Collaboration Across Boundaries

to Mainstream Sustainability

Hal Hamilton January, 2012

Henry County, Kentucky, 1979

Hartland, Vermont, 2008

What will it take to mainstream sustainability in global food supply?

CHALLENGES: Ø  Double output from much less

energy and water, while also producing fuel

Ø  Feed and house the 1 billion + people who are desperately poor

Ø  Run the economy on sun instead of oil.

Ø  Replenish as much water as is removed.

How do we take on the big challenges and make sustainability mainstream?

Together……

Organizational Stake in Collaborating for Sustainability?

Businesses •  Cost savings •  Minimize risk to reputation and supply •  Recruitment and retention of employees •  Morale, innovation •  Customer loyalty •  Improved access to capital

NGOs •  Deliver on missions more effectively by partnering with

businesses

growers   processors  

Soil  Water  Energy  GHG  Biodiversity  Inputs  Livelihood  Labor    

External  and  Internal  Stakeholders  e.g.  investor  groups,  NGOs,  employees,  

communiBes  

Value  chain  iniBaBves  

Retail,  Food  Service  and  end  Customers  

How  does  building  community  wealth  contribute  to  each  partner?  

Other  materials  Air  

Water  Landfills  

Community  NutriBon  Health  

OperaBonal  Efficiency  Programs  

Value  Chain  IntegraBon  of  Goals,  Metrics  &  ReporBng  

OperaBonal  Efficiencies,  New  Technologies,  New  

Sources  of  Energy  

Partnerships  

Product  QualiBes,  Stories,  and  Data  Focused  Goals  

&  Metrics  

Leadership  

Building  Blocks  

Community  Engagement  

distributors  

   

Enabling  environment    (public  /  donor  policies)  

Willing  buyers  (private  sector  policies)  

Capable  producers  (skills,  capacity  &  organiza:on)  

Value  Chain  Innova@ons  

NGO  support   Private  sector  partners  

   

Enabling  environment    

Willing  buyers  Capable  producers  

FacilitaBon,  capacity  building,  coaching,  project  management  

New  culture  and  strategy,  buying  pracBces,  metrics  and  incenBves  

Public  sector  investments  in  infrastructure,  regulaBons,  extension  system,  etc.  

CerBficaBon  systems,  NGO  and  research  support  

Intermediaries  that  support  upgrading,  quality  control,  access  to  capital,  market  innovaBon,  etc.  

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A team that is diverse enough to see and influential enough, as a group, to act. With leaders who have:

1.  Technical and issue expertise;

2.  Organizational and value chain knowledge;

3.  Personal capabilities to create innovation and learning among others

Sustainable Food Laboratory Team

Dozens of interviews

Retreat & reflect

Capture, share learning

Engage more players

Innovate in organizations

Prototype Learning journeys

Test initial ideas for

innovations

Convene diverse team

Theory U

Senge et al, Presence!Scharmer, Theory U!

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Build a cross sector community of

leaders!

Create a “safe space” to: develop a shared understanding of the whole system, and test and scale-up ways to make change

!Pilot innovations!

!Share and learn from cases and emerging

trends!

!Support organizations to adapt!

Ethiopian beans

Ghana & Cote D’Ivoire: cocoa

Kenyan flowers

Guatemalan vegetables

capable farmers

willing buyers

enabling environment

Livelihood projects

NYC carrots Connecting the school system with local farmers and a processor

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Ethiopian “responsible beans”!

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local !

environmental !

economic !social !

www.sustainablefoodlab.org