaire or Audit/mapping at all. Instead, it starts from understanding and then moves directly to developing strategy and actions without collecting or recording copious amounts of evidence which some argue are unnecessary. Critiques of the current trends for Sustainability Audits suggest that these types of evidence have simply become an excuse for the sustainability “industry” and limit access to small businesses and developing country business by the level, depth and breadth of engagement they require.
The benefit of this is that it often saves time, it is more self-directed and therefore compatible with other company priorities. It is also developed from “open source” ideas and tools which means (unlike the approaches I mentioned in my last post) is free to access. This approach has several different names but they mainly refer to same thing: The Natural Step (TSN), The 5 Level Framework and Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD) and the Strategic Life Cycle Assessment (SLCA).
This system originated in Sweden in 1989 but has undergone many collective revisions and iterations. If you want to go to their website to read more specifically about this approach, click here. A lot of what the organisation currently focuses on is Sustainability Leadership training and multi-stakeholder cooperative “Labs” where they research solutions for common sustainability problems. You can find out more about their 10 step SLCA process that incorporates the questions and approach below.
One notable aspect of TSN is that it has mainly been used and revised by scientists, so it uses much more technical language and is based upon key scientific rules in a way that many others are not. For example, the Law of Thermodynamics figures prominently in this approach.
However, despite this jargon and reference to concepts that may not feel simple and basic to everyone, it can still be summarised in a sentence: a sustainable business does NOT create conditions which systematically undermine people’s ability to meet their needs and does NOT allow nature to be subject to exploitation, pollution or degradation in order to profit.
There are a number of concepts behind these ideas. For example, with regards to people, this can be further understood as NOT having access to or obstacles that restrict their ability to develop in the areas of:
-health
-influence
-competence
-impartiality
-meaning-making
Lists and definitions such as these mean that instead of blindly taking part in someone else’s questionnaire. For example, if as a business you were reviewing the area of Governance and Employees, you might choose to concentrate on obstacles to developing influence. This could raise questions of knowledge and access. Who “knows” what is important and who is allowed to comment on or make decisions regarding practice in your business?
It is for the reasons above that so many sustainable businesses focus on internal employee education and commit to “transparency” in their reporting and decision making. They might not understand these underlying principles though and only consider it because a pre-set questionnaire has directed them to do so. With this approach, you know why you are asking the questions you do.
The benefit of negative wording is that it clarifies very specifically what you - as a sustainable business - are trying to avoid rather than dictating what you “should” do. This means that your focus and solutions within this framework are up to you.
However, if the negative wording of the TNS statements seems problematic, it has been re-worded more positively as focusing on:
-Conversion: avoid accessing resources which are produced through exploitation, pollution and degradation of nature (or people)
-Substitution: exchange unsustainable materials, resources, processes and behaviour for ones that are sustainable
-The Precautionary Principle: with innovations use caution, pausing and review before fully adopting anything that is untested or unproven
-The Golden Rule: do unto others as you would have them do unto you
All the ideas mentioned above are key - and what makes it different than other sustainability approaches - to their 10 step implementation process. A number of large global companies, such as Pret a Manger, have used this approach.
The ten steps of SLCA process:
1. Setting goal and scope
2. Creating a shared definition of the sustainable product system
3. Define the system boundaries and life cycle scenario for the sustainability assessment
4. Conduct an inventory analysis of the life cycle
5. Sustainability assessment – Use the sustainability principles to assess sustainability strengths and weaknesses
6. Analysis & synthesis of results – Identifying key impact areas
7. Brainstorm possible solutions
8. Prioritise solutions
9. Create an innovation roadmap
10. Measure and report progress (ongoing)
As you can tell from this brief overview, while there are a number of benefits to this approach it does take some expertise and considerable engagement with its underlying concepts so needs clear commitment and support.
The reasoning behind the understanding unsustainability approach means that instead of trying to fit your business practice into somebody else’s questionnaire, you take the time to understand what unsustainability is and then use that knowledge to guide your focus within your business on what your key priorities and changes need to be.
