Executive championship brings credibility and authority to a program’s mission and goals while setting a tone from the top that this work is important.
Establishing a successful sustainability program requires more than engaged leadership. It takes an authentic commitment from senior- and executive-level leaders backed up with resourcing, governance, modeling new norms, and ultimately shifting the organization’s culture. According to the 2023 Practice Greenhealth sustainability benchmark report, all top 25 performing health systems across the United States had an executive-level champion.
There is not a one-size-fits-all approach to communicating about sustainability and securing leadership engagement. There are a variety of methods, resources, and tactics to support your team in tailoring a pitch for full leadership support. Keep in mind you may need to frame sustainability in a variety of ways for different leaders.
“The role of the senior leader – the executive champion – is to make connections of disparate dots, marshalling, to the extent possible, all the resources.” – Barbara Tretheway, retired senior vice president and general counsel, HealthPartners
