The Environmental Sustainability “Multiplier” Network

The global head of R&D sustainability needed to build a network of internal change agents, or “Multipliers. He needed to inspire and align this network with a common vision and set of responsibilities to lead change inside the company.

The Challenge

A leading healthcare company has made an enormous commitment to ensure sustainability across every aspect of their organization.

The global leader responsible for “Fostering the Sustainable Development of Innovative Medicines” needed help to communicate a clear purpose to the network of “Multipliers.

And just as important, to help him to define, inspire and activate this network of change agents.

The Approach

We custom designed a virtual innovation meeting, the “Multiplier Meet-Up”

The goal of the session was to inspire, engage and align the team of multipliers while also pushing them to help define their role and the agenda to actualize the fostering of sustainability in the development of medicines.

The 2-part approach was:

Part 1 – Pre-Work Session and Briefing:  Before we engaged the group, it was essential that we primed the participants for problem solving and shared a short pre-work exercise that directly linked to the 1st session.  They engaged  in “Fact Finding” exercise that would inform the opening exercise.

Part 2 – Defining the Role of the Multiplier:  We designed a multi-part (4 hour) virtual session that focused on defining the role of the multipliers as well as their responsibilities.  Additionally, we used a projective technique that enabled the participants to visualize their internal branding/marketing of the role.

The Outcome

After the session, teams had to complete a homework assignment to create a job advertisement to the organization.

Teams reconvened and prioritized key actions to move forward.

The company has subsequently built one of the largest corporate sustainability programs and movements that are already making inroads to generating a carbon neutral footprint and attempting to eliminate all environmental impacts from making medicines.