Implementing environmental sustainability in business organizations

Environmental Sustainability in Business

What process should a business follow when considering introducing environmental sustainable practices?

Defining Business Drivers: The forces that push the enterprise towards increased sustainability should be ascertained. These may include the capability of improving the business\'s bottom line by enhancing efficiencies; risk management and compliance; a personal commitment and enthusiasm to make a difference; demonstration of leadership abilities; and improvement of organizational reputation and image.

Establishment of a Vision: Vision statements assert an enterprise\'s goals for the future. They constitute the \'compass\' which displays to the rest of the world what end an enterprise is heading for. Ideal vision statements will be short, explicit, to the point, and doable, with measurable results outlined.

Establishment of Objectives: These are connected with sustainability goals and are, in fact, more specific compared to the goals, since they incorporate deadlines and figures.

Ascertainment of Present Position: To attain its goals, a business must understand its present position well, including its main impacts.

Examination of Gaps: Business areas with maximum impacts, which have the potential to generate biggest potential benefits, should be determined.

Formulation Strategies: At this juncture, the business must come up with suitable strategies for dealing with its most major impacts. Strategies delineate how organizations accomplish the predetermined targets, and how they ought to align themselves to the driving forces.

Formulation of Action Plan: Action plans form the basic planning document, which outline the actions that will be performed for achieving the preset objectives. Elements for implementation will be identified in the plan, including: benefit-cost calculations, payback periods; goals, deadlines and individual milestones; resources -- financial, technical, human resources (internal as well as external); and the processes of monitoring, reporting and appraisal.

Execution: Plan execution follows the plan formulation process. Actions must be integrated into routine reporting cycles and key business processes. At this point, it is also imperative to formulate or adapt procedures and policies for diverse business aspects, for ensuring all employees fully understand their respective roles in organizational goal attainment.

Monitoring and Appraisal: This step is crucial to ascertaining progress towards overall goals. Diagrams and graphs should be employed for constant business monitoring, for aiding communication.

Improvement: This process must be integrated into the organization\'s overall ongoing process of improvement.

2) What activities did the following organizations take to be more sustainable:

a. Ferguson Plarre Bakeries

This business started by planning a bigger, Keilor Park factory -- the ideal chance for cutting back on its environmental impact. Four times larger than the previous site, this industrial unit, completed a couple of years back, now supplies a total of forty-eight retailers using the same quantity of water, a smaller amount of gas, and just 1.5 times the quantity of electricity. Ferguson Plarre washes its delivery trucks, waters its gardens and flushes its toilets using rainwater. Heat energy from its refrigerator systems is utilized for preheating hot water needed to make cakes. Additionally, the company utilizes the heat regained from fresh-baked goods (via exhaust fans, with the heat energy acquired from cooling tunnels) for heating its central production area during the cold season and for minimizing heat-bleed in refrigerated places. The other sustainability measures adopted by Ferguson Plarre include; use of a hybrid product delivery truck, solar heating to generate hot water for office and staff; sowing of native plants for offsetting the residual greenhouse gases emitted from the manufacturing unit; reduction of cardboard wastes by 50% through the employment of effective bulk handling tools, and real-time monitoring of energy consumption, with results shown to ensure personnel awareness. By utilizing waste heat, planting trees and counterbalancing harmful emissions, harvesting rainwater, and utilizing solar-fueled air conditioners, the organization\'s carbon footprint has decreased by more than 5000 tons of carbon dioxide per annum.

b. Sustainability Victoria

Office lighting accounts for 15 to 26% of the energy consumed in commercial buildings. Hence, Sustainability Victoria undertook a careful assessment of its lighting requirements when designing and operating its fit-out. This step by the organization has resulted in improvements to internal environment quality, appreciable energy savings, and employee productivity gains. The materials selection division of the organization looked for products and raw materials characterized by no or low VOCs (volatile organic compounds) and the products of manufacturers having environmental management procedures in place. The company recycled, reutilized or sold more than 95% of the articles it didn\'t transfer to its new premises. Other sustainability measures adopted by the business include: minimization of greenhouse gas discharge via efficient energy usage practices in its office, vehicular use, and commuting; making purchases while being careful to avoid waste; counterbalancing all remaining greenhouse gas releases for attaining carbon neutrality; aiming for zero wastes to landfills by means of waste recycling, reduction, and reutilization; closing recycling loop for decreasing environmental impacts; collaborating with stakeholders and suppliers for reducing its products\' and operation\'s lifecycle effects; minimizing water consumption; and supporting and training employees to attain the desired results by working within the organization\'s environmental management system (EMS).

3) Which key areas mentioned in the video would benefit your company in developing environmentally sustainable practices?

Energy/Greenhouse Gas Emission/Climate Change

A number of enterprises have labeled energy consumption decrease as the first step on their path to environmental sustainability. Reduction in energy consumption is often a \"win-win\" strategy, considering its positive effect on costs, ROI (return on investment), overhead, and proportionate decrease in release of greenhouse gases. Utility, state and local incentives are typically available, and capable of generating a more lucrative ROI. Energy consumption is normally treated with regard to indirect and direct energy or the energy produced/consumed offsite and onsite.

