Sustainability/ESG is about more than just environmental degradations. Just as green logos are not enough to effect environmental challenges, brand narratives that fail to incorporate human degradations leave behind vast numbers of our planet’s people and, thereby, fail to address the “social” in ESG.
Embracing systems thinking will help us be more aware of this, for in systems thinking as opposed to linear thinking, every action affects everything and everyone in the system. Once embraced, problems which, given their systematic "people" impact, can now be seen as primary concerns. As words are depositories of value, such changes in thinking requires changes in language. We need new metaphors.
The metaphor linear thinking suggests that things occur in sequence, one leading to another and in some way waiting for one part to kick in before the next can come into effect. We tend to like this approach because it's simple and tidy... things moving on a straight line. However, this framework obstructs our sight lines so we can't see the interdependency and complexity of things. The right metaphor to mirror reality is that the world looks more like elliptical circles, dynamically intersecting, overlapping at common points of interest, with its participants influencing one another and information flowing and back flowing in feedback loops over its interdependent component parts. The world, like the universe, works more like this. It's more of a ‘system’.
Systems thinking approaches the world with a holistic perspective and makes it clear that we are all in this together; its chief ideas are as follows:
- A system is greater than the sum of its parts, and thereby when it operates, creates exponential value over linear processes.
Some of the ways are:
- Components in the system are interdependent; a change in one component, changes all others and this alerts us to offer mutual aid.
- A system can be programmed to predict what's likely to occur when the system experiences a known change.
- Systems, thus tend to homeostasis or equilibrium by being self-correcting
- With Al and machine learning, this self-correction will occur faster and better among the systems components, enhancing their win-win.
Linear thinking is reflected in the phrase supply chains. ’Chains’ imply static links which can break and cause delays and irrevocable harm to links that are ahead of it waiting for the sequence to operate. It also implies that the links have no organic relationship, that is, they have no relationship with each other except when sequentially operating and it's necessary that they relate. ‘Cooperation’ is contractual not ‘relational’ and collaboration is not a strategic option. This is static thinking leading to waste and degradation of both people and their eco-systems.
The first corrective step to take is mapping. Sketch out your elliptical circles and place those component suppliers and producers (materials, transportation or information sources, etc.) that interface with each other to see, no matter the size and location, how interdependent we are. Add complexity and now the need for ‘cooperation’ becomes more compelling. ‘Collaboration’ now is seen not as an occasionally useful model, but as the model to affect complex sustainability goals.
This affective outcome is because collaboration brings more than just efficiencies; it brings harmony to the forefront of the business relationship. It sees competitors as people and people as central to meeting the challenge. Field and factory workers become visceral realities! Integrating clusters of local charities, small farmers and factories through offering education, financial literacy and skills development, is not a loss of leverage, but as a first step in making your contractual relations with second and third tier factory workers (most of whom are WOC) and providers part of your enterprise; Nordstrom's HERproject, is an example of this. Benefits do and should flow directly to the workers themselves and not merely to and for the owners of these provider businesses. Investment now goes beyond things and into people. Systems theory becomes ethical practice!
