Founder and CEO of Creekbank Associates, Jody Bickel, provides coaching to sustainability leaders to help them achieve their most important goals. Sustainability leaders face intense scrutiny and pressure from various stakeholders, making it challenging for them to prioritize their tasks. Bickel emphasizes that sustainability roles exist to enhance an organization’s social license to operate. This mission is simple in theory but complex to execute.
Social license to operate is a concept that is essential for organizations. It is the organization’s public reputation in society and plays a crucial role in how they are perceived by the public. Bickel believes that an organization’s sustainability reputation can be moving in one of three directions: positive, neutral or negative. Public opinion is constantly changing and evolving, often influenced by social media channels.
The Edelman Trust Barometer surveys highlight how people view organizations and institutions. The report revealed that trust in government and media was decreasing, with business being the only trusted institution. People are increasingly considering an organization’s beliefs and values when making decisions about purchasing, working, and investing. This shows the direct link between an organization’s sustainability posture and consumer behavior.
Bickel emphasizes the importance of a mindset shift for sustainability leaders. Instead of solely focusing on increasing sustainability initiatives, leaders should prioritize understanding where their social license to operate is at risk and how they can leverage sustainability to strengthen it. Communication plays a crucial role in showcasing the positive outcomes of sustainability initiatives to various stakeholders.
Sustainability leaders have the potential to have a significant impact on an organization’s public reputation. By focusing on social license to operate, they can reap numerous benefits and mitigate unnecessary risks. Bickel believes that we are at the forefront of a sustainability reputation revolution, where organizations must prioritize social license to operate to succeed in a rapidly changing world.
