Step by Step (Chapters 6-9)

After they determine the sustainability end goal, managers must figure out how to effectively implement a sustainability strategy into the organization. Managers must prioritize projects so that employees know the direction the organization is heading and the specific steps in order to get there. Effective management systems must be in place so that there are structured ways to set priorities and monitor progress. Sustainability leaders can also implement structures that assign tasks to specific groups based on their department so that employees know how they can specifically contribute to a sustainability initiative. Throughout the implementation process, managers must constantly keep open lines of communication with employees to keep them involved and make sure they know how to carry out their assigned tasks. Employee involvement is crucial for the success of a sustainability effort. The following sections detail how managers can start integrating sustainability into their organizations.

Developing an Implementation Strategy and Choosing Projects

This chapter explores ways to start implementing a new sustainability initiative. Sustainability leaders must first develop a long-term plan that uses process management to save the company money that can be used to fund future sustainability projects. Sustainability leaders then narrow down their list of projects in order to make the sustainability initiative seem more feasible to employees. Finally, sustainability leaders choose a department that is most in need and ready for a new initiative to start implementation.

Key Concepts:

• [Making Decisions Regarding Where and How to Start]: This concept explains how to avoid employee cynicism when first implementing a sustainability effort. A good way to keep employees enthusiastic and focused on a new sustainability effort is to attach the new effort to preexisitng programs in the organization. This would help demonstrate to employees that they have already participated in sustainability-related activities and empower them to continue working under the new initiative.

• [Managing the Load]: Implementing a new sustainability initiative can be a daunting task, especially if there are a lot of projects to choose from. Therefore, it is important for sustainability leaders to narrow down the number of projects they want to tackle in a period to a select few. Usually, sustainability leaders select one big company-wide project that will show significant progress and boost employee morale. Sustainability leaders also select a number of smaller projects for individual departments that provide quick wins for the company.

Case Example:

• [Symbolic Actions Make a Splash]: This case explains how Ashforth Pacific, a property management company, incentivized employees to get rid of their trash cans in exchange for cookies. By getting rid of trash cans and throwing all garbage into a central bin, Ashforth Pacific saved 9000 trash can liners per year.

Methods:

• [Opportunity Finder]: This method is helpful for determining where a sustainability effort should begin in an organization. Sustainability leaders can do this by making a table listing all the departments and then using a list of criteria to determine which department has the most need and readiness for a new sustainability initiative.

• [Stakeholder Assessment]: This method helps assess how supportive stakeholders are currently and where they need to be in order to move forward with a sustainability strategy. In order to conduct a stakeholder assessment, sustainability leaders first place all relevant parties on a scale to assess how supportive each party currently is to a sustainability effort. Next, sustainability leaders draw an arrow to mark how supportive they need each party to be in order to move forward. Finally, sustainability leaders develop strategies to get each party where they need to be on the supportive scale.

Developing Effective Management Systems

This chapter discusses ways to set up an effective sustainability management system. After establishing a clear vision, managers can use systems to set priorities, monitor progress, and review the overall success of a sustainability initiative. This chapter concludes by highlighting several ways managers can report results and engage with sustainability team members about what needs to be done in order to achieve sustainability goals.

Key Concepts:

• [Four Elements of a Management System]: An effective sustainability management system uses four main elements: plan, implement, monitor, and review. In order to manage individual sustainability initiatives and the overall sustainability effort, managers must use these four elements to prioritize projects, conduct analysis, and report results to senior management.

• [How Do an SMS and EMS Differ?]: An environmental management system (EMS) strictly focuses on environmental issues such as environmental performance and regulatory compliance. A sustainability management system (SMS) focuses on environmental, social, and economic factors to assess whether we can continue living as we currently do.

• [Signs that You Need a Better Management System]: Different organizations have different ways of managing sustainability initiatives that require different degrees of rigor. The key to an effective management system is to make sure that the sustainability initiative does not fizzle out by integrating sustainability into everyday business operations.

Methods:

• [Sustainability Policy]: This method discusses how to effectively draft a formal sustainability policy document for a board of directors or government body. An effective sustainability policy provides a clear and memorable goal for the sustainability initiative. The purpose of a sustainability policy is to get formal approval for the initiative from the appropriate management body.