Water Consumption

The amount of water businesses consume in their operations is one of the chief environmental sustainability concerns, which has, of late, grown in significance. Droughts and the potential for increasingly severe weather conditions have led societies, regulators and industries to strive harder to implement effective conservation approaches. Water resources are becoming even more scarce and precious on account of population explosion, groundwater level decline and resource contamination by human activities. Water conservation approaches include closed-loop cooling, onsite water treatment plants for enabling water reutilization, low-flow fittings, xeriscaping, and collection of gray water for irrigation.

Waste Reduction/Product Inputs Reduction/Recycling

Resources are needed for carrying out organizational processes and manufacturing products. Moreover, as processes can never be absolutely efficient, waste invariably ensues. While some leftovers may be reutilized for product manufacture, others may be sold for profits or even at loss to other manufacturers, and still others may require disposal. The organization aiming for sustainability will attempt at improving its ratio of resource utilization to goods conversion. This may be guided by an established environmental preference hierarchy.

Section two

Sustainability plan for iTech Inc.

iTech Inc. Description

iTech Incorporation delivers computers, associated technologies, printing and imaging products, services, solutions and assorted electronic devices to individuals, small- and mid-sized firms, large corporations, governmental organizations, educational institutions, and healthcare facilities.

Scope for Sustainability Policy

The organization\'s policy is applicable to every individual engaging in activities linked to the company, utilizing the company\'s facilities and employed, affiliated or contracted by the company for any function. In other words, it is relevant to company workforce, owners, interns, volunteers, third-party contractors, visitors, employees of controlled entities, etc.

Sustainability Vision

The company is devoted to positively impacting stakeholders, consumers, and the environment by means of superior environmental sustainability implementation. It envisages working for and with every stakeholder in a manner that ensures the protection, preservation, and, eventually, improvement of living systems sustaining an enterprise and the broader human economy; provision of better value when satisfying the genuine needs of its client base, relevant communities and suppliers; and satisfaction of human needs through the most cost-efficient and effectual means possible, for the maximum possible share of humans.

Identify Key Stakeholders in The Organization & Consultation Requirements

iTech\'s major stakeholders may be categorized as external or internal, with the former being outside entities with stakes in the firm (shareholders, customers, suppliers, etc.) and the latter being members of the firm itself (workforce, owners, executives, interns and volunteers). Lawmakers and regulators are considered stakeholders as well, though their stakes are lower.

The diverse stakeholders of the organization have diverse consultation requirements, met by approaches that employ debate, discussion and other open conversation. The facilitator\'s duty is getting the stakeholders to reveal their true opinions and feelings with respect to the organization (Azapagic, Perdan and Clift, 2004). The most widely utilized techniques to achieve this are observation, focus groups, and one-on-one in-depth interviews. If the organization seeks breadth, approaches such as surveys, e-surveys, and brief, street interviews are utilized for reaching a greater share of the population. These techniques employ more standardized instruments for measurement.

Current Position with Regard to Sustainability

The organization endeavors to efficiently utilize raw materials and ensure smaller quantities of resources are required per output unit. Raw materials in paper manufacture include water, wood fiber, and energy. One sustainability practice iTech has adopted is reducing its paper consumption in day-to-day operations by increasing recycled paper usage.

iTech also promotes utilization of energy-efficient manufacturing processes, recovered fiber, and recycled water during product manufacture. At present, it provides post-customer recycled content paper. Further, its office use paper and packaging material is made of recycled substances. iTech evaluates recycled fiber usage across packaging and products, and defines targets and measurements aiming at maximizing recycled matter usage, whilst simultaneously ensuring shipping density optimization and material usage reduction (Azapagic et al., 2004).

Moreover, iTech urges stakeholders to back inventive operational and technological progresses capable of extending scarce resources\' lives and decreasing the general environmental effect of paper production.

The company works hard to ensure waste minimization and climate impact reduction by prolonging forestry products\' wood fiber life and promoting efficient paper consumption by its workforce, consumer base and suppliers. It urges personnel, consumers and suppliers to recycle fiber-based and paper packaging after use. Additionally, it urges suppliers to recover recyclable matter as far as possible, including post- and pre-customer recycled wood-fiber, in the process of product and packaging material manufacture (Gorman, Mehalick and Werhane, 2000).

On an internal level, the organization goes all-out to help workers minimize their environmental impact by promoting waste minimization initiatives and enhancing recycling in its daily operations. For instance, iTech endeavors to digitize documentation for reducing its paper usage. Moreover, it continually innovates and supports technological developments beneficial to the environment.

Fundamental human rights should be recognized and upheld in the communities the organization and supplying firms operate in. Suppliers of the company are required to follow every relevant human rights and labor rule and legislation. They must take care not to negatively impact the economic and social stability of areas they conduct their operations from.

