Rethinking the role of collaboration — 4 questions we should be asking ourselves
Tags: Coalition, Sustainability, Partnerships, Purpose

The scale and urgency of the world’s biggest challenges have grown at an alarming rate, and for many they can be difficult to absorb, let alone consider how to tackle them. There is no simple solution, but what’s clear is that we can’t do this alone. The complexity and the hope of solving global issues go well beyond the reach of any one organisation or corporation — it’s demanding faster and deeper networked collaborations between private, public, third sector and consumers.

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The urgency relating to climate change is perfectly summed up in David Attenborough’s ‘A Life on our Planet’ — a powerful wake-up call for many who are not yet engaged with the sustainability agenda, setting out challenges with distressing clarity, mixing a sense of impending doom with cautious hope for the future. It’s an ultimate plea for us all to act now. The tipping points identified decades ago are now being played out — with collapsing ice sheets, bleached coral reefs, wild fires, rapid deforestation and a year marked by the highest number of natural disasters (let alone COVID).

The shift towards better business

The Sustainable Development Goals have been in place for 5 years, yet they are not common external impact measures for many businesses. Whilst 72% of companies mention SDGs in their reporting, only 14% mention specific KPIs relating to them. Yet whilst this can feel disheartening, there have been fundamental shifts in the last 2–3 years.

We’ve already seen companies such as Unilever demonstrate that this approach leads to better business performance, where brands with greater sustainability credentials grew 69% faster than those without. In addition, the momentum behind the B Corp movement is a positive sign, with over 3,500+ companies across 70+ countries signing up. B Corps have already shown to be more resilient in downturns — by fundamentally taking a whole business approach, and with a supporting network to help achieve the shift towards better business.

We can see this driving greater transparency — with businesses such as Patagonia leading the way, communicating detailed social and environmental information about raw materials, suppliers, operations and staff. Consumers are demanding a greener approach — with 66% of global consumers willing to pay more for sustainably sourced products, as reported by Nielsen. Not only this, but brands are tapping into their consumer communities to test products before they are produced, minimising the risk of resource waste — take Reebok’s First Pitch, a program that puts the decision to release a shoe or not in the hands of consumers.

Without doubt in the coming year we’ll see businesses being increasingly judged against the delivery of their higher purpose, including their commitments and solutions towards SGDs and net zero targets. Whilst this is all moving in the right direction for a more sustainable future, is it really fast enough to tackle these huge issues around sustainability?

The silver lining of COVID

It has been COVID, whilst turning the world upside down, which has given us a glimpse of a different world — one with eye watering speed of innovation — where life changing products reached the market in record time through collaborations across sectors. Global collaboration between scientists, universities and pharma companies was unprecedented — with over 200 clinical trials taking place less than a month after the WHO declared the pandemic. Take the “VentilatorChallengeUK” consortium with Airbus, BAE Systems, Ford, Rolls-Royce and Siemens. A respirator was designed in under a week, when University College London engineers worked with clinicians at UCLH and Mercedes Formula One to build the device. Not to mention the need for us all to change our own behaviour to keep us and others safe.

COVID showed us that the pace of change is possible when the world really requires it.

Can we make ‘COVID collaboration mode’, the new norm?

Over the decades we’ve seen a shift from transactional to longer-term strategic partnerships between not for profits, and corporations, but also the creation of coalitions to improve the work related to natural resources, such as The Rainforest Alliance, The Palm Oil Transparency or the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI). There are also great examples within the corporate world — take Dementia venture capital, where Pfizer, GSK, J&J and Lilly are working together to tackle one major health issue.

Whilst we require all these different types of hugely valuable partnerships and coalitions, ultimately today is about re-imagining how to operate in order to survive. We need to work together to create fundamental, systemic change, creating solutions that serve systems in their entirety and scaling up innovations faster.

The business case is there. Corporates have to create new markets, and new ways of doing business or the resources they rely upon will not be there in the future. This shift can not only identify new revenue streams, but also attract like-minded investors, employees, consumers and partners.

This requires expertise and cognitive diversity from businesses, governments, academia and civil society. Even from a commercial perspective it’s easier to do this with someone else than tackle it alone. The costs are shared, along with the risks and learnings. In the circular economy, for example, the Ellen McArthur Foundation (EMC) works as a pre-competitive space for global organisations to share knowledge and collaborate for systemic change.

What’s clear is that with a sustainability mindset, collaboration replaces competition and becomes a driver for innovation focused on a common goal.

Let’s keep asking ourselves…

How can we build on the pace and momentum of change we’ve seen during COVID? No matter how big or small, collaboration is the only option for us to design and co-create a future where businesses can thrive together with the planet and society. Here are four questions to guide us:

1. Are we clear on where we want to get to?

A strong purpose is the core of the business, acting as the North Star. It’s a higher order reason as to why you exist, beyond making money. If this isn’t yet clear or inspiring, if it doesn’t reflect your core business, or if it’s not connected to the world you want to live in the future, it’s time to rethink. Ikea is a great example, “to create a better every day for the many people.”

An effective purpose needs to be hardwired into the organisation and demonstrated across the value chain and society at large. Ultimately your purpose, the core of who you are, should guide the type of collaborations you need to fulfil your purpose, who to partner with and how to do it.

2. What fundamental shifts can we contribute to as a business?

This all starts with your mindset, working with your purpose and the clarity around your values, and cemented by what you are measuring. As a business or organisation, are you demonstrating how to be a better business — for example — embedding SDG goals, becoming Net Zero, or a B Corp. In 2020, Danone became the first listed company to adopt the “Entreprise à Mission” model created by French law in 2019, which is defined as a company whose social and environmental objectives are aligned with its purpose.

3. How can we achieve this? Should we really tackle this (vision, issue, project…) alone, or can we go faster together?

Identify your key strengths. What’s missing to help you get there? Identify a partner, collaboration or coalition to help you achieve your goals. Allbirds made their sustainable technologies completely open-source in order to support other brands to follow in their footsteps, and most recently collaborated with Adidas after recognising they would get closer and faster to their goals by working together.

4. What is my value as a partner?

Opening up your knowledge, team and maybe IP to others can be a daunting prospect but, to achieve the sustainable development goals, collaboration beats competition. Being clear about the value you bring, alongside your partner’s, ensures there is no tripping up further down the line. Take the collaboration between Elvis & Kresse x Burberry — a great example of sharing knowledge and innovation whilst accessing the scale and platform to reach a wider audience.

Ultimately we’re all in this together. The planet is one, and we’re all connected in one way or another. Be that in Covid or the Climate crisis — what happens in one part of the world will have an impact on another. And in the same vein, so should the solutions. It’s time to move on from ‘what works well for me and my business’ and focus on ‘what works well for us all’.

“T he fate of humanity is tied to the health of the planet. We have a common destiny. We can flourish or we can suffer — but we’re going to be doing it together.” Kristine Tompkins, Earth Activist and Conservationist

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Authors: Abigail Taylor and Paula Oliveira

Illustrator: Hermina Olah Vas