I love a good Venn diagram so, when I was reviewing the contents of this week’s Business Case for Sustainability webinar, I realised there was an interlocking-circles shaped gap in the introduction. So, I came up with the above.

It illustrates a basic principle of Sustainability success: when Sustainability programmes are synergistic with business interests (and, more importantly, are seen to be synergistic) then that programme will in itself be (small ‘s’) sustainable. Conversely, if you design a Sustainability programme which doesn’t fit with business interests then you will have a constant battle to keep it on the agenda at all, never mind making significant changes. First bump in the road and you can say goodbye to the commitment.

What does this mean in practice? Well if your Sustainability programme is driven by customer demand, then you focus Sustainability efforts on those customer demands, rather than, say, cost reductions. If, like one of my clients, you are selling reasonably complex products globally, then compliance is at the fore (eg eradicating problem chemicals) rather than cost cutting. However, if you are a bulk commodity producer you may find that a cost reduction focus will give your Sustainability programme traction with the powers that be.

I sometimes get accused of cynicism when I present ideas like this, but idealism is the enemy of success. And don’t forget this pragmatism is just a starting point; once you have embedded Sustainability in the organisation as a friend, not a a foe, you can work to increase the area of overlap by converging the two circles. But finding that starting point is crucial.