Far Beyond The Notion Of Business Sustainability

Dignity stems from a deeper sense of meaning, value, and purpose for life. It is spiritual, biological, and transcends space and time. Dignity is the underlying code that makes life intelligent and purposeful. We should tread carefully and respectfully into this new territory of consciousness and reality. There are dimensions of the Universe that we have only begun to understand. Our reality is but one version of truth and understanding. Ultimately, we should not fear humans against robots, aliens, or zombies. Rather, its humans against ourselves that we need to reconcile with conviction and dignity. In a world that is rampant with so much individual and social need, its befuddling that we invest so many resources into areas that do not immediately address and serve the greater good of humanity. It begs the question whether we are really in control or whether a higher power guides our occupation of Earth. If we are the stewards of our lives then it is up to us to discover the truth, purpose, and our meaning of life. Our pursuit of the meaning of life can look like many things, but it should not come at the detriment of another fellow human being.

A Hole In The World

Thus, it is the responsibility of each of us, to pursue our dreams and passions, but in the process, to lift up those around us and enable them, like us, to seek out and discover purpose freely, justly, and peacefully. Human dignity should be a core principle that transcends all our endeavors. Whether we are designing a humanoid or autonomous car, taking care of a dying man who has no remaining family, or respecting the points of view and rights of others even if they challenge our beliefs, we must allow dignity to be the force which binds our collective intelligence and actions. Without it we are like humanoids operating on faulty code limiting our survival, capacity to love, and ability to get closer to understanding the true meaning of life. If we could deliberately and purposefully design dignity into our life, what would that look like? How could dignity defined by design improve the efficacy of products and services? What would a dignity defined by design political campaign look like? What would be our new measures of success, based upon a dignity by design framework? Well, we can attain a better future with a dignity defined by design mindset. What this requires is that we first accept the mission to go above and beyond our traditional level of service, and get to know the individual and every customer more closely so that their unique needs are more transparent. What this also requires is that we adopt agile design, manufacturing, and service infrastructures that have the intelligence to modulate characteristics to the needs of individuals and markets, efficiently and sustainably. A framework for dignity by design begins by deconstructing just what dignity means for the customer, distilling that into core values and a delivery of service, care, and commitment. Measures of dignity include things like responsibility, sustainability, accountability, trust, security, safety, responsiveness, and quality, to name a few. The best businesses designs these and other values directly into their products and services. Even so, there are millions of products and services that fall short of a dignity defined by design solution. Perhaps one of the closest measures of dignity by design principles has been the evolution of sustainable design, products, and innovation.

Drive Forward Through Misfortune

Even the best corporate sustainability performers have not been able to fully crack the dignity code. A leading thinker and practitioner of the corporate sustainability movement reflected on this challenge. But success or failure on sustainability goals cannot be measured only in terms of profit and loss. It must also be measured in terms of the wellbeing of billions of people and the health of our planet, and the sustainability sector’s record in moving the needle on those goals has been decidedly mixed. While there have been successes, our climate, water resources, oceans, forests, soils and biodiversity are all increasingly threatened. Hence the need for a recall. I hope that in another 25 years we can look back and point to this as the moment started working toward a triple helix for value creation, a genetic code for tomorrow’s capitalism, spurring the regeneration of our economies, societies, and biosphere. I read Elkington’s article several times. Companies, small and large, have Elkington and many other thought leaders and practitioners to thank for working to advance sustainability as a science, art, and legitimate pillar of modern business. To attain a sustainable future we must be willing, capable, and intent on defining and designing dignity into everything that we are and do. We must appreciate all life, at face value, without any bias. For years, many sustainability practitioners have worked hard to make the business case and justify the return on investment or the business value to sustainability.

No Second Thoughts

But for all of the progress made on the sustainability business case, there are industries, organizations, and individuals that are lagging. They continue to need to discover how to conduct their operations in a more sustainably progressive way. The generational impetus to create and manifest a business case for sustainability has served its purpose and time. Lately I cringe when I hear someone mention the business case for sustainability, particularly when it is said or raised by colleagues in the sustainability profession. The phrase is dated and has become obsolete. The business case for sustainability has been substantiated. What’s needed now is a deliberate and unrelenting shift in the daily actions and behaviors of billions of consumers. After 20 years working in the profession I believe we have unintentionally gotten the messaging and purpose all wrong. The hearts and minds of sustainability practitioners, I believe, are in the right place. For humanity to attain a sustainable future, however, we must move far beyond the notion of business sustainability and envelop principles of integrity, accountability, dignity, and sustainability into everything that we do. Sustainability is about the protection, conservation, restoration, and preservation of Earth’s fragile ecosystems.