6 Discussion
As this study aims to understand the sensemaking amongst leaders that have the ambition of developing sustainable organizations, the discussion section will start by comparing the understanding of sustainability amongst informants in leader positions with the notion of strong sustainability (Dyllick & Muff, 2016; Landrum, 2018; Sjåfjell, 2018). Secondly, I will juxtapose the main findings to progressive leadership discourses and discuss potential benefits and challenges.
Lastly, having recognized how the ambiguous nature of the concept of sustainability is causing exhaustion and resistance of its widespread use, the discussion will end by proposing a new way of assessing organizational sustainability.
Table 6.1
Leader Quotes Score 4
Charlotte Skovgaard (Appendix A)
- “Traditional sustainability needs to go hand in hand with economic sustainability [..] We need to create a culture where we advise our customers about our product offerings so that we increase revenue”
- “Sustainability needs to be integrated in the business model and moved out of the communication department”
7
Christian Ibsen (Appendix B)
- “My idea of sustainability includes everything from loss of biodiversity to soil pollution but always in a global perspective, so its planetary and more than just climate” (01:26)
- “We need to work with reconstruction nature and lower CO2-emissions at the same time. Regenerate nature and farming and replanting in North America if we want to have a chance with the climate” (06:33)
9
Kirsten Stendevad (Appendix C)
- “Growth for the sake of growth has overtaken focusing on creating thriving conditions. Sustainability is about thinking in a long-term perspective where there is balance between humans and nature” (04:53)
- “I help people find their inner calling and that is always connected with a higher purpose about contributing to the greater good” (35:07)
8
Mads Leif (Appendix D)
- “I don’t care that things could have gone faster or on a bigger scale. We have made the right difference in the right way” (46:14)
- “I think the concept of sustainability has lost its meaning. But for me the most important dimension is the human aspect and the focus on one’s own well-being” (12:21)
7
Mads Rasmussen (Appendix E)
- “We use our profits for climate projects such as planting mangrove trees which absorb twice the amount of CO2 of normal trees or buying land in Denmark to restore biodiversity” (15:23)
- “The earth can cope if we continue to pour out oil for another 100 years, but it cannot cope if we continue to emit CO2 for 100 years” (16:53)
9
Martin Bjergegaard (Appendix F)
- “We need to change our use of resources since we are currently using around 4 earths each year and we can’t do that for very long” (04:44)
- “I wanted to think seven generations ahead with each of the decisions we made” (23:44)
9
Nadim Alawi (Appendix G)
- “For me sustainability is about seeing every living thing as part of a bigger ecosystem and we need to be a part of it in a good way” (09:07)
- “My work with sustainability is about securing the foundation of life which is protecting nature so that we all have a future” (06:21)
8
4 The arbitrary score is designed to give an indication of where to research participants can be found on the sustainability continuum from weak to strong. 1= very weak and 10= very strong. The quotes are included to give examples and
While it may seem harsh to assign a lower score due to these seemingly reasonable considerations, it nonetheless indicates an inside-out approach that favors measuring monetary value and using the logic of markets to dictate where development is need (Banerjee, 2008; Crane et al., 2014; Dyllick &
Muff, 2016). Although ML showed great care for (a) wanting to protect the environment, (b) realized the importance of steady-state qualitative growth and (c) sought to create thriving conditions for people around him, it seem to be from an egocentric perspective that solely focused on the human needs and to some extend neglected the broader natural systems and planetary boundaries. His rationale for giving primacy to personal prosperity can be explained by the fact that he perceived it as an essential antecedent and necessary condition for working long-term with sustainability in a professional capacity. A divergence between CS and ML and the other informants, was that the remaining informants expressed how they sought to develop organizations with an eco-centric purpose where value directly was created for the common good and the planet as a whole, elements that were identified as important in overcoming TBD (Dyllick & Muff, 2016; Mang & Reed, 2012;
Sjåfjell, 2018). However, like the majority of the other informants, CS and ML recognized the need for integrating corporate sustainability within the core of the organization, which is central to achieving strong sustainability (du Plessis, 2012). Three informants indicate how the actively attempted to go beyond harm reduction and instead focus on repairing damage to existing systems based considerations of planetary boundaries (Mang & Reed, 2012; Raworth, 2017; Sjåfjell, 2018), leading to their elevated scores.
Assessing the informants understanding of sustainability shows that five out of seven can be seen to have a strong notion of sustainability, which suggests that their organizational practices may help to overcome TBD. The two remaining informants were deemed to be on the threshold of a strong sustainability understanding, due to a lack of planetary considerations and an emphasis on the human dimension. It is again important to note that this is the leaders sensemaking of sustainability and that the actual organizational practices may be slightly different. While recognizing the limitations of the survey, the idea of potential difference between perception and actual practices is supported by the RCI self-assessment, where the personal mindset scores were higher than the personal behavior scores (Appendix O). Having shown in the findings how the research participants perceive leadership, including the conditions they deem necessary when developing a sustainable organization, and argued that these leaders’ notion of sustainability largely can be considered strong and in accordance with TBD, the following section will juxtapose the tentative notion of regenerative leadership against other streams of progressive leadership.