Sustainability can be a tough sell, especially in established organizations resistant to change. That's why former journalist and sustainability expert Eric Unmacht uses story design as a foundation of his sustainability strategy work. As he says, it’s easier to make change by working with the existing stories and culture in an organization than by working against them.

He should know; he’s spent decades making change at major brands that include Patagonia, Lululemon, Mountain Equipment Co-op and the Vancouver Economic Commission. Today, he’s leading a new initiative to make sustainability in the fashion industry more transparent in his role as the Director of Brand and Retail Performance at the Sustainable Apparel Coalition.

In this episode, Eric shares several specific examples of how he’s used story to research, design and test strategy. His practice offers a really clear illustration of relatively quick and easy ways to use story to advance innovation. Through this discussion, we explore what works in this approach and why, as well as where things can go sideways. 

Eric also unpacks the way he uses skills he developed as a journalist - including being curious, asking good questions and learning to accept that the best path forward may not be the one on which you start out. As we wrap up the episode, he shares some great tips about how anyone can start to use stories to inform and guide their strategic work - and reflects on the need for and power of story design to help us navigate an increasingly complex world.

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