Learner Guide

Develop workplace policy and

procedures for sustainability
BSBSUS501

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 Table of Contents
Introduction....................................................................................................................................... 4
Chapter 1 – Develop workplace sustainability policy ....................................................................... 4
What is sustainability in a business context? ................................................................................ 4
Sustainable policies ....................................................................................................................... 6
Define the scope of sustainability ................................................................................................. 8
Sustainability and entrepreneurship ............................................................................................. 8
Review the legislative environment for sustainability ................................................................ 11
Sustainability standards and best practice guidelines ................................................................ 12
Approaches to sustainability ....................................................................................................... 15
Practical framework and tools for entrepreneurial decision-making ......................................... 18
Bring the finding of your research activity to class and discuss with your classmates. .........Error!
Bookmark not defined.
Implementation strategy ............................................................................................................. 21
Identify and consult with stakeholders ....................................................................................... 21
Make recommendation for policy ............................................................................................... 24
Implementation strategies .............................................................................................................. 24
Integrate policy with organisational strategy ............................................................................. 24
Agree to appropriate methods of implementation..................................................................... 25
Chapter 2 – Communicate and implement sustainability policy .................................................... 31
Promote policy: the communication strategy ............................................................................. 31
Entrepreneurial approach to communication ................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
Topics: .......................................................................................................................................... 34
Develop procedures ............................................................................................................. 34
Implement policy and strategy ............................................................................................ 34
Establishing and maintaining recordkeeping systems ......................................................... 34
Development procedures ............................................................................................................ 34
Implement policy and strategy .................................................................................................... 34
Implement continuous improvement ......................................................................................... 40
Continually Improving, in a Methodical Way .............................................................................. 41

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 Chapter 3 – Review workplace sustainability policy ....................................................................... 46
Identify trends and variance from performance targets ............................................................ 46
Document outcomes and provide feedback ............................................................................... 48
Investigate success of policy........................................................................................................ 50

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 Week 1

Introduction

This unit describes the skills and knowledge required to develop workplace sustainability
policy in accordance with legislative and regulatory requirements. It also outlines how to
communicate, promote and successfully implement sustainability policy. The unit also
specifies how to review and modify the policy, as part of continuous improvement and to
suit changed circumstances.
It applies to individuals with managerial responsibilities who undertake work developing
approaches to create, monitor and improve strategies and policies within workplaces and
engage with a range of relevant stakeholders and specialists.

Chapter 1 – Develop workplace sustainability

policy

Topics:
Introduction to sustainability
Introduction to sustainability policy
Define the scope of sustainability
Sustainability and entrepreneurship
Legislative environment and standards

What is sustainability in a business context?

Sustainability could be defined as an ability or capacity of something to be maintained or

to sustain itself. It’s about taking what we need to live now, without jeopardising the
potential for people in the future to meet their needs. If an activity is said to be
sustainable, it should be able to continue forever.1
 Environmental sustainability
 Economic sustainability

1
http://www.landlearnnsw.org.au/sustainability/what-is-sustainability

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  Socio-political sustainability.

A sustainable business will find ways of integrating all three into its business model.

Environmental sustainability: Making sure current processes of

interaction with the environment are
pursued with the idea of keeping the
environment as natural as possible

Economic sustainability Making sure current processes of

interaction with the environment are
economically viable. From a business
perspective, this may mean reducing costs
through reduced wastage.

Socio-political sustainability Promoting and maintaining a system of

social actions that acts as a mechanism
towards sustainability and social justice.
From a business perspective, this may
mean complying with relevant legislation
and, for example, providing fair working
conditions and remuneration.

Fill in the blanks

Triple bottom line will include: Environmental Health, ……, and Social Health.

Socio-political sustainability promotes …. Actions that acts as mechanism towards social

sustainability.

Sustainability could be defined as an …. or …. of something to be maintained or to sustain

itself.

Video
Sustainability explained
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5r4loXPyx8&nohtml5

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 Sustainable policies

A policy should normally contain the following elements:

Scope (what areas or people the

Purpose or intent
policy applies to)

Applicable legislation, standards

Responsibilities for implementation
and codes of practice

The success of sustainability policy:

The sustainability policy should refer to the following underpinning success factors:

Culture Management must be committed to sustainability and this

commitment should be communicated in the sustainability
policy as well as in other organisational documents, such as
mission, vision, strategic goals etc.
Compliance The policy should reference and should be developed in
consideration of legal obligations and compliance
requirements related to sustainability.
Accountability The policy should outline key personnel responsible for
managing the policy, monitoring and reviewing.
Consultation Stakeholders from all levels should be consulted when
developing, monitoring or reviewing sustainability policy in
order to gather the most input and promotes acceptance and
support.

