Let's Get to Work

 

I mentioned in my first blog post I believe we are all at a fork in the road.  The effects of climate change permeate multiple aspects of every day life.  Americans are in what one might call a capitalism versus culture battle as we navigate extreme discomfort closing equity gaps and reinterpreting "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" for a 21st century society.  Time to pick the path to a healthier, restorative way of life, in all its many interpretations.

Challenging?  You bet.  Impossible?  Absolutely not. It requires people who care deeply, can galvanize others, bring a "yes we can" attitude and make it work commercially.  

I'm one of those people.  

If we've not met personally, thank you for getting this far.  I hope you'll DM me and introduce yourself.

Consider this a preview of the contributions I'm seeking in my next professional role.  And yes, as LinkedIn would put it, I am Open to Work.  If you need someone like me in your business, let's talk!

My sustainability career grew from part- to full-time focus over the last five years, underpinned by two decades of marketing, data, technology and transformation experience with hard commercial accountability.  Whether a sustainability program, tech transformation, product relaunch, or marketing strategy I was responsible for revenue and margin goals and budgets upward of $50M.  

How does this help you?  I understand the rapidly-changing ESG landscape and I know how to run a business.  I know what the C-suite is concerned about and how to set goals and embed change that's sticky, welcome and intuitive.  Rather than rely on the pithy highlights in my LinkedIn bio to make my case, let's look at a couple of ESG-related issues most, if not all, organizations face today and how I've tackled them in previous roles.

Consider it a prequel to the live conversation I hope to have with you!

Galvanizing and Greenwashing

You're planning or have determined your ESG priorities and are ready to begin transforming your business.  A main priority is on-boarding key stakeholders:  employees, customers, suppliers, partners, shareholders, board members.  A critical underpinning is storytelling and communication:  clear, cohesive, engaging, transparent.  A strong over-arching storyline tailored to each stakeholder group and their two biggest questions:  what's in it for me and what does this mean to me.

Early into my Informa sustainability role, it was apparent many brands were missing the What and Why of their ESG commitments.  Informa Corporate had a strong storyline that hadn't trickled down to the brands where the customer relationships and financial accountability lived.  

I formed a Sustainability Marketing committee with reps from each industry group to rally the insights, resources and up-skilling necessary for marketers to tell their brand ESG story with greater confidence and far less greenwashing risk.  Check out this Natural Products Expo West example.

The committee approach had an intentional, secondary benefit: internal communication.  Marketers became sustainability torch bearers within their teams. Best practices spread faster and organically across the business.  The approach generated corporate interest and served as a foundational element of a centrally-funded global tool kit.

This was one of many stakeholder engagement efforts that worked internally and externally.  More people were aware and getting involved. 

Commercial Integration

Before any truly transformative program launches, we need to know where the business sits in terms of market risk and opportunity.  This steers scope, pace, expectation management, change impact, the works.  In my experience the three key early stage inputs are:

1. market insights
2. customer insights
3. financials

Resolving potential conflicts across these areas during initial planning ensures sustainability targets are viable short and long-term with manageable risk. Exec stakeholders get and stay on board.  This is where deep commercial experience is an asset.  

During my Informa sustainability role, the organization selected six events as CarbonNeutral Certification pilots.  After extensive research identifying and measuring GHG and waste, developing plans to reduce both, there is inevitably a CO2e balance; a gap to neutral closed with carbon offsets. The offset market was in a volatile pricing period and represented a new material cost to the business.

Concurrent to launching the pilot, the business was developing 3-year plans and had not yet factored the impact of growth on maintaining the certification.  Would we need more offsets?  More solution investments to reduce offset use? In addition to forecasting the in-year budget impact and assisting with a revenue scheme to break-even, I forecasted the three year cost implications with various growth scenarios.  As a result of that work, we reframed the budget conversation with the global executive team and built a plan that allowed certification related expenses, including offsets, to fold into the BAU budget as part of a wider brand value investment plan.

What's Next?

Those are just two scenarios transferable to any sustainability role:  being data-driven, managing stakeholders, incorporating sustainability into the overall business operating model, telling compelling stories.  There's much more to this field, to me as a professional in this field, and to where we can go together.  If this sounds like your journey, your needs and the type of colleague you'd like on that journey with you, reach out.

Check out my LinkedIn profile or contact me at drosplock@gmail.com or +1.203.644.2533

And if you've read this far, safe to assume you're on this "people and planet first" journey as well.  Best wishes and keep going!