This approach often does not use a questionnaire or Audit/mapping at all. Instead, it starts from understanding and then moves directly to developing strategy and actions without collecting or recording copious amounts of evidence which some argue are unnecessary. Critiques of the current trends for Sustainability Audits suggest that these types of evidence have simply become an excuse for the sustainability “industry” and limit access to small businesses and developing country business by the level, depth and breadth of engagement they require.
The benefit of this is that it often saves time, it is more self-directed and therefore compatible with other company priorities. It is also developed from “open source” ideas and tools which means (unlike the approaches I mentioned in my last post) is free to access. This approach has several different names but they mainly refer to same thing: The Natural Step (TSN), The 5 Level Framework and Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD) and the Strategic Life Cycle Assessment (SLCA).
This system originated in Sweden in 1989 but has undergone many collective revisions and iterations. If you want to go to their website to read more specifically about this approach, click here. A lot of what the organisation currently focuses on is Sustainability Leadership training and multi-stakeholder cooperative “Labs” where they research solutions for common sustainability problems. You can find out more about their 10 step SLCA process that incorporates the questions and approach below.
One notable aspect of TSN is that it has mainly been used and revised by scientists, so it uses much more technical language and is based upon key scientific rules in a way that many others are not. For example, the Law of Thermodynamics figures prominently in this approach.
However, despite this jargon and reference to concepts that may not feel simple and basic to everyone, it can still be summarised in a sentence: a sustainable business does NOT create conditions which systematically undermine people’s ability to meet their needs and does NOT allow nature to be subject to exploitation, pollution or degradation in order to profit.
There are a number of concepts behind these ideas. For example, with regards to people, this can be further understood as NOT having access to or obstacles that restrict their ability to develop in the areas of:
-health
-influence
-competence
-impartiality
-meaning-making
Lists and definitions such as these mean that instead of blindly taking part in someone else’s questionnaire. For example, if as a business you were reviewing the area of Governance and Employees, you might choose to concentrate on obstacles to developing influence. This could raise questions of knowledge and access. Who “knows” what is important and who is allowed to comment on or make decisions regarding practice in your business?
It is for the reasons above that so many sustainable businesses focus on internal employee education and commit to “transparency” in their reporting and decision making. They might not understand these underlying principles though and only consider it because a pre-set questionnaire has directed them to do so. With this approach, you know why you are asking the questions you do.
The benefit of negative wording is that it clarifies very specifically what you - as a sustainable business - are trying to avoid rather than dictating what you “should” do. This means that your focus and solutions within this framework are up to you.
However, if the negative wording of the TNS statements seems problematic, it has been re-worded more positively as focusing on:
-Conversion: avoid accessing resources which are produced through exploitation, pollution and degradation of nature (or people)
-Substitution: exchange unsustainable materials, resources, processes and behaviour for ones that are sustainable
-The Precautionary Principle: with innovations use caution, pausing and review before fully adopting anything that is untested or unproven
-The Golden Rule: do unto others as you would have them do unto you
All the ideas mentioned above are key - and what makes it different than other sustainability approaches - to their 10 step implementation process. A number of large global companies, such as Pret a Manger, have used this approach.
The ten steps of SLCA process:
1. Setting goal and scope
2. Creating a shared definition of the sustainable product system
3. Define the system boundaries and life cycle scenario for the sustainability assessment
4. Conduct an inventory analysis of the life cycle
5. Sustainability assessment – Use the sustainability principles to assess sustainability strengths and weaknesses
6. Analysis & synthesis of results – Identifying key impact areas
7. Brainstorm possible solutions
8. Prioritise solutions
9. Create an innovation roadmap
10. Measure and report progress (ongoing)
As you can tell from this brief overview, while there are a number of benefits to this approach it does take some expertise and considerable engagement with its underlying concepts so needs clear commitment and support.