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 Capacity The policy should outline required resources, personnel and
capabilities and should include processes for training staff and
allocating resources.

Question – Matching Pairs

Match the success factors for a sustainability factor to their explanation.

Term Explanation

Culture The policy should outline key personnel responsible

for managing the policy, monitoring and reviewing.

Compliance The policy should outline required resources,

personnel and capabilities and should include
processes for training staff and allocating resources.

Accountability Management must be committed to sustainability

and this commitment should be communicated in
the sustainability policy as well as in other
organisational documents, such as mission, vision,
strategic goals etc.

Consultation The policy should reference and should be

developed in consideration of legal obligations and
compliance requirements related to sustainability.

Capacity Stakeholders from all levels should be consulted

when developing, monitoring or reviewing
sustainability policy in order to gather the most
input and promotes acceptance and support.

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 Define the scope of sustainability

When developing a policy you must specify the scope, you need to consider the
following:

Standards,
Your
guidelines and Business,
organisation’s
approaches that industry or
approach to
apply to that market context
sustainability
industry

The part of the

Methodologies
Relevant organisation
of improving
legislation that the policy
sustainability
applies to.

In order to define the scope of the policy, you need to gather information on
all the above by conducting research and consulting with relevant personnel
and stakeholders.

Sustainability and entrepreneurship

Sustainable work practices require visionary leadership and entrepreneurial skills to be

fully integrated with the core values and strategic directions of a company.
You don’t need to be an entrepreneur managing his own company, to display an
entrepreneurial approach to business. You may be a manager in an existing company
who displays entrepreneurial leadership.

An entrepreneurial leader:

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 Flexible

Entrepreneurial minds:
Sustainable work practices are about doing the right thing and doing it right. These are
the benefits to your business:

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 It minimises risks

It increases loyalty among It increases productivity in

consumers the long run

It supports the positive

image of the company
(enhancing positive
It helps to consolidate
association with a
market shares
company’s brand, and
trust in their products and
services)

It inspires ethical It decreases incidents in the

behaviours in employees workplace

Sustainopreneurship
Sustainopreneurship is a new way of doing
business that combines sustainability and
entrepreneurship. It responds to the
following challenges:
Sustainopreneurship is about an
organisation that actively works towards
resolving sustainability issues such as water
shortage, poverty, urbanisation, trade
justice and climate change.

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 Video
Pavan Sukhdev: Theory of sustainable
entrepreneurship

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIE8ouqcd4U

Questions -Multiple Choice

Which of the following statements is correct? Sustainability innovation is about:

1. protecting the environment ☐
2. applying ethical and modern financial practices ☐
3. support communities ☐
4. all of the above ☐

Conventional Entrepreneurial Sustainability

economy sector innovation

Review the legislative environment for sustainability

There are three levels of legislation that you need to consider and be familiar with:

Federal The Department of the Environment protects

Australia’s environment and heritage by
implementing national policy, programs and
legislation.

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 Other federal legislation can include requirements
for sustainable and environmental practices, for
example Australian Consumer Law.

State/Territory There are several state and territory government laws for
the environment and they vary in name and function. The
majority of laws relating to preserving the environment in
Australia are state/territory laws.

Local Local councils provide environment related regulations

and guidelines in their specific area of jurisdiction.

Further Reading

If you require further information on the EPBC Act or the activity of Department
of the Environment, please visit their website at:
http://www.environment.gov.au/about-us/legislation
Australian Government–Department of Climate Change–Your business and
climate change http://www.climatechange.gov.au/en/businessclimate-
change.aspx>

Sustainability standards and best practice guidelines

The Environmental Management Systems Standard

provides a framework and guidelines on the content of an environmental policy.
According to the Standard, the scope of the policy should:

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 Be appropriate to the
nature, scale and
environmental impacts of
the organisation’s
activities, products and
services
Include a commitment
Be available to the to continual
public. improvement and
prevention of pollution

Include a commitment
to comply with
applicable legal
Be communicated to all
requirement and with
persons working for or
other requirements to
on behalf of the
which the organisation
organisation
subscribes which relate
to its environmental
aspects

Provide the framework

Be documented,
for setting and reviewing
implemented and
environmental objectives
maintained
and targets

The Standard also recommends a framework for planning and implementing

policy based on the well-known cycle:

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 Establish Implement
sustainability processes
objectives and

Act to Monitor and

continually measure
improve success
against

Week 2

Topics:

 Best practice
 Approaches to sustainability
 Practical framework and tools for entrepreneurial decision-making
 Involve stakeholders in consultation
 Make recommendation for policy

Best practice

There are a number of sources of sustainability best practices; however you need to find
the most relevant ones to your organisation.

