Innovation + Responsibility

It seems to me that "sustainability" is quickly becoming the word du jour in the world of corporate responsibility.  More and more people and companies, including Sun, are replacing talk of "CSR" or citizenship or "eco" with talk of sustainability. But what does it mean? And is "sustainability" here to stay? Or is it just another moniker for a movement that, although it has made progress, has yet to gain a meaningful foothold in the business sector?

We've been batting around this notion of sustainability at Sun for a while now. I think we have had a sense - since the  beginning of our existence as a team - that sustainability is what we are working toward, but we didn't feel quite ready to use the "s" word. We were just getting started on our journey, and our short-term focus was necessarily on getting our house in order - from Eco Responsibility and Eco Innovation to Corporate Social Responsibility and Global Citizenship. I think we've done a pretty good job so far (if I do say so myself!). By no means is our work in these areas complete - not even close. But we are ready to look more medium- and long-term. We are ready to tackle the task of making all of these programs, in a word, sustainable.  Our CEO even appointed Dave Douglas - formerly our Vice President of Eco Responsibility - to be our Chief Sustainability Officer.

So what do we do with these other names that have been floating around our company for the past couple of years, several of which have gotten real traction with customers, employees and other stakeholders? We joined the conversation with our Eco Responsibility and Eco Innovation initiatives - using our innovation prowess to provide solutions for our customers - and ourselves - that meet our business needs as well as the needs of our planet. We quickly recognized that how we treat our planet is closely connected to how we interact with our communities - of employees, customers, partners, developers, neighbors, investors, policy makers - and our broader "corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative - and annual CSR report - was born (and I got myself a job!). Recognizing the opportunity to combine our technology expertise with our talented workforce to drive positive change through volunteering and philanthropy, we added Global Citizenship to the mix. 

So, let me re-cap: we have Eco Responsibility, Eco Innovation, and Global Citizenship, and once a year we produce a Corporate Social Responsibility report that tells Sun's story in each of these - and several other - areas (are you still with me?). And now we want to elevate the conversation to one of sustainability. 

"Which," as one of my colleagues asked me recently when I used the word, "means what exactly? 

Sustainable Planet - Sustainable Communities - Sustainable Business...repeat
According to Wikipedia, "the term...has its roots in ecology," and in my experience, traditionally has been most commonly used when talking about the environment and natural resources. But in recent years, the definition seems to have evolved to be broader reaching (also from wikipedia): "Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."  And it is this definition that I believe has the most potential to inspire the business sector to action. 

Think about it: as a business, we want to meet the needs of  our company in the present - make money, grow, innovate, etc. - without inhibiting our ability to meet our business needs in the future. The sustainability of our company is our first priority. 

But the sustainability of our company is dependent on the sustainability of our planet. For example, if we - and our customers - don't have access to a reliable supply of energy and water, our products are worthless - creating our hardware and running them in datacenters require both.

And the sustainability of our business is also dependent on the sustainability of the communities where our employees live, where our products are made, sold and bought, and where our customers and other stakeholders invest and thrive.  For example, if we don't invest in educating a new generation of technologists in developed and emerging markets today, we risk becoming irrelevant in these markets in the future. No business can afford to take this risk.

It all makes sense, right? But it's not exactly pithy - without the long-winded explanation, will people really get it? (Will they get it even with the long-winded explanation!?)  And even if they do, what about Eco, CSR and all those other names we've been using with great success for the past two+ years? To be frank, I don't know.   But that shouldn't stop us from starting to socialize the "s" word. Naming a Chief Sustainability Officer is one step. Creating an employee sustainability network might be another. 

And if it doesn't catch on, well...does it matter? In the words of Romeo, "What's in a name?"