Learnings from Collectively, and friends of Collectively, on what makes collaboration - for business and social impact - work.

1. @willgardnr
Strategic Collaboration
Will Gardner, Edie Sustainability Leaders Forum - 25 January 2017

2. collective impact:
(a type of collaboration)

3. The starting question:
How can companies engage consumers to
trigger simple behavioural shifts that
enable more sustainable lifestyles, grow
demand for more sustainable products
and create business value?

5. 5
=
sustainable
ways of living
new
normal

6. 6
By millennials, for millennials.

7. 7
‘Sustainability needs
a makeover’
Rejection of
labels & jargon
Cynicism
towards ‘green’
product claims
Feeling that
companies don’t
show the full
picture
Not engaging
to me and
relevant to
my life
Source: WEF, 2013

8. 8

9. 9
Combined
Marketing
Budget:
Est. $48 billion
1 million
millennial
employees
28 Corporate
Partners
Total Social
Followers:
500m
*not including
product brands
Combined
Turnover:
$610 billion
…and a network of
other friends and
collaborators

10. 10

11. America’s Shrinking Farms Trailer

16. opportunity:
bridge the gap
Millennial
generation
Big
organisations
Ability to scale
Wants & ideas

17. Labs
4
ideas
17
45
bringing together over
80
cities
2
to make
sustainable living
the new normal
generating
organisations
from
attendees
Labs

18. For example….
How do we help final year students find
purposeful, values-driven jobs that are
fit for a very different future?

20. collective impact
initiatives
when
why
who with
how

21. helpful:
https://ssir.org/articles/entry/collective_impact!
http://www.collaborationforimpact.com/!

22. 1. make sure you have
a good reason to
collaborate

23. “the problem was much
bigger than Unilever
could solve on its own…
it required many parts of
the s**t supply chain to
come together”
Jean-Laurent Ingles, GM Unilever Vietnam &
Honorary Chairman, Toilet Board Coalition

24. 2. set a specific and
measurable shared goal

25. “we set a very specific
shared goal… crack
down on anonymous
shell companies and
illicit flows of capital ”
Rajiv Joshi, Managing Director, B-Team

26. 3. think differently
about the role of brands

27. “the sweetspot is to
connect your brand to
something that’s
authentic and
independent”
Paul Hilder
Ex-Executive Director, Here Now
Co-Founder, Crowdpac
#ClimateChangeIsReal
#Go100percent

28. 4. invest in relationships

29. Collaboration, n.
1. The action of working with someone to
produce something.!
synonyms: cooperation, alliance, partnership, participation!
2. Traitorous cooperation with an enemy.!
synonyms: fraternizing, colluding, conspiring!

30. “…assume positive
intent. Build trust and
shared understanding.
It doesn’t happen
through a video link”
Sally Uren, CEO Forum For The Future

31. 5. be patient

32. “collaborators need to
be in for the long haul.
Experiment, learn, scale,
repeat”
Bethan Harris, Collectively

33. 1. have a good reason to collaborate
2. set a specific shared goal
3. think differently about role of brands
4. invest in relationships
5. be patient

34. so what next for
?

35. VICE
35
VICE taking
sustainability
storytelling to scale,
in partnership with

36. Focus on 4
collective impact
challenges over
4 years…
…unleashing the
next generation
…via accelerator
programmes
involving future
leaders…
#actcollectively

37. Thank you.
@willgardnr
willgardnr@gmail.com

38. Spare slides

39. Systemic
It’s possible and achievable
Attitudinal
I believe in something
Behavioural
I know how to do it
Cultural
I feel part of something
INDIVIDUAL
EXTERNAL
INTERNAL
COLLECTIVE
integral theory:!