Video

Putting Sustainability into Practice: How and Why Successful Organizations Embrace
Sustainability
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFFfD7-11YE

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 Approaches to sustainability
To achieve your sustainability goals and to overcome the traditional model of resource
use, you need to consider different approaches or methodologies.

Traditional model of resource us

The main problem of this model is that it assumes there are no limits to the
supply of raw materials.

Further Reading

Life-cycle analysis

http://www.gdrc.org/sustdev/concepts/17-lca

Video

Advancing Sustainability Lifecycle

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxfGp8ewK_Y

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 Extraction of
raw materials

Production

Disposal Recycle

Reuse
End of life Packaging and
management distribution

Use

Question – Short Answer

What practices can you introduce in the product lie-cycle management?

Supply chain management

It is important to integrate sustainability into your supply chain, as you can improve your
environmental efficiency by choosing the right suppliers who also consider sustainable
practices.
Sustainable procurement implants environmental, economic and social criteria
into contractual documents with the aim of motivating suppliers to offer more sustainable
products and services.’2

2
http://www.wrap.org.uk/content/sustainable-procurement

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 Global Reporting Initiative

The Global Reporting Initiative (known as GRI) is an international independent

standards organisation that helps businesses, governments and other organisations
understand and communicate their impacts on issues such as climate change, human
rights and corruption.3
Sustainability reporting includes economic, environmental and social measures.4
Economic Economic performance, market presence, indirect economic impacts,
procurement practices.

Environmental Materials, energy, water, biodiversity, emissions, effluents and waste,

products and services, compliance, transport, supplier environmental
assessment, environmental grievance mechanisms.

Social Labour practices and decent work, human rights, society, product
responsibility.

Further Reading

Prove and improve tools

http://www.proveandimprove.org/tools/griguidelines.php

Video

Global Reporting Initiative : The sustainability challenge

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePeYRg8x-4w

3
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Reporting_Initiative
4
https://www.globalreporting.org

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 Practical framework and tools for entrepreneurial decision-making
If you are either starting your business or if you are a leader with an entrepreneurial
mindset in your organisation, you might find this section quite interesting to improve
your decision-making process for sustainable business practices.
The Natural Step (TNS)
The framework is based on scientific principles and it assist with developing business and
product design strategies. The framework of system conditions followed to form TNS
system conditions:

•States that “substances from the earth’s crust must not systematically
increase in the ecosphere.” This means, for example, that the rate of
extraction of fossil fuels, metals, and other minerals must not exceed the
First system pace of their slow redeposit and reintegration into the earth’s crust.
condition

•Requires that “substances produced by society must not systematically

increase in the ecosphere.” These substances, synthetic compounds created
in laboratories, must be produced, used, and released at a rate that does not
Second exceed the rate with which they can be broken down and integrated into
system natural cycles or safely incorporated in the earth’s crust (soil, water).
condition

•States that “the physical basis for productivity and diversity of nature must
not be systematically diminished.” This requirement protects the productive
Thirs system capacity and diversity of the earth’s ecosystems.
condition

•Calls for the “fair and efficient use of resources with respect to meeting
Fourth human needs.”
system
condition

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 Matching Pairs

Match each term to its definition.

Terms Definitions

Fourth system condition substances produced by society must not systematically

increase in the ecosphere.

First system condition the physical basis for productivity and diversity of nature
must not be systematically diminished

Third system condition substances from the earth’s crust must not systematically
increase in the ecosphere

Second System Condition a consideration of justice, calls for the “fair and efficient
use of resources with respect to meeting human needs.”

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 Life-cycle analysis

Is about using methods and analytical tools to evaluate the environmental and health
impact of products and processes from material to disposal. By determine the impact of
product and processes, businesses can plan for solutions to mitigate or eliminate the
impact.

Carbon footprint analysis

This approach can be applied in the organisation to measure direct and indirect
emissions of greenhouse gasses from the provision of goods and services. The approach
allows companies to:

 Disclose data on carbon emission

 Participate in a more efficient way to government initiatives to reduce carbon
emission
 Encourage the collection of data that can be used in continuous improvement of
sustainable business practices
 Identify direct and indirect sources of emissions
 Track emission over time

Reflection – Bring Back to Class

How can we demonstrate a commitment to sustainability?

Be prepared to discuss your answer in class.

