Uncommitted Commitments Syndrome

[Cheesy vitamin supplement ad voice:] “Are you finding your Board of Directors doesn’t remember commitments they've already approved? Does your CEO seem to have forgotten your program (or maybe your name)? Are your targets approved but not the budget to meet them? Does your BOD want improved scores from ESG raters and rankers but avoids tough discussions of how to get there? Is your leadership experiencing ‘selective amnesia’ when it comes to goals and pledges they endorsed? Do you feel like you're out on a limb all alone, and someone may be sawing it off? If so, you may be suffering from… Uncommitted Commitments Syndrome, or UCS.”

One sustainability VP called it "selective amnesia". Another called it "willful forgetfulness". For a number of corporate sustainability leaders, when it comes to the commitments your company has made, your seniors - BOD or C-Suite - can seem strangely, well, uncommitted.

What's going on? It could be several different situations, including that some senior leaders:

• Never really paid attention when they said “yes”.
• Didn't think about what those commitments really meant. "All the other kids are doing it" was the level of true senior engagement and analysis. Now that the prevailing winds might be blowing in a different direction, they may belatedly be thinking about it.
• Didn't think about how commitments might work in different circumstances. Commitments are fine while the sun is shining. But once business is slow or investors are demanding faster returns or a big acquisition has boosted your GHG levels way above your goals, things get a little cloudier.
• Didn't know how hard it would be, once you get beyond that proverbial low hanging fruit.
• Liked the benefits of making big promises - but never thought about the costs. (Or maybe the people asking them to make commitments “forgot” to highlight the costs.)
• Went along but never really bought in. They agreed to tick a box, not change a business – or culture.

What do you do about it? Documenting and calling out your senior leadership for (at best) forgetfulness or (at worst) hypocrisy only goes so far. Unless you are really good at that kind of politics, you may find it goes too far and you can put yourself in jeopardy. If the problem is that you're exposing the seniors’ hypocrisy, you become the problem and the solution is painfully simple: stop listening to you ... or get rid of you altogether. So, don’t threaten to jump off the bridge unless you are ready for the results of your own action.

While there is no guaranteed cure for UCS, here are some recommended steps:

1. Stop making it worse. Immediately stop pushing for any new commitments until you've addressed the underlying challenges.

2. Acknowledge the causes. If there are mixed signals from investors or markets, challenges from unanticipated success, admit it to yourself - and make others aware. Collaboration of the many can protect the exposed.

3. Make sure that all own the problem. Be honest about commitments and challenges, about the emerging gaps between ambition and achievement. If there's bad news, let them hear it from you first, but don’t in that boat by yourself if you can help it.

4. Keep the sustainability challenges in the business context. What are the real business impacts of managing these issues? What are the honest costs (and uncertainties)? How will this affect growth and profit? What are the potential opportunities? Remember, even a big risk can become a business opportunity if you can address it faster or better than your competitors.

5. Keep the sustainability challenges visible in business conversations. “Sustainability leaders [should] continue to push upwards if they are not getting pulled upwards,” advised one veteran with a clear case of UCS. “Make sure to keep open communication with the leaders to ensure it is seen as a ‘company challenge’ rather than an individual challenge. Include the discussion on sustainability into existing discussions or processes. Don’t create a new set of meetings if you can include [sustainability] into existing business reviews or other cadences.”

6. Focus on your champions. There were probably some among the seniors (BOD or SLT) who did get it. Get them one-to-one and politely reinforce them, get them to remember and speak up. Build a coalition of the supportive who will support each other, not just you.

7. Build understanding, not acquiescence. Going forward, focus your efforts on helping your seniors understand rather than accept. Talk with them, not at them. Be honest and smartly persistent. Build processes that help them understand and appreciate their sustainability issues as important, long-term challenges that aren't going away and that will directly affect long term success and value.

[Cheesy vitamin supplement ad voice returns:]: “This approach has not been approved by the FDA for diagnosis or treatment of any condition. However, the FTC, the SEC and the European Union are currently examining sustainability commitments. Their recommended treatments may have many unpleasant side-effects.”