A Value Compass

How do we value what counts? A compass to guide you towards authentic sustainability.

In reframing what matters, we work to support the prosperity and well-being of all: end of poverty, education, equality, collaboration, responsible consumption etc. In order to learn better how to start, we discern which innovations are contributing meaningfully to a sustainable world, and how they go about it. Given how fraught the “sustainability” term is at the moment, the continuous exploration that we engaged in as part of the “take-make-give back” frame led us to create a Value Compass.

Illustration designed for 4Revs Handbook by Martin Sanchez.

The Value Compass is a framework and a filtering mechanism that allows us to parse through the 500 cases, and in fact, through any innovation we would encounter and qualify it as an authentic contribution to a more sustainable world. No matter how small, or where it comes from, a sustainability innovation can be deemed as authentic when we see that it embodies several values from the framework, such as fearless leadership, breakthrough potential, long-termism, and systems thinking.

For intrapreneurs, entrepreneurs and all leaders, the value compass is a means to highlight what is important to include in sustainability activities. It is a ‘yes, and’ approach. Rather than reducing sustainability to a single metric, we can envision sustainability more broadly, and understand how certain sustainability initiatives lead to long-term ecological betterment and positive social transformation. Think of them as a NELIS defined trajectory to sustainability. It is a simple tool that enables you, me and everyone to think critically and holistically about the transformations that are needed. Moreover, the 4Revs value compass doesn’t just set parameters, it points in a direction and helps us to look more closely at the innovations that our generation and the next generation leaders can model. Finally, we believe that in the absence of these select values, innovations in sustainability cannot truly succeed.

The purpose of having a value based approach in how we think and present innovation is threefold:

1. To apply critical lenses to innovations in sustainability, based on 4Revs data (just because something is innovative doesn’t mean that it is inherently positive for our society!);

2. To ask new questions about how an innovation should strive to tackle each of these core values; and finally,

3. We wish for innovators and intrapreneurs - yes, you! - to use these values as a guiding compass for your work.

It is important to keep in mind all these values, both when judging innovations and especially when starting on our path of making change. The Values Compass for sustainability initiatives is as follows:

1. Decarbonize Innovations which contribute to GHGs drawdown, cutting CO2 emissions as fast as possible. Sometimes, these innovations prioritize key points of intervention, classified as “emergency breaks” on emissions by Drawdown Labs: the fastest, largest, and lowest-cost climate solutions we can deploy

1. Circularize Innovations which design out waste, close the loop in a product’s life cycle (reduce, reuse, recycle..), adopt circular business models (product-as-service, industrial symbiosis), and other efforts to reduce extraction of virgin raw materials and to keep products out of landfill.

1. Regenerate Innovations which restore and revitalize natural ecosystems, water cycles, soil, biodiversity, and grow carbon sinks. Regenerative approaches go beyond mitigation, rather they strive to create a healthy thriving ecosystem, possibly better than the one inherited from previous generations.

1. Long termism Innovations which illustrate long-term thinking. These solutions are visionary, or aim to shape the future and next generations (‘thinking like a good ancestor’). In their implementation, they let go of old patterns; or act in entirely new frameworks, putting long-term gains over immediate profits; and/or building long-lasting relationships with stakeholders.

1. Breakthrough potential Game-changing, often non-linear and non-incremental; quantum shifts in thinking beyond the norm (ex: Green Swans). Does not include CO2 neutrality, as this is the bare minimum level of action. We need these innovations to counteract the 1.5° or 2° C path that humanity is on, through exponential progress. They are few and far between.

1. Real world impact Innovations with an explicit focus to make a meaningful and or measurable impact. We note innovations which are outstanding in their rigor, in calculating and reporting not only CO2 savings, but indirect savings, rippling effects, co-benefits etc. Such cases can use ecological, environmental, and also social impact metrics.

1. Socially equitable Innovations which focus on improving access to resources, products and services for everyone, addressing social and economic inequalities. Initiatives with an aim to distribute innovation benefits across diverse populations and socio-economic groups (ex: minimizing the cost of climate transitions for disadvantaged groups with the sharing of technology; potential for positive social impact across supply chains).

1. Systems thinking Innovations which include a holistic approach; ‘seeing the whole’, more than just the individual parts. Thinking in systems involves an understanding of how different systems work together, including the visible and hidden relationships and dependencies (ex: not ignoring externalities).

1. Fearless leadership A quality of individuals, businesses, communities which strive for a new normal when doing business. It is purpose-driven and “regenerative”, in that leaders work relentlessly to align business with people and nature. Fearless leadership is wholesome, it entails a systems thinking approach, and does not overlook the social at the expense of the technical.