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 Implementation strategy

In order to successfully implement your sustainability policy and to achieve your

sustainability goals, you need to take into account the cultural context of your
organisation, its day-to-day operational needs and present capabilities.

To develop an appropriate strategy for implementation you need to consider:

Consultation to Train staff ensuring

gather input and get they understand and
support from apply the
stakeholders sustainability policy

Promotional activities
to raise awareness of
policy among
relevant stakeholders

Identify and consult with stakeholders

In order to gather information and input into policy as well as to build support for policy
initiatives, you will need to consult with various stakeholders.
It will be important to consider a range of stakeholder types and to map stakeholders to
determine appropriate engagement strategies and prioritise effectively. You may have a
long list of people that are affected by your work. Some of these have more power to
support you or block your ideas, and some have less power to do so.

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 Your stakeholders can include:

 Employees  Suppliers  Customers

 Government  Regulators  Sustainability

consultants

 NGO  Community  Local

Groups Government

Using the below matrix you can map your stakeholders based on their power, influence
and interest.

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 Further Reading

Managing 'Stakeholder Interaction' For Better Business Strategy

https://www.forbes.com/sites/dinamedland/2015/08/16/managing-stakeholder-
interaction-for-better-business-strategy/#144aa122577b

Consultation process

You will need to consider a variety of strategies for effective communication and
consultation with identified stakeholders.
Multiple Choice

Tick the most correct answer

You have recently decided to create a promotional flyer for your new sustainability
policy, who is the most interested stakeholder to receive this flyer?
1. Local Government ☐
2. Employees ☐
3. Local green community ☐
4. Focus groups ☐

Stakeholders who are higher priority will require a more involved consultation method
than those classified as low priority, as outlined in the table below:

Stakeholder group Consultation method

Manage closely  Meeting

 Group meeting
 Interview

Keep satisfied  Focus groups

 Brainstorming sessions
 Feedback sessions

Keep informed  Feedback sessions

 Email communication
 Newsletter

Monitor (minimum  Email communications

effort)

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  Newsletter

Make recommendation for policy

After identifying the scope of your sustainability policy and consulting relevant
stakeholders, you may need to make recommendations and even present a business
case for environmental and social sustainability initiatives where you weigh the costs and
the benefits of such initiatives.

Week 3
Implementation strategies
Topics:

 Integrate a policy within the organisation

 Choose the right implementation strategy
 Promote the sustainability policy

Integrate policy with organisational strategy

Your sustainability policy needs to be integrated with organisational goals and strategies.
Identify what matters to the organisation (success, creating value for customers and
stakeholders) and create a framework of policies and procedures that aim to achieve
that.

This is how a policy framework looks like:

Mission/vision/
Goals Strategies Objectives
values

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 First, the mission, vision and values must be created; then these are translated into
organisational goals. Strategies are then developed to achieve these goals. Measurable
objectives and targets are then set to achieve the strategies.

Agree to appropriate methods of implementation

Once you have developed your sustainability policy you will need to implement it. You
may seek the input of stakeholders and the approval of relevant personnel on how to
best implement the policy.
In some larger organisations, the implementation will require a more formal project
management approach.
With the implementation, you will need to consider costs, timeframes and personnel
involved in implementation. You will need to define benchmarks of successful or
sufficient implementation and determine what forms of communication and training is
will be required.
Best way for implementation is to develop an action plan in consultation with
stakeholders, that can outline all the above.

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 Different views on strategies

Old view (Cost) Best Practice view

(Opportunity)
Defence approach – sustainability is Offense approach – sustainability brings
a negative factor that impacts profit business opportunities and should be
and must be avoided pursued proactively for competitive
advantage
Isolation approach – sustainability Systematic approach – sustainability is
can produce one single green incorporated into every business decision,
product across the life-cycle of a product
Harm reduction approach – waste Zero harm and positive energy approach –
minimisation, emission reduction zero waste, clean renewable energy,
and energy conservation, for restore the environment and support the
example unprivileged
Niche approach – green products Mainstream approach – environmental
serve a niche of the market and social responsibility is seen as an
opportunity to serve a large market
Win-lose approach – costs of Win-win approach – Innovation led by
improvement on environmental sustainability bring positive results for
performance are heavy on profits businesses (profits) and society
Higher price- customers must pay a Competitive price – customers expect
higher price for green products competitive prices when buying green
products
Incremental improvement – Disruptive change – sustainability requires
sustainability requires incremental disruptive innovation
change
(Source: Adapted from Laszlo and Zhexembayeva, 2017 p. 71-72)

