ustainability has quickly become a driving topic across our society. Some organizations have rebranded as “green,” but is that what sustainability is about? On the surface, it may be helpful to promote going green (and easier to communicate), but sustainability is so much more. It’s a mindset that requires a different way of thinking — looking at the world as a system and considering how our involvement affects that system. Gaining this mindset is essential if organizations hope to do more than just greenwash.

A sustainability mindset can benefit many parts of a business. As a marketer, I use this mindset to communicate AGRU America’s role in achieving our customers’ long-term goals. Society has shaped those goals to seek long-term, low-impact and efficient solutions — core tenets of sustainability. This article explores how AGRU America is developing a sustainability mindset through education, engagement and practice, and my journey so far.

How does education help develop a sustainability mindset?
We don’t know what we don’t know. That’s a common refrain in education and is no less accurate when considering sustainability. I’m halfway through the Sustainability Leadership Initiative (SLI), a leadership development program created by South Carolina’s Sustain SC and Furman University. This program combines commerce and conservation perspectives to showcase the various forces affecting our state’s systems, from agriculture and forestry to local ecosystems and communities.

One of the biggest challenges of systems thinking is recognizing and accepting alternative perspectives from various stakeholders who influence a system’s behavior. Although we may not like how something functions, we must incorporate those forces to find ways to improve it.

This education program has helped me see the bigger picture and determine how to map out a problem. I also learned that breaking up problems into smaller segments or causal loops is often essential when tackling some of the more complex issues. Water conservation, for example, is affected by many complex forces, ranging from consumption to waste. Breaking down the causal loop surrounding water waste and leakage has allowed us to present a big-picture benefit of choosing low-leakage, fusible weld joints with HDPE pipes. This messaging is far more engaging and effective than simply listing product data.

Why is engagement essential?
When reporting or measuring greenhouse gas emissions, we break down the source as Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions. Scope 1 and 2 are typically the easiest as they relate directly to the organization’s sources and power consumption via energy suppliers.

Scope 3 is much more complex and is divided into upstream sources (e.g., the supply chain and getting things to the organization) and downstream sources (e.g., bringing goods to customers and how they are used). In many ways, every project is broken down into similar segments: (a) impacts that we can directly measure and (b) many more impacts that we, as a manufacturer, do not see.

In my work, engaging with stakeholders such as project engineers allows me to understand the bigger picture. Why and how was our product used, why was it chosen, and what is the long-term impact? Answers to these questions create far more compelling case studies because the reality is often far grander than we realize. For example, we recently provided materials for a new pipeline in Virginia. The pipeline statistics are interesting; but knowing that this pipe was destined to be part of the state’s Sustainable Water Initiative for Tomorrow (SWIFT) water replenishing program to refill their aquifers for long-term water conservation was the real story.

A sustainability mindset and active stakeholder engagement help elucidate the key messaging that will likely resonate with your audience.

The performance plastics industry recognizes the value of sustainability. Look at how many associations (including IAPD) now have sustainability, ESG or environmental committees and task forces. I’ve taken an active role in several of them and learned from how others are using a sustainability mindset for effective communication. For instance, the International Geosynthetics Society (IGS) has prioritized communicating the benefits of geosynthetics as a means of helping achieve the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Part of their success is the result of how well-recognized the SDGs are and how they have been embraced as a universal benchmark.

My work with these committees has enhanced our approach to case studies here at AGRU America. By highlighting the SDGs and examining our role in improving the system, we can deliver more compelling use cases for performance plastics to be shared with stakeholders, investors and customers.