Embracing complexity - Green Collider

Embracing complexity

Ted is a young entrepreneur who is an activist in some environmental organisations and worked as a volunteer cleaning the beaches of Greenview like his friend Emma who is managing a business producing Eco-bags. His father owns a company that produces disposable plastic items (bags, plates, cups, and straws), which he is expected to inherit one day. His father business as it is wont suit his life philosophy as well the market of disposable products will have to face a transition toward sustainability because of the European Ban to plastic. Despite the need to deal with the transition his father, who is still in charge of the company do not want to take this step, nor cooperate with any other business, like Ted’s friend Emma’s once, because of the uncertainty of the return of the investment to be done to go sustainable. Ted was determined to find a solution, investigating other initiatives started around the world in the same field, as well to gather more knowledge about the material, processes, and circularity, to draft more effective strategies and to show his dad that he will be able and ready to manage the family business in the future. Help Ted to fulfil his goals, choose the solutions to the quests he will have to face.

Ted has to address the sustainability issue of his dad’s business. How should he approach the issue and address his research for a solution?

Solely consider the business history and the past production as a base for reflection.

Ted has to do what his heart tells him to do, and his passion leads him to.

Ted has to focus on the overall elements that compose his family business as well the surrounding (environmental and economic conditions) to have a comprehensive understanding of the problem and the possible solutions.

Ted has to focus only on the immediate consequences of the shift toward sustainability on the business and to examine and prevent those consequences.

What role does reflection play in understanding sustainability issues and considering them for the transition of Ted’s family business?

Reflection is functional just for academic purposes, hence not a good path to follow for Ted.

Ted will be able to better consider of personal, social, and cultural influences.

Critical thinking will just interfere effective reflection on the issues Ted will have to face.

Acting for Ted is more important than reflecting, timing is crucial so he must make a move.

To define the sustainability problem and therefore to act to face it and support the resilience and/or growth of the family business Ted should consider temporal and geographical scope. Do you think this is relevant?

It helps identify appropriate approaches for solving the environmental sustainability problem, taking into account all the aspects of the family business.

It complicates the problem unnecessarily. It limits the focus to the present moment only.

It is irrelevant to identify the problem and the strategy to solve it.

It limits the focus to the present moment only.

Why is crucial for Ted to recognize difficulty in sustainability issues?

By recognizing difficulties Ted will be able to adopt appropriate approaches/strategies to problem-solving and to embed sustainable strategies in his family business.

It will simplify the problem-solving process or at least the drafting of a strategy to embed sustainability issues in the family business strategies.

It allows Ted to ignore the challenges at hand.

Because it limits the scope of the problems Ted will have to address.

How do you think a comprehensive analysis of the issue, the state of the art and the context will help Ted to be ready to push the transition to sustainability for his family business?

Ted will see each aspect of the sustainability transition of his business isolated and clear to solve.

Ted will be able to not stress out about connections and relationship of cause/consequence between actions and different aspects of his business.

Ted will have a clear picture about each single aspect of the issue and be able to analyse how each matter influence the family business and the surrounding.

He will be able to rebuild a storyline of his business and be more in touch with the family work ethic regardless of the sustainability.

What is a key aspect Ted must consider about reflecting and identifying the problems in shifting the family business toward sustainability?

He has to avoid the comments and reflections the of people involved.

Ted has to ignore temporal and geographical scope.

Ted has to formulate problems in isolation.

Ted must recognize difficulty and considering all relevant factors to successfully address sustainability in the production process.