You're facing resistance to sustainable practices from key stakeholders. How can you win them over?

To win over key stakeholders resistant to sustainable practices, start by understanding their concerns. Engage in open dialogues to identify specific objections and challenges they foresee. Present compelling evidence that links sustainability to economic growth, risk mitigation, and competitive advantage. Share success stories from other companies and propose pilot programs to demonstrate potential benefits. By addressing their concerns and showcasing tangible outcomes, you can build trust and shift their perspective.

It is important to recognize that stakeholders are not a homogeneous group (i.e., internal stakeholders like employees and shareholders or external stakeholders like suppliers or the community). Therefore, first step is to systematically map and prioritize stakeholders/concerns. These activities should be planned ahead, and concerns/feedback should be collected in a mutually understandable format to ensure clarity over concerns in order to decide on next steps.

This requires a strategic and empathetic approach. Start by listening to their concerns to understand their reservations. Present clear, data-driven evidence showing the benefits of sustainable practices, such as cost savings, risk reduction, and improved brand reputation. Use case studies from similar industries to demonstrate success. Align sustainability with their business goals, highlighting how it can drive long-term profitability and competitive advantage. Offer phased implementation plans to show short-term wins. Engage them in the process by addressing their feedback and showing a willingness to collaborate. By combining empathy with compelling evidence and clear benefits, you can build their support for sustainable practices.

Where possible it would be optimal to be the first to have made the change, show how you work better and with less environmental impact is often a first element that imitation leads others to follow the new directions. Once a colleague of mine introduced me to a new contact describing me as "true journalist to zero emissions" because I use to move on foot or with the public transport. And that time I realized I got the message through better than 1000 words. Julius Caesar went down into the trenches and dug with his soldiers, this is a teaching to always remember.

Showcasing the tangible value of sustainable practices can turn skeptics into advocates. As William A. Foster once said, "Quality is never an accident. It is always the result of intelligent effort." Presenting case studies or scenarios where sustainability initiatives have led to improved business outcomes can effectively demonstrate benefits. For instance, highlight cost savings achieved through energy efficiency measures, increased brand reputation and customer loyalty due to ethical sourcing, or operational efficiencies resulting from waste reduction initiatives. These real-world examples illustrate how sustainability not only contributes to environmental and social goals but also enhances financial performance and long-term viability.

I have verified that involving my colleagues even in roles not strictly related to the need to be evaluated helps me sometimes to make the problem differently. For example, some of the graphic designers imagine sustainability in a way that is not always accurate from a content point of view but effective from an image point of view. In those cases, for example, I correct the content but I collect the simplification of the message in graphics. Which I find helps to better reach those like them who do not have full knowledge of the content to understand the message.

Incentives can be a powerful motivator for embracing sustainability. By offering incentives such as financial rewards, recognition, career advancement opportunities, or even personal satisfaction from contributing to positive environmental change, you can inspire individuals and teams to actively engage in sustainable practices. These incentives not only encourage participation but also reinforce the importance of sustainability as a core value within your organization. Additionally, they help sustain momentum and commitment towards achieving sustainability goals by aligning personal and organizational interests effectively.

By selecting manageable pilot projects, you can showcase specific improvements such as cost savings, resource efficiency, or environmental impact reduction. This approach allows stakeholders to witness firsthand the practical advantages of sustainable practices without committing to large-scale changes immediately. Successful pilot projects not only build confidence in sustainability efforts but also serve as compelling cases for scaling up initiatives across the organization. They provide valuable insights and data to inform future strategies, ensuring that sustainability becomes integrated into core business practices.