"I don't know any large truly sustainable corporation. But many of them are doing very well in some aspect of sustainability and they should get credit for it and we should spread their knowledge." – why it is time for a change to sustainable corporations and how to get there.

Dexter Dunphy, Distinguished Professor, School of Management, University of Technology, Sydney, Australia

With passion, enthusiasm and a lot of joy Dexter told us about the many fantastic initiatives of NGOs, as well as large companies, currently going on in Australia with the goal of preserving the environment or changing the way business has been done for the last couple of decades. On the one hand he finds it incredibly inspiring to talk with people in tree nurseries, who are growing and planting trees to save what’s left of the rainforest in north-western Australia. On the other hand, supporting the fast changes in the thinking and acting of large corporations trying to integrate sustainability in their businesses in quite innovative ways is another satisfying activity for Dexter.
A Harvard-educated business specialist, Dexter used to be introduced as the “Australian Change Guru”. Today, he does everything to create change leading to a sustainable Australia and role-model organizations. Spending most of his time focusing on the reduction of global warming, among others through consulting on sustainability initiatives in large corporations, Dexter tries to help avoiding an environmental catastrophe and creating a future that is worth living.

Enjoy reading selected thoughts and statements of our discussion with Dexter Dunphy in the quotations below. You may be able to read more about his diverse initiatives in our book “MyImpact”.

Dexter Dunphy’s selected quotations:
"My father was an activist fighting for the ecological habitat in Australia, establishing national parks and organizing bush walks. My mother was a Methodist and had strong social consciousness and humanitarian values. I was lucky to be loved by and to learn from both of them."

"Environmentalists have similar challenges as we used to have with change management. They are banging on the corporations’ and politicians’ doors, trying to get into the board rooms and receive attention. What they promote should become main stream just as happened to change management."

"Because of my family background I was aware of environmental issues and during my consulting work in change management I knew that we had to build in flexibility in the organizations that would allow them to deal with challenges like that. I just wasn't aware of how massive and urgent these changes would be."

"I was actually thinking of retiring but my colleagues would not let me. The assignments are getting more and more every day. I think that happens if you are really committed to something."

"Doing something good for the environment, I always think of the future of my own children and grandchildren but also of the children of the world."

"I was given a beautiful world; it is amazing almost beyond comprehension. What a fortunate person I am. I could as well have been born in Ethiopia. I know it may sound weird and old-fashioned but this country has given to me so much that I would want to return something."

"I could have stayed and taught at Harvard. The money would have been better. But then, how much money do you need, anyway?"

"In a way the history of environmentalism is documented in my family; my father was a classical environmental activist, my brother took environmental issues into politics, my son has made a business out of rainforest regeneration and I can take issues of sustainability into large organizations."

"If you believe in something, you do something about it."

"I would rather work with people who have similar values to mine. Otherwise it gets very difficult and I'm not really able to help. That’s why I didn’t do consulting work for companies where I did not like the products produced or the values lived."

"It's important to accept that people are where they are. Whenever you want to initiate change you have to be aware of the current situation people are in."

"I have my principles and I am also a very pragmatic person. That’s why I try to create viable solutions together with large corporations, not something they can’t realize."

“It doesn’t matter if I consult world leading knowledge management companies, printing companies or breweries - we were able to identify innovative ways to create sustainable companies in all cases. However, most of the time it is not about optimizing a single piece but about completely redesigning new closed loops of doing business and adding value for quite different stakeholders.”

"My largest satisfaction comes from my children. There is nothing more important than being a parent and nothing equals the accomplishment of raising children."

"My greatest responsibility is to myself. I have received the opportunity to live in an absolutely wonderful world and it's my responsibility to do something with that life and to leave the world a better place."

"The contribution I want to make is to provide an environment in which people can change their lives."

"We are living in a very unique situation right now. Our civilization is on the edge of collapsing because the resources are ending, but - unlike with previous civilizations - for the first time there is no other place to go to for the human race."

"I always wanted to be on the leading edge. And I am - more that I could have ever wished for. And I will stay there. And I know that when I leave there are dozens of people who are going to continue."

Some background on Dexter Dunphy:
Dexter Dunphy was born and grew up in Sydney. He holds degrees in education and sociology and received his PhD in sociology from the Harvard University. There he also studied Business Administration and taught for three years.
After returning to Australia, Dexter taught Sociology and later Management and Behavioural Science at the University of new south Wales and later at the University of Technology in Sydney. Today, he is a Distinguished Professor of the latter university where he directs research on Corporate Sustainability in the Graduate School of Business. An experienced researcher and consultant in the fields on organizational change and corporate sustainability, he supports corporations to make the paradigm shift to a sustainable world successfully.
Dexter’s main research and consulting interests are in the management of organizational change, human resource management and corporate sustainability. He also has a special interest in comparative management, particularly in East Asia where he has traveled widely. His research is published in over 70 articles and 20 books, including the Australian best sellers “Under New Management: Australian Organization in Transition”, and “Beyond the Boundaries: Leading and Re-creating the Successful Enterprise”. Dexter's most recent book is The Sustainable Corporation: Organizational Renewal in Australia (co-authored with Andrew Griffiths).
Dexter has consulted to over 150 private and public sector organizations in Australia and abroad. He has also thirty years experience in working with senior executives, managers and other professionals in enhancing their managerial skills through executive workshops, consulting and counseling.

Some background on the University of Technology:
The University of Technology (UTS), Sydney, is an Australian university with an international focus. It provides higher education to enhance professional practice, to serve the community at large and to enable students to reach their full personal and career potential.
The UTS Graduate School of Business, in Sydney NSW, is one of Australia's largest postgraduate teaching institutions. It provides higher education aimed at enhancing professional practice, scholarship, and research in all the key business disciplines as well as in a number of specialized areas such as the management of events, sport, tourism, art, community management and the not-for-profit sector.

If you would like to engage with the work of Dexter Dunphy or get to know more about the University of Technology please visit http://www.business.uts.edu.au,
or, for more specific opportunities, contact joanna.stefanska@myimpact.ch or wolfgang.hafenmayer@myimpact.ch directly.