WRI Taps Net Impact Students to Market New Initiative
It is one thing to publish a report or put forward an idea, says Eliot Metzger of the World Resources Institute (WRI). It is quite another to translate that idea into a real and positive change in the world. Yet that's exactly what the WRI is doing with its latest undertaking: the Sustainability SWOT (sSWOT) initiative, which helps organizations translate broad and complex sustainability challenges into actionable strategies. After spending two years developing the sSWOT, WRI turned to Net Impact's Projects for Good pilot (now accepting projects for this fall's official launch), to develop an ambitious marketing plan. Eliot Metzger of WRI's Markets and Enterprise Program, shares with us how the organization worked with companies to develop the sSWOT, as well as the unique advantages of tapping Net Impact's student members for this critical initiative.
Net Impact: How did your collaboration with companies lead to the sSWOT guide?
Eliot Metzger: The concept grew out of conversations we had with partner companies in 2010. The common difficulty they all seemed to face was in translating the high-level, global trends - like climate change - into something that could resonate with colleagues and inform specific actions and strategies.We also had six teams apply a pre-release version of the sSWOT User's Guide as part of a workshop at the 2012 Net Impact Conference. That was a lot of fun and proved to be very valuable. We wanted to see if the sSWOT approach could help teams find new strategic connections between big trends and environmental challenges - and most importantly, find ways to act on those connections. We did benefit from having a great group of creative collaborators in the room, but they proved that sSWOT can help turn environmental challenges into strategic business actions.In the end, the applied experience and feedback helped refine the concept and tighten the guide. There is much the sSWOT can still become, but the joint effort and road testing helped ensure a strong 1.0 version to be tailored further by those who adopt it.
How does your Project for Good serve WRI's mission?
The project we posted - a marketing plan for the sSWOT - is very much about putting into mainstream practice something that was once just a concept.Our objective was to broaden adoption and help establish the sSWOT as a common means of evaluating and acting on corporate sustainability priorities. That was where we tapped into Net Impact and Projects for Good.With the marketing plan project, we were looking for a team that could offer ideas for how the sSWOT could be best positioned for those future business leaders who would use it. We were looking for students who had some private sector experience, as well as experience in MBA programs that were putting sustainability into mainstream practice.
How do you envision the sustainability SWOT analysis framework establishing itself within nonprofits and businesses?
As we have learned, it is difficult to imagine the full spectrum of potential applications. The sSWOT has been used for far-ranging purposes, just as a traditional SWOT would be used. Ultimately, that is what we would hope to see - a flexible tool that can complement initiatives that are shaping companies' core strategies.The modest starting point for that is likely to be with an individual or a small team. Those that adopt the sSWOT can engage colleagues internally or externally on topics that may not otherwise be front and center for decision makers. A few ah ha moments and successful discussions can snowball into further integration and ownership of the sSWOT concept. Then you can imagine the sSWOT becoming part of common strategic processes like annual strategy reviews or stakeholder feedback sessions.
What specifically did you hope to achieve with the Projects for Good assignment?
We had a few specific objectives, such as the number of companies (50) and business schools (25) we wanted to adopt the sSWOT in 2013. Having those goals helped shape the project. The goals were ambitious, but certainly achievable.The team was clear that we were not trying to embed the sSWOT in the entire Fortune 500 right away, but we did want a large number of companies to recognize the value that the sSWOT could deliver. Similarly, we wanted to be sure the sSWOT reached those professors who are providing the tools and training to the next generation of business leaders.
What made you decide that Projects for Good was the right venue for this?
Net Impact really has no equal as a network of future business leaders who are working to put sustainability risks and opportunities on the business agenda. It was no-brainer to help pilot the Projects for Good platform and tap into such a network for support.
There is a lot of promise in the concept of connecting brilliant students with organizations who are working to create solutions for sustainability challenges.
We look forward to tapping into it again as the platform continues to develop. There is a lot of promise in the concept of connecting brilliant students with organizations who are working to create solutions for sustainability challenges.What sort of changes need to occur for the sSWOT to become mainstream among leading organizations? It is really just a matter of a shift in perspectives, which is already starting to happen. The traditional SWOT has been around for about 50 years. It is well established and it reflects traditional business perspectives that tend to put a company at the center of the universe. It starts with the assessment of a company's strengths and weaknesses and then relates that to the external world of opportunities and threats.The shift to an sSWOT analysis is a subtle but important one. The company remains the center of gravity (all things come back to an action for the company to take), but it is no longer the center of the universe. The analysis starts with the bigger picture-a world of complex and interrelated forces reshaping markets-which may initially be uncomfortable (or seemingly immaterial). Starting there is essential to seeing the hidden risks and blind spots in current strategies. It is essential to seeing where the unmet needs are and where new partnerships create mutual value with unexpected collaborators.It is a shift, to be sure, but one that Net Impact members are already driving.
Eliot and WRI want to give the students a lot of credit - starting by listing their names below - for putting the effort they did into this Project for Good:
Ji Chen, Thunderbird University
Alanna Houck, Carnegie Mellon University
Kudzai Mukumbi, Michigan State University
Andrea Sandor, University of PennsylvaniaAnd we would like to thank Eliot and WRI for test-driving our Projects for Good pilot!
