Summit Recap: Women's Network for a Sustainable Future

This past week I was fortunate to attend a West Coast Sustainability Summit hosted by the Women’s Network for a Sustainable Future. WNSF is a national association of women professionals who are passionate about integrating sustainability principles into their organizations and businesses.

This year’s second annual West Coast Businesswomen’s Sustainability Summit, hosted by IBM at the company’s Almaden Research Center, attracted over 200 professional women from a variety of companies and fields to discuss opportunities, challenges and best practices in corporate sustainability.

Through a diverse set of presentations and panels, including a keynote delivered by Nancy Sutley, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, WNSF managed to pack a ton of learning and questioning into just a few hours! For those of you not able to attend, I thought I’d provide my take on key learnings and themes from the day.

The morning started off with a short welcome from Ann Goodman, co-founder and executive director of WNSF. WNSF’s goal, she said, is to inspire and educate women and provide opportunities for women with similar interests to network with each other and create change within their companies. She asked the crowd to think through how we can prepare the next generation of women to take the helm in sustainability in business, and she said she hoped that Summit attendees would identify “a seed of an idea” during the conference that would later grow into a tangible difference made in our organizations.

From there my fellow participants and I were treated to a variety of talks and panels from some terrific sustainability professionals, with representatives from IBM, IDEO, Johnson Controls, Schneider Electric, Siemens Corporation, and others speaking about innovating through sustainability as well as integrating sustainable values and behaviors into an organization.

Certainly a highlight of the day was Nancy Sutley’s discussion of sustainability in the Federal Government. As someone who (admittedly) often thinks of sustainability only in a business context, I thought it was fascinating to hear Sutley’s take on what a sustainability or green agenda looks like in the government sector. And trust me: as Obama’s right-hand woman on all things environmental, Sutley should know!

“Sustainability is destined to grow in scale and stature,” Sutley said, “and the Federal Government has an obligation to lead by example.”

Throughout her talk, Sutley cited examples of how the Obama White House is taking “green” seriously, including the President's GreenGov Challenge (essentially a crowd-sourcing initiative among federal employees to identify opportunities to reduce waste and increase efficiencies within the government) and the recent publishing of over 50 sustainability reports by various Federal Agencies.

But perhaps my favorite example was Sutley’s description of the Department of Defense and its role in pushing its own sustainability agenda, including setting a goal to reduce its own greenhouse gas emissions by 34% by 2020. Certainly the DoD doesn't always automatically come to mind when I'm thinking of sustainability, and yet Sutley says the department’s commitment to sustainability is actually deeply linked to the successful execution of the agency's mission.

In fact, Sutley said the Department of Defense has actually been very forward-thinking about sustainability, a surprise at first even to Sutley. As an example, the Department of Defense sees the transport of fuel to troops around the world as an increasingly crucial, and dangerous, operation. According to Sutley, when the DoD strategizes about fuel sourcing, transportation and threats, it’s impossible not to think about climate change and other related sustainability issues. The tactical application of sustainability, then, becomes a crucial consideration for the Department.

While Sutley’s examination of greening the Federal Government was definitely a standout, a number of other key themes emerged throughout the Summit:

• Human Behavior Matters: Dr. Sharon Nunes, VP Smart Cities Strategy and Solutions at IBM, talked a lot about creating and understanding “value networks” in sustainable innovation. Rather than just focusing on innovation itself, Nunes stressed the importance of looking at all of the players and people that stand to gain/lose through the type of innovation you’re developing. How will this new technology or system affect the people who will use it? An example she gave was charging tolls for commuters who use highway systems during peak hours. You can deter people from driving on roads, but if you don’t have adequate infrastructure or access to public transportation as an alternative option, your plan to reduce car emissions won’t work. As she wisely said, “Innovation for sustainability will fail miserably if you don’t think about the people who are adopting it.”

