INNOVATION September-October 2017

improvement on energy and water per year and did not rely on a single leader. However, a subset of building operators that for a variety of reasons were more open to innovation found ways to deliver 20 percent savings within two years. His second lesson was that broad internal acceptance of an incremental approach meant most were not actively looking for even better solutions. WHAT IS SUSTAINABILITY CONTEXT? While many companies are adjusting to ‘triple bottom line’ thinking, leading companies are going further by viewing their operations as part of a nested system, bounded by the environmental and social systems around them (referred to as a nested view, sustainability context, contextual, or simply, context). The foundation of a contextual approach is the recognition that your company’s operations could be limited by certain socio- ecological thresholds, and there is a need to move beyond asking what your company ‘could do’ to understanding what your company ‘needs to do’ to play its part in maintaining and enhancing key environmental and social systems. Leading companies are moving beyond simply reporting their social and environmental impacts, and instead are contemplating their own roles in upholding resilient ecosystems, resilient social systems, and resilient economies. EXPLORING SUSTAINABILITY CONTEXT Vancouver Fraser Port Authority’s new vision is to be the world’s most sustainable port. This vision is supported by the port authority’s sustainable port definition, consisting of 10 focus areas representing the most significant sustainability opportunities and challenges facing the port. Ronan Chester, Manager, Strategic

energy price increases and qualify for third-party rating systems such as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. A contextualized goal, however, can connect energy objectives to broader climate science and policy, such as the international climate change mitigation objectives (two degrees Celsius scenario) supported by the United Nations and Canada. In this case, the organization’s energy management strategy clearly connects its goals to broader societal goals and demonstrates how these goals are mutually reinforcing. This approach may create a more meaningful narrative for senior management, investors/ shareholders, and building tenants, while also providing a clear, contextual view of performance. This article provides an overview of how companies can begin to consider context in developing sustainability strategy and goals drawing from the Embedding Project’s “Road to Context” framework (see embeddingproject.org/resources/the-road-to- context). It also provides examples of how two Vancouver-based sustainability professionals are using contextual thinking to further their organizations’ sustainability journeys. WHAT IS CONTEXT? In 2008, Jamie Gray-Donald presented the CEO of a major Canadian retailer with a draft sustainability strategy and goals. These goals were based on Gray-Donald’s assumption that the retailer could match the pace competitors were achieving on things like energy use in stores and paper consumption reductions (flyers and catalogues). The meeting went well. As they talked, the CEO, initially trained as an oil and gas engineer, marked up the strategy document. “When I got back to my desk and flipped through the

comments I quickly noticed that my goal of $2.5 million in operational savings had been changed to $25 million, and the $25 million in incremental sales of eco- products was now $250 million US”, says Gray-Donald. “I emailed the CEO whose response was, ‘the numbers need to be big enough that the CFO and the business unit heads will have to do something to hit these goals, which will go into our corporate plans.’” In the end, the goals were surpassed early, but when the CEO left in 2011 so did any more sustainability goals. This was Gray-Donald’s first lesson in context. His next endeavour was with a commercial real estate company. It was a different sector and a different leadership culture. There was not one executive who was willing to own a stretch goal. Instead they were focused on setting goals building- by-building based on exact projects that were quantified through energy audits and approved in capital plans over the next three years. This process delivered steady progress of one to two percent efficiency

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