Sustainability Objectives

• Adherence to every applicable environmental requirement, rule and law

• Recycling of every possible waste material

• Reduction in quantity of waste generated

• Avoidance of paper use as far as possible

• Avoidance of postal service utilization, thereby saving paper and transportation fuel. A better alternative would be using emailing invoices

• Recycling of equipment the company does not require any longer. For instance, using charity groups\' assistance to give away printers, computers, etc. not in use

• Maintaining low energy consumption. For instance, utilizing low-energy lamps/bulbs on company premises and having schedules in place for guaranteeing the switching-off of lights and computers after work

• Purchasing of products whose negative effect on the environment is low

• Avoidance of unnecessary travel. This may be effectively achieved by utilizing communication modes like instant messaging, telephone, email, and audio and video conferencing, wherever possible.

Gaps between Current Position & Sustainability Objectives

Energy

iTech is a major energy consumer and is yet to maximize on its energy conservation goals. It will attempt at seeking environmentally sustainable alternatives to its power requirements (including lighting and heating), regularly assess how far its present activities reflect best-practices and plan low-carbon infrastructure investments. iTech must constantly create and foster activities for meeting its energy sustainability goals (Gorman et al., 2000). Ongoing transformations are needed to improve its physical infrastructure, in addition to investments in current building stock which, if carelessly managed, will lead to greater carbon releases. Thus, understanding changes\' carbon impact and making investment decisions by carefully considering its carbon impact is imperative for the company.

Waste

iTech is dedicated to formulating and improving sustainable practices of waste management, and reduction, reuse and recycling principles. Accordingly, it will endeavor to implement waste minimization over all areas of operation, and recover or reutilize resources whenever possible. It will also offer suitable recycling facilities and programs for priority waste stream collection (Gorman et al., 2000; Vallero and Braiser, 2008). Consistent with its promise of addressing operational waste, iTech will continue implementing waste management approaches and further entrenching measures for reducing generated waste as well as that directed to landfills, in addition to increasing utilization of recovered and recycled substances.

Strategies for Sustainability

Energy Strategies

As much as 35% of electricity consumption in American office buildings is accounted for by lighting, which impacts other systems in the edifice via its electrical needs and waste heat generation. Upgrading of iTech\'s lighting systems using efficient fixtures, control and light sources can decrease lighting energy consumption, bring about visual environment enhancements, and impact electrical system and HVAC sizing. Surveying the lighting intensity in diverse areas (say, what lighting levels are suitable for supply closets vs. clinical areas) can also determine opportunities for greater efficiencies and change (Vallero and Braiser, 2008).

A number of enterprises have labeled energy consumption decrease as the first step on their path to environmental sustainability. Reduction in energy consumption is often a \"win-win\" strategy, considering its positive effect on costs, ROI (return on investment), overhead, and proportionate decrease in release of greenhouse gases. Utility, state and local incentives are typically available, and capable of generating a more lucrative ROI. Energy consumption is normally treated with regard to indirect and direct energy or the energy produced/consumed offsite and onsite.

Steam generation utilizes thirty-four percent of overall energy utilized in manufacturing, while seventeen percent of it is accounted for by heating systems for industrial processes. Normally, minimum 10-percent energy improvements may be achieved quite easily by means of simple economical improvements and maintenance (Vallero and Braiser, 2008). Usually, immediate financial rewards, or those with extremely short payback periods, are observed.

Waste Management

Resources are needed for carrying out organizational processes and manufacturing products. Moreover, as processes can never be absolutely efficient, waste invariably ensues. While some leftovers may be reutilized for product manufacture, others may be sold for profits or even at loss to other manufacturers, and still others may require disposal. iTech will attempt at improving its ratio of resource utilization to goods conversion (Vallero and Braiser, 2008; Amadei and Wallace, 2009). This may be guided by an established environmental preference hierarchy.

Sustainability Policy

The organization realizes there are indirect as well as direct impacts of its operations on the environment, and considers environmental protection a central component of sound institutional practice. Hence, iTech devotes itself to enhancing organizational environmental sustainability implementation to benefit employees as well as external, community stakeholders, currently as well as in the long run. For supporting these aims, iTech devotes itself to;

• Effecting EMS improvements for efficient management of its effects on the environment

• Constantly improving environmental performance via successful execution of environment improvement programs

• Preventing, or at least decreasing, pollution by means of efficient and effective resource utilization

• Adhering to every applicable environmental law and requirement

• Effectively sharing of this policy with all internal and external stakeholders of the company (Amadei and Wallace, 2009).

In specific, iTech will address the following areas;

• Formulation and maintenance of a sound carbon release reduction strategy

• Additional development of environmental sustainability-linked research and promotion of sustainable development education

• Personnel engagement in endeavors aimed at environmental impact minimization

• Ensuring building and premises improvements are carried out sustainably