• Innovation is Messy - and Necessary: While Sharon Nunes discussed innovation at IBM, by far the best analysis of the topic was provided by self-proclaimed “innovation evangelist” Judy Estrin, serial entrepreneur and author of Closing the Innovation Gap. Through interviews with over 100 business innovators, Estrin developed what she calls the 5 Core Values of Innovation: Questioning, Risk, Openness, Patience and Trust. The way she sees it, balanced innovation (that is, innovating using all 5 core values represented in equal parts) has been on the decline for decades in this country, with people instead choosing to simply take quick risks (aka: the Great Financial Crisis of 2008). She also noted that in order to innovate, people and organizations have to be willing to invest in outcomes that are unknown, messy and potentially even a little uncomfortable. Ultimately, though, the ability to innovate speaks to our capacity for change – and as sustainability professionals, our job is all about change.

• Green Job Creation: Although this only came up a couple of times, I thought the issue of green jobs was worth highlighting, if only because there did appear to be some consensus on the topic. Panelist Kimberly Hosken, Program Director of Green Building at Johnson Controls, said it best: in her opinion, her responsibility is to “green the people who already have jobs, not create new green jobs.” She said people often come to her looking for work in sustainability, and her response to them is “But what can you do?” As she put it: “You need a ‘thing’ that you can do, and then you can go and green that.” Nancy Sutley from the White House also confirmed this idea, and I even heard Summit attendees discuss the same idea in passing at lunch. Seems to be interesting advice for anyone looking to find work in this field!

As you can tell, it was an action-packed day filled with interesting insights and eye-opening takeaways (and honestly, this post just scratches the surface!).

Perhaps most importantly, I was keenly aware throughout the day of just how smart, engaged and networked these professional women were. Each attendee brought such a unique and intelligent perspective to the table, an insight that was especially obvious when WNSF broke us up into small brainstorm groups to discuss sustainability challenges facing each of us in our companies. In my opinion, the women (and the handful of brave men!) who came together last week at the Summit represent some of the best leaders and thinkers in sustainability today, and WNSF did a terrific job bringing us all together for learning, sharing and networking!

Thanks to WNSF for including me in this great conference – I hope to see many more faces at next year’s Summit!

The Job Seeker's Dating Game

Imagine the following scenario:

A young woman is at home, getting ready for a first date on a Saturday night. She’s picked out her outfit and just jumped out of the shower, about to put on her makeup.

As she gets dressed, her thoughts drift to who she’s meeting – what he will look like, what questions he will ask her, and how she might answer.

Above all else, she wonders, will he like her? And will she like him?

As she approaches the restaurant for dinner, her hands shake a bit and her heart pounds in her chest. She introduces herself, makes eye contact, and takes a deep breath.

During dinner, she thinks it’s going well, but she’s not quite sure. He seems to like her, but then again, who knows?

After dinner she says good night, and that she hopes to see him again soon. He says the same, and they part ways.

For the next few days she waits by her phone, hoping it’ll ring. She checks her email frequently, and when she doesn’t hear anything, she starts to get nervous. Finally the phone rings, and it’s him. As she goes to answer, she wonders: does he want to see her again? Or is this it?

You might be wondering why I asked you to visualize this first date experience (and I can bet my husband is definitely among you!).

The reason is simple. Over the last few months I have come to believe in one simple but powerful truth:

Looking for a job is, in many ways, the same as looking for love.

You might think this is an oversimplification, but actually I don’t think it is. To start, take the above story and change every dating reference to an interview situation instead. It’s not a Saturday night, but a Friday morning. She’s not going to a restaurant, but an office building. In most ways, the thoughts, questions and nerves are, in fact, totally the same in both scenarios.

Trust me, I know what I’m talking about here. As you may know, I’ve been on my own job hunt for a little while now, and throughout it all, I’ve been struck by how often it’s felt like dating.

The reason? It’s all about fit.

Ah yes, fit – that elusive, yet all-encompassing three letter word that sums up just about every job search process. Just like in relationships, when it comes to job searching – and more importantly, receiving and accepting an offer – it’s all about fit.

Like looking for love, finding the right job is a process that takes time. Sometimes you find a job that fits right away, and sometimes (ok, oftentimes) it takes longer than you’d expect.

Everyone has dreams of finding that one person to spend their life with. And while finding a job in the short term may not be nearly as important as finding “one true love,” it can be easy to put just as much pressure on your job search as you do on dating.

Unfortunately, after a few unsuccessful attempts, finding the right fit can feel next to impossible.

