Developing an Index for an Interconnected World: The First Iteration
Today’s global challenges are so large and complex that they require a new kind of problem-solving and way of doing business. Finding solutions requires a diversity of perspectives, approaches and capabilities. The business sector plays a critical role in forging the path forward. Siloed sustainability efforts in companies are no longer sufficient to handle and leverage the complex web of relationships and stakeholders at play in today’s business context. The wealth of knowledge and perspectives available at our fingertips has changed the game.
The current gap
Thirty years of work in the sustainability field has closed the knowledge gap on a wide array of issues. The World Commission on Environment and Development defined sustainability as “development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” in 1987. Long gone are the days when economics were the only parameter of interest to business leaders, owners and investors. Today, environmental and social sustainability issues are front and center. The gap we are now facing is not one of knowledge, but one of skills. What is needed for leaders to handle sustainability holistically? What is needed for leaders in an era beyond sustainability?
Mastering the skills of Inter Business
The importance of not making sustainability a separate issue from the core business is stressed in global frameworks such as The United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and the so-called Ruggie Principles, as well as in research and business policy.
Business beyond sustainability requires the courage of a deep connection to core business. With an ever-growing number of relevant perspectives and angles, each and every one with the potential to impact the business, we must master a new set of skills to remain agile and relevant. The skills of Inter Business allow for connectedness in a rapidly changing world. It entails leading with:
• Purpose
• Empathy
• System approach
• Transformation
It is not about re-imagining sustainability. It is about transcending into Inter Business: mastering the skills to integrate lessons from a multitude of stakeholders across the traditional understanding of sustainability, and leveraging these lessons in strategy and business development.
The key to Inter Business: The Stakeholder
So why “Inter Business”? Because the key to transcending is to embrace the stakeholders — the individuals, groups and systems that impact and are impacted by the business. Humans are both individuals and part of a greater system simultaneously. We are part of the problem, but we also hold the solution.
Developing the Inter Business Index
A research-based framework:
The framework of Inter Business was developed in collaboration with 14 experts on human centered design, systems change and social innovation from across the world — from Burma to Berkeley. Qualitative analysis has identified gaps and a collective, creative effort led by Lumen Behavior has identified the framework of Inter Business as a solution.
Validated by dialogue with customers: The first study identified gaps in the current operating framework of sustainable business, which were validated in a broad dialogue with customers from Sweden and globally. Thematic data analysis of almost 7 500 individual statements offered important insights incorporated into the development of the framework.
Swedish market in focus:
The first test of the framework was conducted on the Swedish market, which was identified as an early adopter market by international experts. A highly qualified nomination network identified 250 companies for the first screening of the framework. For-profit ventures of all sizes where considered.
Key insights and business implications
1. The time of positioning a business by talking about sustainability is about to end. Sustainability has been mainstreamed. It will impact business decisions for everyone.
2. There is an ever-growing number of perspectives and knowledge available at the swipe of a finger. It is essential to keep learning.
3. More individuals, groups, special interests and all kinds of constellations are able to voice their thoughts, opinions, visions and wishes. You might not like what they have to say, but the most valuable insights come from dialogue. Prepare to live with the delights and discomforts of dialogue.
4. In a world of constant movement, the need to stand firmly in one’s own purpose while listening to and working with stakeholders is essential. Great (ongoing, multi-stakeholder and multi-channel) communication is more important than ever
This is an excerpt from the first iteration of the Inter Business Index of 2016, ranking the 10 frontrunners in business beyond sustainability. Based on published research, the Inter Business Index uses a unique tool, Ibx Insight™, developed to measure and analyze the core skills that indicate a company’s’ ability to create holistic value.
Download full report of 2017 and find out which Swedish corporations are the frontrunners in business beyond sustainability — the ones that have the ability to lead with the skills needed to create value in multiple dimensions.
The Inter Business framework is built on extensive qualitative research, resulting in not only the Index itself, but also a sound methodology for the framework that have been published in Journal of Management and Sustainability and European Social Innovations Review.
The Inter Business Index is presented by us, Inter Business Initiative, and Ibx, who offers tools to measure and manage, as well as insights on, business beyond sustainability.
