Social
The most effective change agents understand the power that human beings hold over one another. Adopting new behavior may feel inherently unsafe. The social stage of organizational behavior change involves using a fundamental understanding of human social behavior to facilitate a shift in group behavior toward sustainability.
Influence the influencers.
Within any group, the praise, acceptance, and approval of some people are generally seen to be more valuable than that of others. These socially powerful people—the group’s thought leaders—are well-connected and well-respected.
Rather than focusing on transforming the behavior of everyone in the group directly (an ambitious goal), a sustainability and behavior change leader can focus instead on shifting the opinions and behaviors of social leaders. In fact, one of a sustainability champion’s most important roles is to facilitate strategic discussions that include these thought leaders.
Instead of asking, “How can I make my location share my passionate concern for energy and water efficiency?”, a sustainability champion may want to consider asking, “How can I/we help our thought leaders solve the urgent problems they already face through a sustainability lens?”. A thought leader’s personal concerns may have strong ties to sustainability issues; finding those connections may enable sustainability champions to persuade the thought leader of the value of sustainability and of systems-based thinking. Thus, by acquiring a deep understanding of thought leaders and their real needs, and by addressing those needs with sustainability solutions, sustainability leaders may be able to leverage behavior shifts in entire groups.
Shift social norms.
Social norms are group-held beliefs about how members should behave in a given context. These beliefs reflect a group’s deeply held shared values. Although green champions may have strong desires to change the world, most people prefer incremental improvement and strongly resist any change that is perceived to challenge their values.
Provided they have been able to gain the support of the group’s thought leaders, sustainability leaders may be successful in fostering widespread behavior change through any number of actions, including the following:
- Raising awareness. Make explicit the connection between sustainability and safer, more secure, functional, and efficient buildings. Experiment with informal outreach activities.
- Being clear. When implementing strategies that impact staff, make sure to communicate goals to staff members affected by the change. Consider using a variety of communication tools, such as email, SharePoint sites, online newsletters, posters, fliers, internal print publications, and allowable social media such as Facebook and Twitter. When asking others to take action, provide the most simple, easiest instructions possible.
- Soliciting feedback. Use surveys to ask staff about issues relevant to effective operations and their well-being. Ask for personal perspectives on how well specific sustainability challenges are being addressed, or how well teams are collaborating to solve complex, systemic challenges. Ask people to share what sustainability means to them and what they wish it would become. Do not neglect to follow through: lack of follow-through is a significant demotivating force. Examine the aggregated results, decide on a strategic response, and provide updates to those who offered feedback.
Table 1: An example of staff behavior change commitments
| I Pledge to: | Number of Pledges: |
| Eat meat at most three days a week | 548 |
| Limit my showers to five minutes | 330 |
| Recycle all plastic bottles I use | 825 |
| Join an environmental organization | 516 |
| Plant a tree | 631 |
| Build a compost bin | 132 |
| Ride my bike to work every day | 553 |
| Total: | 3,535 |
Data Source: The League
- Demonstrating respect. Listen with focused curiosity and interest. Ensure that your nonverbal and verbal communication reflects your willingness to better understand and to learn from others. Be on time for meetings, and allow ample time for others to share their thoughts so they have an opportunity to dig deep. Encourage people to find ways to connect sustainability to their personal goals.
- Sharing success stories. Stories are our best tools to communicate; the best stories are short, emotional, surprising, concrete, and believable. Success stories, and especially personal success stories, offer people an opportunity not only to connect with the storyteller, but also to gain new insights about how sustainability can benefit them personally.
- Jumping on the bandwagon. Provide opportunities for group members to participate in activities with their peers. Develop lists of global and local sustainability initiatives and special dates, such as Earth Day, and organize special activities around the theme. Organize group trips to neighboring green buildings or manufacturing facilities.
- Asking questions. Provocative and truly investigative inquiries can open minds and shift perspectives of others who control results and the keys to change.
- Making it fun! When possible, use humor, include refreshments, and create a casual atmosphere. Introduce game-like processes that enable small groups to engage in friendly competition with other, similar groups. Implement a ‘best idea of the month’ contest.
To celebrate Earth Week, consider a bike ride around a local park.
