Five Tips for Delivering Effective Sustainability Training

Over the last two years we have calculated that Futerra Academy has delivered sustainability training that seems (unless people are just being nice!) to have enthused and educated around about 40,000 people in various business and brands around the world. The vast majority, in fact virtually all, of that work has been with a range of talented sales and marketing teams tasked with selling their wares to some of the world’s biggest retailers and, ultimately, billions of consumers worldwide.

As we embark upon another year of Academy, I thought it worth sharing five things that we at Futerra Academy believe play a part in engaging and educating the people who develop, market and sell products that shape the world in which we live.

Decrying ‘doomsters and gloomsters’ may not be to everyone’s taste but if you want commercial teams to be inspired and empowered to make a difference then delivering a lecture on environmental meltdown and societal disintegration accompanied by pictures of sad polar bears is not the way to go.

It’s not about shirking the challenges, we are in a major bind, but ensuring that we also give people real reasons to believe we can solve them. We often use a tool called Brutal Truths and Beautiful Possibilities to allow us to land a hard fact in company with a blast of reasoned optimism.

Golden rule: Never linger on a social or environmental challenge without presenting a solution.

They are experts at what they do, so don’t try and out do them on the sales and marketing knowledge – we don’t know more than them. They’ve had years of hearing that 90% of us will pay more and accept less for the sake of people or planet but they have real life experience that says they quite often won’t.

Don’t get me wrong, sustainability sells, otherwise why would Oatly, Tony’s, Tesla and Ecover be growing sales and taking share? But these brands haven’t just whacked on a green premium on a compromised product and been done with it, they have created brands of desire with a core value proposition that has been brilliantly articulated by skilled marketers. Respect.

Golden rule: Be clear that there is green gold out there but nuanced about how to mine it.

People do like a bit of science and wonkery on sustainability. Learning that carbon dioxide levels remained at under 300 parts per million for a billion years before we managed to up them by 25% in just 140 years and the fact that 80% of us are estimated to have plastic in our blood does get jaws dropping.

The key thing is to make sure that the science is relatable to their products and brands. Once you learn that 99% of corals vanish at 2 degrees then you want to know what role your products play in this and what you can do about it. How much carbon does my product generate? How much can we bring it down? What innovations can we unleash? How can I get this across to my customers and consumers?

Golden rule: Don’t stint on the science but always make it relevant and actionable.

In tough times everyone is under pressure to deliver more stuff in less time. Asking marketing teams to take a whole hour to sit at their desk to complete an eLearning module or take a day out to do a training course might not necessarily endear you to them. The first thing to do is to find out what the easiest and most convenient routes are for them to learn.

It might be 15-minute rumbles at existing team meetings. 5-minute learning bites on a mobile they can graze in the coffee queue. A pacy and fun live webinar that can be made available on catch up later for those that missed it. Or it might be that eLearning Module or day long course, you never know!

Golden rule: Ask what will work best for them and fit in with their needs, don’t impose the rules

Enthusiasm is infectious. If your audience feel that you are optimistic and excited about the prospect of using the powers of their business and brands to do good then they will too.

Whether you are delivering a webinar, developing eLearning or hosting a workshop then don’t be afraid to let your enthusiasm shine through and you’ll find it gets reflected back at you and people will leave the room with a spring in their step.