Take another example. Throughout my job search I’ve had my eyes on one thing and one thing only. I’ve been specific when it comes to the type of work I want to do, and the people I wanted to work with. This has been, in effect, my own version of Tall, Dark, and Handsome (as in, Ladies – what kind of man are we always looking for? Tall, Dark and Handsome of course!).

What I’ve learned, however, is that what I think I want is not necessarily what’s best for me, or what will make me happiest in the long-run (in dating terms, we often call this “going after Bad Boys”). Like looking for love, what we say we want in a job and what we actually want in a job can often be very different things.

Recently my homework assignment has been to think about what I am really good at and what I really enjoy. Rather than labeling it with a specific job or industry title (my own professional version of Tall, Dark and Handsome), I’ve been trying to think more broadly about what skills I have that I enjoy using.

What’s amazing is that when I am honest with myself about what I do well and what I enjoy doing, suddenly so many other doors swing open. Industries I’ve never considered, job functions I’ve never thought of, and opportunities I’ve never looked at suddenly seem interesting to me.

All of a sudden, finding the right fit seems possible again.

I once heard Ami Dar, founder of Idealist.org, talk about the interview process for new hires at Idealist: “I wouldn't propose marriage after the third date,” he said, “so why would I hire someone after only a few interviews?”

While every job seeker wants to find a job as quickly as possible, ultimately finding the right fit is important for both sides and it's something that takes time. When you’re honest with yourself about what you’re looking for, though, your odds of success – whether in work or in love – can only go up.

Making an Impact at Work

One topic that comes up often in CSR discussions is social intrapreneurship (in fact, it’s something I’ve written about previously on The Changebase).

Lots of people want to do CSR work, but not everyone is lucky enough to be in the right place, at the right time to land that perfect CSR job.

Thankfully that doesn’t mean that you can’t still make an impact at work.

I recently sat down with Britta Durtsche, a true social intrapreneur who found her CSR calling in a most unexpected way.

Interestingly, Britta never expected she’d work at a big company like Best Buy.

A self-proclaimed “anti-corporate” college student who’d been active in causes like sustainable clothing and social enterprise, Britta never guessed that an internship with the consumer electronics giant would have such an impact on her professional career. But it did.

In 2004 as an undergraduate student at the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management, Britta decided to “test the waters of a corporate environment” by accepting an internship with Best Buy. By the end of the summer, she says, she was hooked on the company’s culture and energy.

After graduation Britta joined Best Buy as a Demand Planning Analyst in the Marketing group, and even though she spent most of her time in spreadsheets and forecasts, she loved it.

Soon after starting, Britta heard about a new group being formed at headquarters by a fellow employee named Hamlin Metzger. The goal was to get Best Buy employees engaged and active in an internal movement to integrate sustainability into their everyday work routines. Hamlin was looking for help, and Britta jumped at the chance to get involved. Soon after, in 2006 the Best Buy Social Responsibility (BBSR) team was launched.

From working with Facilities to improve recycling programs, to hosting a company-wide energy-themed film festival, Britta and the BBSR team worked hard to create buzz and generate excitement internally. In addition to these highly-visible initiatives, the BBSR team also hosted smaller informational meetings to provide employees the chance to learn more about how they could personally get involved.

And the most amazing part? Britta, Hamlin and their colleagues accomplished all of this in addition to their regular day jobs. In fact, according to Britta, it really just started as “little grassroots things I could take on in addition to my role” in Demand Planning.

Today, more than 200 employees are part of the BBSR team and it seems inevitable that this number will grow with time.

Britta attributes the program’s success to the fact that the BBSR team taps into employees’ personal interests and allows them to “bring their hearts” to work – even if their jobs aren’t directly related to corporate social responsibility.

The other crucial success factor, Britta says, was engaging Best Buy’s senior leadership every step of the way. Through personal, one-on-one outreach with VP’s and other leaders, Britta and the team secured buy-in from key influencers throughout the company – a strategy she believes helped to “carry the legitimacy” of the BBSR team’s efforts and model the way for others to join in.

Although she has since left Best Buy and the BBSR team, Britta has continued to work with social intrapreneurs who want to identify ways to bring sustainability into their workplaces and schools. Today Britta serves as the Impact Programs Manager at Net Impact, where she provides resources, tools and support for professionals and students who want to make a difference in their organizations.

