Embrace change - it leads to success

Nike has made huge leaps forward in addressing the social and environmental impacts of its business. Not so long ago, the company was mired in controversy over allegations of human rights abuses in the factories making its shoes and clothing around the world – there were large protests, boycotts and widespread criticism from the media. Today, it's considered a sustainability leader.

The company’s vision is to deliver innovation and inspiration to every athlete and sustainability is central to how they do that. Hannah Jones, VP of Sustainable Business and Innovation at Nike Inc., summed up the approach in a recent tweet:

The key word is ‘innovation’ and ‘opportunity’. In order to become more sustainable, businesses need to see it as an opportunity and it means change, not a few tweaks here and there, but real change. The good news, to steal Hannah Jones’s tweet style, is that change = profit.

A recent report by MIT Sloane Management Review and the Boston Consulting Group, The Innovation Bottom Line, demonstrates the link between business model change and profiting from sustainability. 50% of survey respondents (executives and managers from commercial enterprises) who had changed 3 or 4 elements of their business strategy said that they had profited from sustainability activities:

And more change = more likely profit because, as you can see, only 37% of the respondents who had changed one element of the business model said that sustainability adds profits.

The change doesn't end with the business model, as report outlines, to “hit the sustainability bull’s-eye”, there needs to be:

• Support from the top and full integration across the business
• Clear goals and effective measurement - get the numbers that people can’t ignore
• Understand what your customers think and want in terms of sustainability
• Collaborate with individuals, customers, businesses and groups outside the business

Check out the report for more details - there are some interesting statistics. 

In the words of Charles Darwin “It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” 

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