• [SMS Process Summary]: This method addresses how, when, and who should perform each of the tasks under a sustainability management system. Under this method, sustainability team members gather and discuss ways they can plan, implement, monitor, and review sustainability projects as well as time limits for when each part should be done.

Determining the Structures Needed to Manage the Effort

This chapter defines the structures needed to support a sustainability management system. It first lays out the roles and responsibilities of the sustainability director, steering committee, and associated teams. The second part of the chapter discusses methods for assembling teams, assigning tasks, and reviewing sustainability objectives.

Key Concepts:

• [Sustainability Director/Coordinator Responsibilities]: A sustainability director is responsible for ensuring that all members of an organization are contributing to the sustainability effort. A sustainability director’s primary responsibilities include: facilitating meetings and with the steering committee, drafting sustainability-related documents, and communicating with all relevant internal and external parties.

• [Steering Committee Responsibilities]: Steering committees are parallel management structures that include members from all levels of an organization. Like the sustainability director, the steering committee is responsible for managing the overall sustainability initiative and determining when, where, and how to start the new effort. The steering committee also conducts analysis of sustainability frameworks and impacts that pertain to the overall sustainability effort.

Case Example:

• [Simplot’s Evolving Steering Committee]: This case talks about how the Don Plant, an agricultural feed producer, has assembled a sustainability-focused steering committee consisting of members from every department. Every member of the steering committee has their own responsibilities including: process and waste management, equipment design, and sustainable purchasing.

Methods:

• [Sustainability Structure]: Sustainability leaders can use this method to leverage existing roles in an organization by assigning sustainability-related tasks to existing groups with similar responsibilities. First, sustainability leaders put each task on a separate post-it note and then determine which groups in the organization are most fit to carry out each task. After tasks are assigned to existing groups, sustainability leaders then examine the remaining tasks and determine whether a new team should be created for completing them.

• [Responsibility List]: This method clearly lays out which groups give input, approve of, or take responsibility for each task. A table can be constructed listing all relevant groups as column headings and all tasks for the rows. The intersections between each column and row can be marked with the letters A (approve), I (give input), and R (responsibility) to specify what each group must do for each task.

Informing and Involving Employees

This chapter focuses on ways in which sustainability leaders can encourage employee involvement in a new sustainability initiative. The first part of the chapter details ways in which management can raise awareness about sustainability issues in an organization. The chapter then transitions to ways in which management can assign tasks and inform employees about what they need to know in order to carry out a sustainability effort.

Key Concepts:

• [Eliciting Input and Participation]: Before bringing employees up to speed on a new sustainability effort, managers should ensure that there are systems in place that allow employees to give input and become involved in the process. Such systems can include employee suggestions and ways to review and respond to input. Overall, sustainability leaders should make sure employees know how, when, and what they should contribute to a new sustainability initiative.

• [Training on Sustainability]: In order to make sure that employees know exactly what they are doing, sustainability leaders must provide training beyond just telling employees the framework and their associated responsibilities. Leaders must keep employees engaged by switching up training exercises and soliciting employee involvement. Because formal examinations can be daunting, sustainability leaders should consider providing less rigorous learning activities, such as games, to make sure employees can apply what they have learned.

Case Study:

• [TriMet: Letting the Data Speak for Itself]: TriMet, a transit authority in Portland, posted a monthly electricity bill in the elevator at one of their facilities. When employees noticed the bill, they became more aware of their electricity usage. This led to a 20 percent reduction in the electricity bill the following month.

Methods:

• [Training Plan]: This method is a structured way to ensure that all employees are trained in the key concepts and activities of a sustainability effort. Sustainability leaders can make a chart listing the key stakeholders and then fill out what knowledge, skills, and resources each stakeholder needs in order to be trained for the tasks they are responsible for.

• [Lesson Plan]: While the training plan describes what employees need to know in order to be trained in a particular area, a lesson plan details how sustainability leaders will disseminate training information to employees. Sustainability leaders can break up a lesson plan into a series of time frames involving instruction and learning activities catered to educating employees about what they need to know for a sustainability effort.