Your sustainability initiatives are being blocked by key stakeholders. How will you overcome this obstacle?

Sustentabilidade é sistêmica, não é responsabilidade de uma área e ou setor, sendo assim o primeiro passo é o diagnóstico. É fundamental medir para gerenciar! Com o diagnóstico a empresa ou a equipe terá as informações e será mais assertivo nas ações ou busca por ferramentas para quebrar a resistência. E, assim chegar no melhor resultado para as metas de sustentabilidade.

It is important to understand that everyone is starting at potentially different places in their knowledge of sustainability and what it might mean to them or their collective interest. It is often useful to do two things : a) alignment on understanding on what "sustainability" means for them as a group and b) focus on the benefits or business case for being more sustainable.

Sustainability initiatives can face resistance. Here's how to understand the "why": - Identify Concerns: Schedule meetings to delve into stakeholder anxieties. Are they worried about short-term costs, feasibility of implementation, or potential impact on core business operations? - Hidden Fears: Look beyond the surface. Resistance might stem from fear of change, uncertainty about the future, or a lack of understanding about sustainability benefits. - Knowledge Gap: Stakeholders might not grasp the long-term value of sustainability. They might prioritize short-term gains over long-term environmental and economic benefits.

Understanding the root causes of stakeholders' resistance is crucial to addressing their concerns & gaining their support for sustainability initiatives common reasons for resistance are may be 1. Cost concerns: Fear of increased expenses/reduced profits 2. Disruption to business as usual: Concerns about changes to existing processes 3. Lack of understanding: Unclear about the benefits of sustainability 4. Fear of change: Resistance to new ideas 5. Prioritization of short-term gains 6. Limited resources: Insufficient time, personnel, or budget to implement 7. Skepticism about impact: Doubts about the effectiveness 8. Competing priorities: Other business priorities 9. Lack of leadership support 10. Cultural or organizational barriers

Here's how to overcome stakeholder opposition to sustainability initiatives: Engage Early: Include stakeholders from the start to resolve issues and collect insights. Educate: Provide persuasive statistics about the advantages of sustainability, such as cost savings and risk reduction. Highlight Success: Share case studies and examples of successful sustainability initiatives. Align Goals: Connect sustainability activities to the organization's overall goals and values. Pilot initiatives: Propose small-scale pilot initiatives to test feasibility and benefits. Build Alliances: Identify and collaborate with key stakeholders. Transparent Communication: Maintain open, honest, and consistent communication to foster trust and understanding.

Analyse the reasons behind the block first. You must address the problems at their root. There is not much you can do if it involves behaviour or attitude unless you have the ability to influence them and alter their perspective. We must understand the needs and expectations of our stakeholders, how to bridge the gap, and how to tie it to your initiatives.

Hey everyone! Once you understand the opposition, it's time to build your case. Gather strong, compelling data and examples that highlight the benefits of your sustainability initiatives. Show the potential for cost savings, improved brand reputation, and long-term advantages. Use case studies from similar organizations that successfully implemented these initiatives. Clearly articulate how your plan aligns with the overall goals and values of the stakeholders. Presenting a well-researched, evidence-based argument can help sway even the most skeptical stakeholders.

Once you understand the resistance, present a compelling case: - Align with Goals: Frame sustainability as an enabler of existing business goals. Show how it reduces costs, improves efficiency, or mitigates risks relevant to stakeholders. - Focus on Value & ROI: Quantify the impact. Use data to demonstrate potential cost savings, improved resource utilization, or brand reputation benefits. - Transparency & Openness: Share knowledge and address concerns transparently. Provide clear timelines, address feasibility questions, and demonstrate your commitment to a smooth implementation process.

And ensure that you are speaking the 'language' of the stakeholder as you build your case. When speaking with the CFO, make sure numbers, cost savings, revenue growth, etc are at the forefront of your case. Human Resources will want focus on talent development, recruitment, retention, DEI, fair wages, and so forth.