Question – Multiple choices

Which one of the following approaches is a Best Practice view (opportunity)? Tick all that
apply:

 Harm reduction approach – waste minimisation, emission reduction and energy

conservation, for example ☐

 Mainstream approach – environmental and social responsibility is seen as an opportunity to

serve a large market ☐

 Disruptive change – sustainability requires disruptive innovation ☐

 Incremental improvement – sustainability requires incremental change ☐

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  Systematic approach – sustainability is incorporated into every business decision, across
the life-cycle of a product ☐

Embedded sustainability

When embedding sustainability into an organisation: environmental, health

and social values become part of the company’s culture with no trade-offs in
price or quality.
Video

Your Next Move: From Bolt-On to Embedding Sustainability

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uj-xPYDndbM

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 To embed sustainability successfully in your business, firstly reflect on the following:

Do not make it a separate/parallel strategy, make it

the one implemented strategy

Ask yourself if your company is currently part of the

sustainability problem or part of the solution. This will
inform the degree of change needed in your company

Decide if you want to pursue a strategy of better positioning

yourself in the market through differentiation via sustainable
business practices, or if you want to explore a blue ocean
strategy (new markets inspired by sustainability)

Apply the following principles to make sustainability part of the way you do business:

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 Maximise sustainable value, not just shareholder or stakeholder value

Expand the focus of your action to the product’s life-cycle value-chain

Integrate sustainability performance into the core business

Go beyond the old approach to sustainability as a cost, embrace it as an

opportunity

Engage a diverse spectrum of stakeholders in your actions

Build transformative relationships rather than transactional

Compete cooperatively as well as adversarial

Make sustainability everyone’s job in the company

Acquire ‘native capability’ and ‘local knowledge’ (understand and use the
environment where you do business)

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 The change process to embed sustainability will require:

• Create a sense of urgency

Start in the right • Formulate a compelling vision
• Educate
way • Lead by example

• Align the strategy with sustainability

• Determine value-added activities
Build the buy-in • Explain in clear terms: 'what is in it for me
• Plan for resistance to change

Move from
• Incremental goals
incremenatl through • Innovative approach to challenges
breakthrough

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 Chapter 2 – Communicate and implement
sustainability policy

Promote policy: the communication strategy

Developing a communication strategy is a good approach to promote your sustainability

policy to key stakeholders.

In your communication strategy you need to consider:

 Communication objectives and purpose
 Your audience
 Message
 Media

Video

Effective Communication: Why is it Important in Management?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIQhHEWpdWs

Message

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 Your message should be clear and should relate to your communication objectives. Since
your audience may be very diverse, you may have to adapt the style and the content of
your message to suit everyone’s needs in the audience.

Medium

The media or channels used for communication will depend on the message you want to
convey and your target audience. Example of media is listed below:
 Team meeting  Intranet
 Training sessions  Notice board
 Staff orientation and inductions  Brochures
 Information sessions  Fact sheets
 Organisational meetings  Newsletters
 Email  Magazines

Question – Short Answer

List 6 media or channels that can be used for communicatibg the sustainability policy:

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 Communication
objectives:

Audience Message Strategy: Resource/ Person

media, approach, budget responsible
rationale

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 Week 4

Topics:

 Develop procedures

 Implement policy and strategy

 Establishing and maintaining recordkeeping systems

 Implement improvements

Development procedures

Procedures support policies by providing specific instructions and guidelines on how to

implement them. Policies are more generic and provide overall aims, while policies are
more specific and tell people how to do things to achieve that goal.

Procedures may include:

 Description of activity  Safety requirements

 Standards  Step-by-step instructions
 Who is responsible  Diagrams and flow charts.

Implement policy and strategy

Key elements of successful implementation include:

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 Resourcing

Human
resources

Environmental
Facilities training
specialists

Financial
Equipment
resources

Integration

Integration can be achieved through:

Consultation with head

departments and
managers to make sure
implementation does
not conflict with other
responsibilities and
tasks and to avoid
unnecessary
duplications of
responsibilities.

Communication of
any changes to Coordination of
implementation implementation
tasks to those who activities across
are involved in teams, department
implementation. and managers
(e.g. due dates)

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 Work schedules

When developing implementation plan you need to consider any changes to work hours,
duration of work, work conditions, processes and systems, overtime, leave etc. You must
take into account the availability of people involved in implementation when you create
schedules and assign deadlines.
Assigning responsibilities

Implementing sustainability policy and sustainable practices requires everyone’s

participation and commitment.

