Too many sustainability people I meet are single-handedly trying to change a huge monolithic organisation into some kind of hippy village with people sitting around in circles being mindful. Guess what? They lose.

Green jujitsu says play to the organisation’s strengths, rather than trying to address its weaknesses. For example:

• If your organisation is driven by risk, make sure you get legislation, resource cost pressures, branding, climate change impacts etc etc into the risk management system.
• If your organisation is driven by metrics, then make sure the right people have the right sustainability targets and are held to account.
• And, if you do work for a new-agey, progressive company where mindfulness and meditation are encouraged, then by all means do the hippy thing and be proud!

But at the end of the day, work with the system, roll with the momentum and play the game – just play it by your rules.