🍃 The word ‘reduce’ has never inspired anyone

While I was writing my first book, Making Sustainability Profitable, I found myself spending a lot of time reflecting on the language we use when we talk about sustainability.

It got me thinking about how often the conversation revolves around reducing things.

We talk about reducing waste, reducing emissions, reducing pollution and reducing energy use. 

Every one of those goals matters, and every one of them has an important role to play.

At the same time, I couldn't ignore another thought that had stayed with me throughout my career.

Business has never been built around the idea of reducing.

Every day, leaders come to work to create something. 

They create better products, stronger businesses, new opportunities, greater value for customers and more meaningful work for their teams. 

Creating is part of who we are, and it is one of the reasons people enjoy building businesses in the first place.

That is why I chose to write about creating a positive impact rather than simply reducing a negative one.

The difference may seem subtle at first, but I have found that it changes the entire conversation inside an organisation.

A discussion about reducing often leads people towards constraints, targets and compliance. 

A discussion about creating a positive impact invites people to think differently. 

Engineers begin exploring better production methods. Product teams start imagining new possibilities. Operations look for smarter ways to use resources. 

People become more curious because they can see how their own expertise contributes to something meaningful.

There is something energising about building, improving and creating. 

Those qualities have always been at the heart of successful businesses, and that’s why they should also sit at the heart of sustainability.

That way of thinking has influenced much of the work I do today, and it is one of the themes I explore in the new video I am currently creating about making sustainability profitable in manufacturing. 

The video brings together many of the ideas, lessons and practical examples I have collected over the last 25 years, and I hope it encourages more businesses to see sustainability as an opportunity to create rather than simply a responsibility to manage.

If you would like to be one of the first to watch it when it is released, you can join the waitlist here: https://money-from-sutainability.scoreapp.com/ 

As you head into the new week, take a moment to think about the language you use in your own organisation. 

The words we choose shape the conversations we have, and those conversations shapes the ideas that follow and the action we take - or don’t take. 

A simple change in perspective can sometimes be enough to unlock opportunities that were there all along.

Have a great Sunday.

Best,

Jasper