Video

How To Delegate Tasks Like a Pro: Team Task Management Tips

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KApy2bpDMaQ

Training

In order to successfully implement a sustainability policy, staff responsible for

implementation is required to have the right skills to carry out their duties. Training
needs must be identified through consultation, interviews or employee assessment to fill
in any skills gaps. Training should be planned detailing the training content and delivery,
the target audience, required personnel (environmental trainer or specialist), resources
and costs.
Questions -True or false

Select true or false for each of the following.

Training needs must be identified only through consultation. True ☐ False ☐

The sustainability policy may specify the personnel responsible for implementation.

True ☐ False ☐

You can assign deadlines to people involved in implementation without checking their
availability

True ☐ False ☐

Establishing and maintaining recordkeeping systems

Recordkeeping is crucial to the successful implementation and maintenance of an

effective sustainability policy. Records may include:

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  Records of consultation
 Audit records
 Induction and training records
 Environmental and social
 Workplace environmental
performance records
monitoring records
 Risk registers
Video
Implement and monitor environmentally sustainable work prac

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKvDJ6_Z0k8

Using an implementation plan

Once you have determined all the essential elements to successful implementation, it is
important to outline an implementation plan/action plan.
Below there is a template of an action plan for implementation:

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 Example of an implementation/action plan

Implementation Plan

Objectives Improve employment engagement and satisfaction

Integrate sustainability policy with organisational strategy
and day-to-day operations
Reach sustainability targets:
 10% reduction in water and energy usage
 10% reduction in wastage sand resource use
 90% score on employee satisfaction in fair working
conditions
Build community, customer and stakeholder awareness in
regard to sustainability

Owner of HR Manager
plan

Action Required Strategy/tactics Resources Timeline Accountability

Publish revised N/A N/A 1 February HR Manager

sustainability procedure on
internet

Promote revised Conduct videoconference Room 1 February HR Manager

sustainability policy and presentation with bookings &
procedure managers conference call
fee: $2000

Develop and trial Test survey for N/A 10 March HR Manager

employee survey usability and validity to
assess employee
satisfaction

Conduct employee survey Line managers to IT specialists: 25 March Line managers

explain survey $3000

Distribute survey
online

Sustainability training Deliver training to staff Training 25 March HR Manager

responsible for consultants:
implementing $10.000
sustainability practices

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 Manager sustainability Deliver training to Training 25 March Senior managers
reporting and managers responsible consultants:
management system for implementing $15.000
training sustainability practices,
reporting and
integrating
sustainability
performance

Sustainability audit Line managers to N/A 31 May Relevant senior

conduct audits and manager
assess
environmental
performance

Matching Pairs

Match the beginning of each sentence about implementation process to the correct ending.

Sentence beginning End of the sentence.

Sustainability manager Conducting sustainability audit

Line managers are involved in Delivers training to the team

HR manager Will improve the implementation process

SMART goals Should develop a survey for employees

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 Video
Sustainability strategy: a 5-step game plan to help YOU win
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9xRYglf308

Implement continuous improvement

You need to incorporate the continuous improvement model and performance

management practices, in order to ensure maintaining an effective sustainability system.
A continuous improvement process is an ongoing effort to improve products, services or
processes. These efforts can seek "incremental" improvement over time or
"breakthrough" improvement all at once.5 Processes are constantly evaluated and
improved in the light of their efficiency, effectiveness and flexibility.

Continuous improvement activities

 Surveying customer regularly
 Reviewing feedback register
 Checking progresses towards sustainability regularly
 Measuring and reporting on resources use
 Measuring and reporting on waste production
 Developing and using audit checklist
PDCA cycle

‘Plan-do-check-act’ cycle is a well-known continuous improvement method that can

also be used in the context of sustainability.

The process is the following:

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 PLAN: Planning for sustainability improvements by establishing sustainability
objectives and targets

DO Implementing ongoing measures, projects and processes to improve

sustainability
CHECK Monitoring and measuring success against policy objectives and checking
performance against targets

ACT Respond/act to the results of monitoring activities by recognising performance

gaps and undertaking remedial actions

Further Reading
Continually Improving, in a Methodical Way
https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newPPM_89.htm

Audit process

A possible approach to monitoring that may be incorporated into your monitoring

strategies is applying AS/NZS ISO 14001:2004, particularly with regard to conducting
regular audits.

