While senior executives recognize the importance of sustainability collaboration, less than half are doing something about it. What’s more, as few as 30 per cent of collaborations and strategic alliances overall reach successful outcomes.
This research was part of a presentation by Associate Professor Lori DiVito of the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, Amsterdam School of International Business. DiVito presented her research into collaboration in the clothing industry and particularly the Alliance for Responsible Denim at an Ivey Idea Forum Sept. 9 at the Ivey Tangerine Leadership Centre in Toronto.
The Idea Forum on sustainability and collaboration was held in conjunction with the Network for Business Sustainability (NBS), the outreach arm of the Building Sustainable Value Research Centre.
“This topic has been motivated, not because of academics thinking in their ivory towers. But managers leading in sustainability are saying that this is really important. So this topic is really top of mind,” said Ivey Professor Tima Bansal, Director of the Research Centre, and Executive Director of NBS.
Related to this story
Companies seek collaboration because their face issues that are larger than they can address by themselves. But they must overcome significant hurdles to make that collaboration work.
“Competitor collaborations are hard because of inherent tensions,” DiVito said. “The two main reasons I see are a difference in stakeholder levels of interest. And, in many organizations I’ve looked at, there’s a lot of talking but not a lot of action. So a commitment to resources and making progress is impeded in these instances.”
Panellists Luc Robitaille, John Coyne, Lori DiVito, and Gord Lambert spoke about collaborative experiences in their organizations during the Ivey Idea Forum at Ivey's Tangerine Leadership Centre.
As part of the event, three industry experts spoke about the collaborate successes in their organizations:
- John Coyne, Vice President, and Legal & External Affairs, and General Counsel at Unilever Canada Inc.;
- Gord Lambert, President and Chief Collaboration Officer at GRL Collaboration for Sustainability Inc., and retired Executive Advisor, Sustainability and Innovation, at Suncor; and
- Luc Robitaille, Vice President of Responsible Care at the Chemistry Industry Association of Canada.
The event was followed by a workshop that introduced a new tool to help collaborations succeed. Find out more about the research.
Related Articles