For many Net Impact members and recent MBA graduates, working in sustainability or CSR is an important goal. Often, however, those jobs are tough to find and can be very competitive.

Nonetheless, Britta’s story reminds us that we don’t need “CSR” in our job title to make an impact at work. By finding a company she loved; volunteering to help with an issue she cared about; and engaging with employees at every level, Britta was able to meaningfully participate in and help guide Best Buy’s sustainability journey.

Clearly Britta’s story serves as a great example of finding ways to contribute to your company’s sustainability goals, even when you’re not working in the CSR team. But why tell her story now?

As you may know, Net Impact’s terrific annual CSR conference is taking place October 28^th through the 30^th at University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business and I want to encourage everyone to attend.

This year’s theme is “2020: Vision for a Sustainable Decade” and, given Net Impact’s own interest in social intrapreneurship, I have a hunch it’ll be a great place to learn more about how to get involved in your own company’s CSR journey.

They’re still announcing speakers and sessions, but trust me: the networking is great, the energy is contagious, and the learning is invigorating.

And the best part? For another week you can take advantage of early registration! So: what are you waiting for?

What Do You Love?

One of the best things about being in grad school and conducting a job search is getting to do informational interviews.

As an MBA student I had the opportunity to connect with and ask questions of professionals in CSR, philanthropy, social enterprise and sustainable business. Luckily, even though business school is over, I’m still able to call on friends and others in my network for in-person coffees, lunch dates and phone calls.

In total I’ve met with probably 80 people over the last year and a half – definitely a good sample size! Why do I do it?

First and foremost, these conversations are a lot of fun – I enjoy talking to people and hearing their own stories about the career choices, successes, and even mistakes they’ve made along the way.

But more than that, it’s a great learning opportunity. As someone trying to carve out my own path and figure out my next steps, I find it incredibly helpful to get other people’s perspectives and advice.

What’s funny is that even though I talk to someone different each time, the advice I receive is often similar from conversation to conversation.

For example, I don’t have enough fingers and toes to count the number of times people have told me: “If you want to work “in-house” in a corporate responsibility team, get a functional job first (ie: marketing, strategy etc) and work your way in to a CSR job later.” (Seriously – if you also want to work in CSR, I can’t stress enough how often this bit of wisdom has come up in conversation!)

Sometimes I get frustrated hearing the same thing over and over again. Yet other times the messenger relays the advice in a way that’s just different enough to make it stick.

The best and most recent example was a phone call I had last week with a woman who previously worked in CSR communications and reporting at a major consumer products company. As is customary for most of my conversations, I ended our talk by asking what advice she might have for me as someone who wants to get into the field.

Her response: “Think about what you love.”

Now ok, I’ll admit it: at first I rolled my eyes a little. I have definitely heard this one before! Still, she pressed on: “Don’t think about what brand you want to work for,” she cautioned, “or what function you want to work in. Instead, think about what you love to do, what you love to talk about – and find a job doing that.”

What’s funny is that even though this idea wasn’t new, the way in which this woman said it really resonated.

Since our talk last week I have challenged myself to identify what I really love. And to be honest, it’s not a simple question to answer!

Think about it this way – how often do you ever give yourself the freedom and the space to actually stop and think through what you love to do, what you love to learn about, or what you love to share with others? And how often to you actually bring what you love to work?

Some people know right out of the gate what it is they love. For me, I’ll admit it – I’m still working on it. But I guess, in the end, that’s the point.

People like us – that is, people who are motivated to make change in our communities and have an impact on the world – have to follow our hearts. That’s really, in my opinion, the only way we’ll actually be sure that we successfully accomplish what we set out to do!

Sometimes it’s easy to overlook the importance that enthusiasm and passion can play in our jobs. Instead, we focus on salary, title, or prestige. I know as a recent graduate it’s been easy for me to get hung up on these issues.

At the end of the day, though, I think we’re all actually motivated by questions of greater value:

• Do we feel satisfied at work?
• Are we having the impact we wanted or hoped for?
• Do we need to explore something new?

Ultimately, it comes down to figuring out your passions – that is, the things that make you feel complete and fulfilled – and finding ways to make them your life’s work.

And yes, often this is easier said than done. Many of us have family or other commitments that make it tough to simply “follow our bliss” all of the time. But my hope is that you will take just a moment to sit quietly, listen to your heart, and figure out what you love. I know that’s my goal right now and I’ll be sure to update you when I have some answers.

