Some hard truthyou get to know after working in the field for quite some time: the ‘Sustainability Department’ is sustainability’s worst enemy.

To truly integrate it into a company’s business and day-to-day operations, sustainability needs to be owned and deployed within the organisation – across all functions, levels and geographies.

However, when such Sustainability Department exists, it tends to create the opposite: employees feel it is the reponsibility of that same Department to implement the sustainability strategy of the company and that it is not something their own departmet has anything to do about.

This perception is hard to change so hats off to Republic of Everyone for creating a super smart campaign for Unilever Australia which revolves around a simple and very powerful idea — “What if we gave everyone in the company a new job title: Head of Sustainability?”

Just as the clever sustainability communications agency explains: ”Employees arrived at work on September 20 to find new business cards on their desk, with their name on them, as well as a job manual explaining sustainability and what’s required for a Head of Sustainability. Posters and stickers aroudn the office announced the campaign, as well as workshops and a launch with the CEO in charge.”

This is all there: Telling employees they can all play an important role, equipping them with the tools to do so and appeal to their pride and willigness to make a difference.

Bravo!