Resistance often melts with open communication and education: - Collaboration, Not Dictation: Don't dictate solutions. Involve stakeholders in brainstorming sessions to develop co-created sustainability initiatives that address their concerns and leverage their expertise. - Education & Capacity Building: If stakeholders lack understanding, offer educational workshops or resources on sustainability benefits. Empower them to become sustainability champions within their departments. - Celebrate Wins & Ownership: Recognize and celebrate progress made on sustainability initiatives. Acknowledge stakeholder contributions and foster a sense of shared ownership for long-term success.

Increase engagement with sustainability through education of key stakeholders in certified Carbon Literacy training to ensure that they fully understand the risks to the organisation from climate change, how it relates to all other functions and how to take positive action and align with the organisations sustainability strategy.

Making sustainability happen can be hard when some people worry about money and how things work. To fix this, talk with them in workshops about saving money and doing things better. Work together on ideas that fix their worries and use what they know. Teach them about how good sustainability is in workshops, so they can help too. Celebrate when things go well to build trust and keep everyone on board. When you show them how good sustainability is with real examples, they will understand and want to help even more.

We are preparing a cycle of webinars and workshops to increase the und users literacy about food sustainability systems. We will use Linkedin channels to disseminate.

Leveraging allies can be a game-changer when facing stakeholder resistance. Imagine you’re pushing a sustainability initiative and hitting roadblocks. Instead of going it alone, you rally supportive colleagues and industry partners who share your vision. Form a coalition that champions the cause, organizing joint presentations and leveraging their credibility. This united front makes your case stronger and more convincing, showing stakeholders that the initiative has broad support. Building a network of allies not only strengthens your position but also demonstrates widespread backing.

Our biggest alliances is a complex combination between private sector, R & D, public sector, ONGs and of course, the end users. Our proposal for the pilot study is keep doing the assessment about the consumers habits and food choices. In our research we also identified that what the people find most appealing about aquaponically grown products? They answer was "the sustainability of production process (environmental conscious). This is a great result, because tell us that we are going in the right direction.

Strategise where you recruit allies from. Most people go for one-person-per-department, but that can leave your ally isolated and unsupported. While it's great to have someone in every department, aim for at least two or three people, including someone senior. You don't have to get them all at once. Also, think about building routes of influence between you and key decision-makers who might not be reachable by yourself.

These allies are key to influencing others by sharing their successes and showing practical benefits like saving money and working more efficiently. To do this well, find and support these allies early on, work together closely, and connect their stories with what the organization wants to achieve. By doing this smartly, organizations can convince stakeholders, create a culture of sustainability, and make real, long-lasting changes.

When important people in your organization block sustainability plans, try starting with a small project to show them how it can work. Pick something simple with clear goals to prove it's possible and beneficial. Share honest results, good or bad, to learn and build trust with these stakeholders. This helps show the value of sustainability and makes it easier to expand these ideas throughout the organization.

To overcome resistance to sustainability initiatives from stakeholders: 1. Identify resistance reasons. 2. Gather benefits evidence. 3. Show how initiatives support organizational objectives. 4. Involve them early and address their concerns. 5. Start with achievable projects for early successes. 6. Clarify benefits and dispel misconceptions. 7. Address potential drawbacks and prepare risk management plans. 8. Offer incentives for support. 9. Use external resources and expertise and then remain persistent and flexible in your approach.

Resistance is a great indicator for other perspective, values, worldviews, perceived and real pressures. Resistance usually does not happen out of nowhere. Sometimes less is more when we can work together this way. "Sustainability" objectives can be dogmatic and siloed too, and there are many doors that can be walked through for less progress to target but more impact and outcome

I agree but financial angle must be looked in the proposal.The main issue is mentality and will power needed to adopt the suggested reforms to achieve best results of sustainability.

I also had a chance to meet practical cases and I try to understand and find suitable solution on supporting to related stakeholders because they are also want to proceed operation as sustainability way but last time was so tough and now the sollution took effectively application.