The human dynamics of sustainability

Mark Drummond

What are the human dynamics that play a critical role in ensuring the success behind sustainability initiatives?

As part of the Cape Town Sustainable Brands Conference, P&G is hosting a workshop in partnership with Neuralsense that looks at this important human aspect of sustainability.

The workshop on Monday at 17:15 aims to equip those involved in sustainability with tools and knowledge from the field of neuroscience, so that they are better positioned to implement sustainability initiatives in their organisations.

Only works when fully embraced

Lasting organisational change in the sustainability arena is only achieved when employees fully embrace, and even lead the required initiatives, programmes, processes and activities. This workshop addresses both what the organisation’s members have to become and what they need to do consistently well in order to reach the desired levels of confidence and competence.

Being:

Mindfulness and the raising of awareness are critical in allowing people to understand, to become involved, and to own a sustainability initiative. It encourages people to confront their ambivalence, trepidation and anxiety, and tackle new events and challenges by facing (not denying) their fears and choosing to utilise positive, aspirational energy. Mindfulness is also a way of contributing to necessary shifts in compassion, resilience, emotional, social and cultural intelligence. Together with a suitable future orientation (which simultaneously develops present-day skills in handling complexity, and the building of confidence and optimism), people learn to be. Then their doing manifested in ethical and sound decision making and new positive behaviours reinforce their purpose, values and commitment.

Graham Williams

Doing:

When people within the organisation are included in the decision-making process, co-operation takes place across external silos and sustainability constituents, and a framework of purpose and virtues bounds the process, they enter sustainability initiatives wholeheartedly. Decisions are filtered for future adverse consequences.

In eliciting engagement listening becomes key and story techniques such as metaphor elicitation, anecdote circle sharing and free association connected to sustainability images are incredibly powerful mechanisms for securing meaningful engagement. A number of useful approaches to assisting positive attitude and behaviour change in the context of sustainability initiatives, activities and purposes, are explored – especially from the point of view of why they work.

Dr. David Rosenstein

Workshop participants will:

• Through exercises, discussions and inputs, be exposed to and understand each of these four interrelated components of the psychology of sustainability, and how they work to ensure success
• Interact with peers and experienced facilitators (steeped in neuroscience, story-telling, psychology and business)
• Gain an awareness of the need to partner across hitherto uncrossed external silos (including Government, educational institutions, sustainability service providers with different approaches, activist organisations, NGOs, and business) and tips on how to do so
• Leave with a framework and principles needed for implementing sustainability initiatives, projects and activities in their own organisations

The workshop takes place at 17:05 on Monday 16th May in Hall B, Century City Conference Centre, and is open to all attendees of the Sustainable Brands Conference.

One-day and all-event passes are available here.