The Triple Bottom Line Blog

Another fine post by Joel Makower at his blog Two Steps Forward--this one dealing with the complexities of greeen construction.

You've probably encountered the sound-bite version of the story, which was based on a survey conducted by the World Business Council on Sustainable Development. The sound-bite, which was widely picked up in the mainstream media, said that real estate executives and developers wildly overestimate the costs involved in sustainable construction--and greatly underestimate the benefits.

Interesting and significant in itself. But give Makower credit for digging deeper and uncovering the less-noticed story, which lies in the fact that the chief obstacles to green building lie not in high costs or even in misperceptions by developers but rather in the complex decision-making systems involved in construction planning.

These systems disperse responsibility and create perverse incentives, as individual players in the building game find it easier (and sometimes more profitable) to take traditional paths-of-least-resistance rather than trying new technologies that could save energy, reduce pollutants, and otherwise benefit the environment. Makower quotes Bill Sisson, Director of Sustainability at United Technologies: "It's sad, but in many cases you find the marble in the lobby gets higher preference to a new higher-performing chiller or mechanical system because of who makes the decision, and which one is valued more."

Joel's entire piece is, as usual, well worth reading, especially if you're involved in construction decisions. But it indirectly raises a broader point that applies to anyone pursuing sustainability strategies. Whether you're focusing on environmental issues, community relations, workers' rights, or the entire range of sustainability challenges, you'll almost certainly find yourself interacting with several company departments as well as people and organizations outside your company.

And that means that developing and implementing sustainability strategies will be more challenging than you think--more challenging, certainly, than simply vowing to "do the right thing" or even to "incorporate sustainability concerns into every decision." It also means examining your internal and external systems to understand how choices typically get made. Who makes each decision? What is the context in which decisions are considered? How are options framed? Whose input is routinely considered? How is the "rightness" or "wrongness" of a decision judged, both before and after the fact? Are managers penalized for long-term thinking and rewarded for short-term thinking?

The answers to questions like these will help you figure out whether and how you need to redesign your decision-making processes. That can be a thorny, complicated, and politically-sensitive challenge in itself. But it's also essential. Because unless you get your decision-making systems right, all the good intentions in the world won't carry you very far.

Labels: Green Buildings and Construction, Joel Makower, Management and Organization, WBCSD