Agencies are often trusted strategic partners to our clients, guiding them in important business decisions about everything from sales and marketing strategies to digital transformation and how to mitigate risk in an uncertain economy. As such, we can be quite influential in bringing about positive social change as well.

To create large-scale change, however, agencies need tools, principles and standards that help us (and our clients) collectively create a better future while also generating sustainable, long-term profit to support these efforts. An easy-to-understand sustainable design framework — coupled with a collective willingness to create change and access to change-making tools — can ensure that our services benefit all stakeholders, are inclusively designed and align with larger global sustainability goals.

Business Versus Sustainability

I’m part of a Facebook group of 4,300+ agency owners. These business leaders range in experience from small, early-stage startups to established companies with dozens of employees and many years in business. The group’s purpose is to help agencies better serve their customers—through services including ad management, website design and content strategy—and thrive in the process.

Most questions shared within the group relate to standard business practices: project management, lead generation, tool recommendations and so on. Posts receive many comments, and the conversation is lively. After a year in the group, however, I noticed that though everyone loved talking about their agencies, few discussed mission, purpose or a desire to create positive change in the world.

Curious about how others communicated these things, I posted a question to the group:

“How do you all align your work with a bigger picture, higher purpose, etc.? If someone asked you what your mission was, how do you answer?”

After two days, the post received four responses, the most compelling of which was: “Get to retirement without being replaced by a robot.”

Hmmmm. Looking for more clarity, I asked in another post:

“Have any of you put specific sustainability policies or practices in place to address climate change or other environmental issues?”

Crickets. No response at all.

I’ve tried prompting similar conversations in other online industry groups, but unless said group is specifically centered around change-making or social/environmental impact, few want to discuss sustainability-related topics. If I receive answers to my questions at all, I often hear:

“My margins are slim enough already. Sustainability efforts are expensive.”

“It’s me and a handful of contractors. I don’t have a supply chain.”

“We do a pro bono project every year. That’s enough.”

“I give to charity.”

“We recycle.”

While some of these efforts are indeed laudable, this trade-off thinking — that sustainability should sit outside a company’s need to generate profit rather than integrate with it — keeps many organizations from realizing their potential for a higher purpose and higher profits. If agencies consider sustainability at all (and most don’t) they focus on doing less damage — think recycling bins and LED light bulbs — rather than creating shared value: net zero thinking vs. net positive thinking. If agencies can’t embrace a positive vision for the future and then enact strategies to achieve that vision, how in turn can we expect to help our clients find long-term success?

I believe we can do better.