The audit process has three phases:

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 • Focus on full management commitment to sustainability
• Set sustainability goals, objectives
• Prioritise your sustainability initiatives
Pre-audit • Consider training if required

• Conducted by an internal or external audit team

• Documents and records are reviewed
• KPIs and checklists are used by audit teams
On site • Policies and procedures are reviewed
• Employee interviews and site inspections are conducted
audit

• Evaluate findings
• Prepare a report with recommendations
• Prepare action plan to improve performance
Post audit

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 Performance management for sustainability

Performance management consists of target setting (e.g. using sustainable balanced

scorecards, defining performance metrics and planning the monitoring strategies used to
gather and analyse sustainability information necessary to evaluate performance and
make improvements.

Sustainability metrics: KPIs

Key performance indicators (KPIs) are objective measures of performance that help the
organisation measure progress towards goals, objectives, vision, and values.
KPIs could include:

Amount of raw Investment in Number of

Percentage of
material or environmental community
waste recycled
energy used protection meetings held

Number of
Number of
Quantities of staff attending
environmental
emissions training
incidents
courses

Sustainability monitoring strategy

Monitoring strategies focus on how to gather required information to effectively monitor
and evaluate performance.
Below you will find an example of monitoring strategy.

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 Baseline
Description of (previous
Metric/ Data collection
objective/outcome/ year’s Target
key performance indicator methods
activity/task performanc
e)
Drafting of sustainability Employee consultation N/A Due date 1 June Forum minutes
procedure Task completion N/A Finalisation and Formal review meeting
approval by May 1 minutes

Implementation of % staff informed of organisational N/A 100% staff informed Meeting rolls
communications strategy plans, environmental procedures and
management commitment to
sustainability

Increase employee Employee turnover rate 10% Absenteeism rate (9%) HR Management System
satisfaction % of employees who feel the
organisation is committed to 70% 90% satisfaction level Climate survey
sustainability; job performance is
directly linked to sustainability
measures
Implementation of audit Completion of phases 1-3 N/A Completion of phases Audit checklist
process 1-3 Employee/management
interviews
External review of
policies and procedures

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 Baseline
Description of (previous
Metric/ Data collection
objective/outcome/ year’s Target
key performance indicator methods
activity/task performanc
e)
Improving financial Revenue generated by green markets To be 6% increase Accounting systems
performance confirmed
Costs savings through efficiency 3% savings
from records
Increasing customer Green market share 30 % 35% market share of Market survey
focus ‘green’ customers
Improve efficiency Electricity use in KW/h (5% reduction To confirmed 5% reduction in Audit records
on 2013 level) from records electricity usage Monthly resource us
Water use in litres 3% reduction reports
Improve sustainability Recognition of sustainability N/A Fair trade certification Audit checklist
achievements Employee/management
Legal compliance in excess of all Compliance Compliance interviews
legislation
HR Management System
Positive impact on community 30 aged/ 5% increase in youth Surveys
disadvantaged managerial, aged and
disadvantage hires Sustainability accounting
inductees
data
CO2 emissions (5%
$100,000
Positive impact on local environment
sales revenue reduction on 2013
levels)
Reporting Completion of sustainability report N/A Due on 30 June N/A

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 Week 5

Chapter 3 – Review workplace

sustainability policy

Topics:
 Identify trends and variance from performance targets
 Document outcomes and provide feedback
 Investigate success of policy

Identify trends and variance from performance targets

When you review your sustainability policy initiatives, you have to collect data
from various sources and examine the data collected to identify trends or
variations from performance targets.

Trends

A trend is a pattern of gradual change in a condition, output or process over

time, represented by a line or curve on a graph.6 Trends are easier to identify
when represented in a line charts.

The below chart indicates a downward trend of electricity and paper usage,
which means the organisation reduces and continues to reduce expenditure
on electricity, with electricity spending falling more rapidly.

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 Variance

Variance is the result of comparing actual performance with performance

targets, it is a gap between actual results and set targets. Calculating
variance is a useful tool to determine how close you are to achieving your
targets.
It is measured in two ways:
 Absolute size of the variance is expressed in units ($, kilos, pieces)
 The percentage analysis, where the absolute size of the variance is
divided by the target amount
Example of water usage over a year:

Resource Month Target Actual Kilolitre %

s s Varianc
(kilolitres (kilolitres
varianc e
) )
e
January 180 184 +4 +2.2%
February 180 182 +2 +1.1%
March 180 177 -3 -1.6%
April 180 172 -8 -4.4%
May 180 175 -5 -2.8%
June 180 180 0 0
July 180 184 -6 -3.3%
August 180 176 -4 -2.2%

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 Septembe 180 177 -3 -1.6%
r
October 180 170 -10 -5.5%
November 180 172 -8 -4.4%
December 180 174 -6 -3.3%

Variance chart

The information from the table above can be represented graphically in a

variance chart. Using these charts allow users to identify and highlight trends
more easily.

