Behavioral Sustainability in the Company: 5 Strategies to Really Change

Ar19
Aug 14
7 min read

Updated: 2 days ago

Why is sustainability not just a policy but a daily behavior? Discover strategies that help companies move from intentions to facts.

What is meant by behavioral sustainability

Behavioral sustainability is the ability to translate environmental, social, and ethical values into consistent, visible, and measurable daily actions. It's not limited to statements or policies: it's about how people decide, relate, and make operational choices in their daily work. It's about who turns off the light in an empty room, who respects the times and spaces of others, who takes responsibility for a mistake without looking for culprits.

The difference between the declarative and transformative approaches lies entirely in behavior. The first is limited to writing objectives, perhaps well formulated but disconnected from lived reality. The second works to align culture, processes, and behaviors, so that sustainability is concrete, practiced by all, not just told.

Behavioral sustainability is central to modern organizational culture because it makes corporate values visible, challenges them at critical moments, and disseminates them credibly. It is the terrain on which consistency is measured between what the organization says it is and what it really is. And precisely for this reason it is one of the most relevant themes in the paths of cultural change and evolved leadership.

Why is sustainability not just a policy but a daily behavior? Discover strategies that help companies move from intentions to facts.

What is meant by behavioral sustainability

Strategy 1: Align values, goals and behaviors

To generate sustainability in behaviors, the first step is to align values, goals, and daily practices. People recognize right away when there is consistency between what the organization declares and what it actually promotes. On the contrary, every misalignment –even a small one– produces ambiguity, mistrust and resistance to change. If we talk about environmental respect but only reward economic results, the message is clear: sustainability is secondary.

This alignment is built in practice, starting from managerial choices, role models, and visible behaviors. When leaders act consistently, they become cultural catalysts: they make values credible and transform them into living rules. It is essential that values are incorporated into decision-making processes, evaluation criteria, and team goals. An inspired vision or ESG strategy isn't enough: every daily decision –even a small one– needs to be consistent.

Cultural alignment is also a powerful tool for simplification: it helps people orient themselves, recognize what is expected, and feel part of a meaningful project. It is the foundation upon which any lasting behavioral transformation can be built.

Strategy 2: Make sustainable behaviors visible

To make sustainability live in the company, it is necessary to make visible the behaviors that embody it. People learn by observing what is happening around them. If sustainable behaviors are not recognized, told, or rewarded, they become invisible and lose strength. Conversely, when made explicit –through symbols, rituals, communication, and recognition– they can spread more easily.

Companies can use different tools to highlight everyday sustainability: internal storytelling, value campaigns, gamification, testimonials, and non-monetary recognition systems. Even small gestures, if highlighted, can generate an imitative effect. It is important that sustainability is communicated not only in terms of global goals, but also through concrete examples and real-world operational situations that speak people's languages.

A key element is the introduction of behavioural KPIs, indicators that not only measure the outcome but how it is achieved. Respecting timeframes, collaborating with colleagues, avoiding waste, promoting a safe and inclusive environment: these are all measurable behaviors, if the company chooses to observe them. When these become part of performance systems, the message is clear: sustainability is not an intention, it is a way of working.

Strategy 3: Developing cross-sustainability skills

Sustainability requires soft skills that enable new ways of thinking and acting. It's not enough to know ESG objectives or know how to read a sustainability report: you need to know how to listen, collaborate, manage conflicts, and think systemically. Soft skills are the real driver of cultural change, because they determine the quality of relationships, decisions, and leadership.

Among the most relevant skills are empathy, to understand the impact of one's actions on others and the environment; critical thinking, to question harmful habits; and widespread responsibility, to act even without a formal mandate. Added to these is the ability to navigate complexity, tie local choices to global consequences, and build shared solutions.

These skills are also at the heart of the GreenComp, the European Skills Framework for Sustainability, which offers a concrete basis for developing corporate training paths. AR19 integrates these principles into targeted programs, transforming training into an evolutionary experience, with a real impact on behavior. Because those who know what to do, but don't have the tools to do it, stay put. Those who develop soft skills, on the other hand, become agents of change.

Strategy 4: Act on contexts, not just people

Changing behaviors also means changing the contexts that influence them. People don't act in a vacuum: they are guided by what they see, by how spaces are organized, by team habits, by the signals –explicit or implicit– they receive every day. For this reason, if concrete sustainability is to be implemented, it is essential to also intervene in the organizational environment, not just in individual training.

Often, well-thought-out micro-interventions are enough to change established dynamics: a different way of opening meetings, new criteria for organizing shifts, the way you manage an email or celebrate an outcome. These weak signals have a much stronger impact than they seem, because they act on what people perceive as “normal”. This is where behavioral design comes in: the intentional design of contexts that facilitate desired behavior. Nudging, or the use of gentle pushes to guide choices, can also encourage the adoption of more sustainable habits without imposition.

AR19 uses these approaches to make change more natural and less tiring, working on routines, spaces, languages, and processes. Because if the context is inconsistent, even the most motivated people end up going back to the old patterns.

Strategy 5: Integrating sustainability into HR roles and processes

For sustainability to become widespread behavior, it must be integrated into key HR roles and processes. If ESG culture remains confined to a report or specialized area, it cannot influence the organization's daily choices. On the contrary, when sustainability becomes a criterion for selecting, evaluating, training, rewarding, then it begins to take root in real behaviors.

It all starts with onboarding: bringing new hires to life a coherent culture, which gives space to environmental, social, and relational issues. It then goes on to evaluate performance, which must include indicators related to behaviors (not just the goals achieved). In reward systems, it is also essential to recognize those who promote well-being, respect, and collaboration. And in leadership models, it must be made clear that leading today also means knowing how to create shared value, listen, and generate coherence.

AR19 accompanies companies in projects where sustainability becomes an integral part of HR strategies. From pay equity to sustainable leadership coaching, from inclusive selection pathways to evolved engagement systems, every organizational lever can help transform sustainability from a stated value to a lived culture. It is in the operational details that coherence is played out, and that is where the credibility of change is built.

How to measure sustainability-related cultural change

Measuring cultural change related to sustainability is possible, but we need to go beyond traditional indicators. It's not enough to count how many people have participated in a course or how many posts have been published on the ESG topic. It is necessary to observe how behaviors, perceptions and concrete choices change over time. Cultural sustainability is measured in detail: in the languages used, in meetings, in evaluation criteria, in the quality of relationships between people and roles.

The tools to be used must combine quantitative and qualitative indicators. On the one hand, you can work with surveys, dashboards, self-assessment, process mappings. On the other hand, it is necessary to listen to: focus groups, interviews, field observations, analysis of weak signals. A key component is measuring perception: how is organizational coherence experienced? Where do you see distances between declared values and actual behaviors?

AR19 uses an integrated approach, based on cultural assessment experiences, predictive indicators and development tools. The goal is not only to make change visible, but to build internal awareness, stimulate corrective action, and reinforce practices that work. Because only what is measured can be managed. And only what is understood can become culture.

Conclusion

Changing behaviors is the only way to make sustainability real. It's not enough to form, communicate, or define goals: we need to create coherence between values, processes, and contexts. Effective strategies are those that start with people but also involve systems, spaces, and daily habits.

AR19 supports companies in concrete, measurable and personalized cultural sustainability projects. From behavioral assessment to cross-training to integration into HR processes, each intervention is designed to take sustainability from the strategic plan to visible behavior.