In the meantime, my job is to find a job. And hopefully that job will touch upon those things I love – once I know what they are!

Request from a CSR Job Seeker

I'm thrilled to announce that in two weeks I'll be graduating from business school!

As unbelievable as it sounds (even when I say it), the end of my MBA program is amazingly just around the corner. While it hasn’t always been fun – derivative equations in economics class come to mind – it has been an incredible two years of learning and 100% worth it.

Now with my diploma (almost) in hand, I’m ready to take all of my new knowledge and skills out into the big wide world and get to work.

The only problem? I need a job! Which is where my request for help comes in...

In past posts I’ve tried to stay away from obvious self-promotion – if only because I wanted the CSR stories and innovations to take center stage.

While this will almost always be true here on The Changebase, I also have to own up to the fact that I’m an MBA who’s done enough IT strategy coursework to understand the value of crowdsourcing.

Knowing that I'm lucky enough to have readers from all professions and areas of expertise, I was hoping to enlist your help in my job search. As you'll see below, I've taken a few paragraphs to outline who I am, what I do well, and how I might be able to help your organization with its CSR work.

And, if you like what you read and have some ideas or suggestions to share, of course I'd love to hear from you.

Who I Am: I’m a CSR strategy and communications specialist with a combined 7 years of experience in nonprofit fundraising, corporate philanthropy, marketing, and social media. As an MBA I have consulted with a number of corporate, agency and social enterprise clients on topics including sustainability strategy and reporting, stakeholder engagement, brand management, and consumer marketing. Curious to learn more? Check out my LinkedIn profile.

What I Do Well: While I like to think I’m pretty good at a number of different things, there are a few areas that I think are my core competencies:

CSR Strategy and Communications – I have deep subject-matter expertise and experience in CSR strategy and marketing, and I get especially excited about opportunities to help companies tell their CSR stories in ways that resonate with stakeholders and drive business value. Want an example? Check out this press release to learn more about a sustainability communications project I recently completed.

Social Media Strategy and Execution – Since starting my blog I have basically embedded myself in the social media world and, through thoughtful strategy (and lots of practice), I believe I’ve developed an approach to social media for CSR that is effective and successful. Want to see my social media work in action? Check out my Twitter feed – in just over a year I’ve built an engaged group of almost 1,200 followers through tactics that include developing a point of view, staying on message, and creating genuine conversations.

Research and Writing – Given my blog, it’s probably no surprise that I love to write. It turns out, though, that I also really enjoy doing research. Whether it’s gathering secondary data, creating surveys and analyzing results, or performing in-depth interviews, I have extensive hands-on experience with market research methods and tools. The best of all? I can turn that research into persuasive, actionable white papers for clients looking to create or maintain a thought leadership position in the CSR space.

People, People, People – It's safe to say that, in many ways, a successful CSR strategy hinges on whether you can build relationships and create allies both inside and outside your organization. Whether it's facilitating conversations, building partnerships, leading teams, or even engaging critics - you name it, I enjoy it. And I think I'm pretty good at it too.

How I Can Help You: I believe my experience and background in CSR, philanthropy and marketing can add value to the following kinds of organizations:

1. Corporate brands that have CSR programs and/or a sustainability focus
2. PR, communications, or consulting agencies that specialize in CSR marketing and strategy
3. Start-ups with innovative business ideas for “doing good and doing well.”

Whether it's crafting a CSR communications strategy for your client; integrating social media into your corporate marketing portfolio; or developing a sustainability strategy for your new start-up, I know I have the skills and experience to help you get to where you want to go.

A few other details: as I mentioned, I graduate in two weeks and I’m able to start working shortly thereafter. Oh, and I’m focusing my search in the San Francisco Bay Area and the Pacific Northwest (Seattle, WA or Portland, OR).

So, what do you think? Are you looking for help strategizing, implementing, or growing your CSR program? Know someone who is?

Please feel free to contact me - I’d love to hear more and talk through specific ways that I can help you and your company achieve your CSR goals.

Thanks again for all of the support you have given me throughout my MBA journey. It’s an exciting time and I’m really looking forward to starting my next adventure!

-Ashley