Water usage represented graphically:

190

185

180

175

170 Target
Actual
165

160

Question – Short answer

What is a variance chart used for?

What is a trend?

Video

Sustainable development - video2 - How do we measure it?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jnH9o8Ajd0

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 Document outcomes and provide feedback

It is important to document and report the implementation progress or

sustainability performance data and provide recommendation if the progress
is unsatisfactory.
In addition to numeric data, you may include different charts to visually
represent sustainability performance data and highlight significant trends.
Progress reports

When implementing or monitoring sustainability policy and initiatives, regular

reporting to senior management is required to:
 Describe progress
 Keep management (and other stakeholders) informed
 Provide ongoing feedback on performance
 Trigger remedial action.

Management reports
In order to satisfy organisational requirement, you may need to present
recommendations in the form of management report.
A standards management report consists of four key sections:
1. Executive summary
2. Body
3. Conclusion
4. Recommendations

You should also add a Title page and a Table of content to your report. If you
have gathered information from external sources, you should also
acknowledge the source in citations and References. You may add additional
material that you have referred to in the Appendices.
Further Reading

How to write a report

http://www.openpolytechnic.ac.nz/current-students/study-tips-and-
techniques/assignments/how-to-write-a-report/

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 Investigate success of policy

In order to support continuous improvement, you may need to undertake the

following activities:
 Post-implementation evaluation and review
 Benchmarking
 Modification of policies and procedures as required.
Question – True or False

Please Tick True False

In order for plans to become effective, information must

be properly communicated to employees and clear in
their explanation.
When communicating your policy and convincing people
to change, you should avoid considering how your
target audience might react.
Once a sustainability policy has been formulated, you
need to determine the best approach to
implementation.
Sustainability programs are in a constant state of
implementation.
The accuracy and consistency of you methods of
recording are not important.
It is quite possible that through the course of
implementing your sustainability plan and procedures
that you will encounter ways that you can improve on
the plan.

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 Post-implementation evaluation and review

Third-party audits are useful to check business performance against

standards, however you may also conduct an internal evaluation. You should
develop a set of metrics that can measure progress over time and
demonstrates whether the sustainability policy and related initiatives have an
impact on organisational success.

Types of metrics to be used in the evaluation:

Financial (financial
gains resulting from
the implementation of
the sustainability
policy)
Sustainability Process or
(better resource productivity
management, less (increased
waste production, productivity or
less impact on the efficiency resulting
environment – has from the
the organisation implementation of
achieved the sustainability
sustainability goals) policy)
Employee
Customer (better
performance
reputation, positive
(improved
impact on customer
individual employee
experience
performance,
resulting from the
improved
implementation of
organisational
the sustainability
culture, better
policy)
industrial relations)

Benchmarking

Benchmarking is a technique in which a company measures its performance

against that of ‘best in class’ companies, determines how those companies
achieved their performance levels and uses the information to improve its
own performance. 7
In the context of sustainability, benchmarking can also be used to compare
your sustainability performance with other companies’ one.

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 Videos

What is BENCHMARKING? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6tJpyaFiQc

Week 6

Topics:
 Recap

Collect all the quiz/tests from the LG and have the student doing them again
week 6 as a recap.

Videos

Sustainable business: It's not just about the why

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azM4n0zf4jw

Triple bottom line (3 pillars): sustainability in business

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2f5m-jBf81Q&t=7s

Sustainability Policy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLbFjjo4IrA

Why Policies & Procedures

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5gYZyHicEg

The Policy Making Process

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLUbviQoef8

Further Readings

The Comprehensive Business Case for Sustainability

https://hbr.org/2016/10/the-comprehensive-business-case-for-sustainability

Yes, Sustainability Can Be a Strategy

https://hbr.org/2019/02/yes-sustainability-can-be-a-strategy

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 Sustainability In Business Is More An Opportunity Than A Threat

https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephholt/2020/01/28/sustainability-in-business-is-
more-an-opportunity-than-a-threat/#7f3198a1b764

Sustainability Has To Be A Core Business Principle, Not A Marketing Strategy

https://www.forbes.com/sites/roddyclarke/2020/01/31/sustainability-has-to-be-a-
core-business-principle-not-a-marketing-strategy/#79a36cbd6d8b

What is a Sustainability Policy and Why Your Company Needs One

https://www.press8.com/what-is-a-sustainability-policy-and-why-your-company-
needs-one/

Sustainability, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship

https://saylordotorg.github.io/text_sustainability-innovation-and-entrepreneurship/

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