GREEN BUSINESS VIEWS

Posts Tagged ‘chief sustainability officer’

It would appear to the casual observer that sustainability programming is a little like watching people at a horse race.  Each one is betting on their favorite horse, not caring that there are a dozen other horses in this frantic race.  The spectator’s singular interest is a good example of sustainability applications.  Present day Green programming tends to be myopic and not a little biased toward the person’s favorite subject.

Right now, energy is the favorite horse in the race.  After all, it is commonly understood that this segment of a sustainability plan has the fastest ROI, and everyone likes to see the bills go down while “doing their part to save the earth.”  Solar panels, lighting systems, new insulated windows are sold based upon the time it takes to get a return on the investment.  Of course, there are the other coincidental solutions like reduced CO2 and less demand for foreign oil that make everyone feel downright patriotic.

Maybe your horse is named recycling.  There is not as big a savings to these programs, but they are fairly easy to install and manage.  Invest into some recycling bins, hold a few in-house training programs, and starting buying recycled paper goods; and you’re now about a Green as anyone can imagine.  Right?

Of course, there is the dark horse in every race.  This one is CO2.  By conducting a rather complex (and expensive) carbon assessment (footprint calculation), the amount of carbon output is determined.  The next step is to buy enough carbon credits to offset the company’s carbon footprint.  And, there you have it.  The company is “Carbon Neutral.”  By the way, the company may have made no real change to the operation, but some will assert that the company has “Gone Green” because it is carbon neutral.

Which horse does your company favor?  Regardless of your choice, a fundamental flaw exists in this myopic planning effort.  A serious plan is not built on just one leg of environmental concern.  The topics to consider are more than a single issue.  In fact, consider some of the topics in a full sustainability plan, a sustainability officer would consider all these topics:

1. Indoor Air Quality
2. Source Reduction and Recycling
3. Energy Reduction Strategies
4. Water and Waste Management
5. Paperless Office Transition
6. Green IT
7. Green Fleets
8. Green Purchasing
9. Corporate Social Responsibility
10. Green Facility and Landscaping
11. Carbon Footprint and Offsetting
12. Environmental Risk Management

This is not an exhaustive list, but it serves to demonstrate that there are many elements to a winning sustainability plan.  Rather than single out one part of a serious plan, the sustainability plan is designed to create a short list of sustainable ideas that will move the company further down the road this year.  Don’t try to do it all, but do not choose one element and neglect the other important concerns.

It is the clear duty of a sustainability officer to understand the company’s operation and opportunities.  Measuring against the many ideas that could be done, the CSO will set the sort-term goals for the year to a time table for the year.  This is something to present to management so that everyone is supportive of the effort and funding is available.  The long list of items are a kind of “Wish List” that are part of the planning for the next year.  We believe that any Green company transition is a three to five year project.

Avoiding near-sightedness as a sustainability officer is important to the company.  We did not create the environmental issue in a year, and we will not solve it in a year.  The most important commitment is that we must start that journey today.  As a sustainability officer, the practical skill is the ability to develop a sustainability plan that fits the company, established credible milestones of achievement, and results in a progressively Green operation.

Learn to be an effective sustainability officer by taking a proven course of study such as the Certified Sustainability Officer training.  This course can be taken online and contains one of the most compete programs for integration to the workplace.  It seems clear that every company will eventually need a sustainability officer in-house.  It is simply unwise to appoint anyone to this task unless they have had the basic training needed to do the job well.  The in-house sustainability officer is obvious far less expensive than outsourcing the task.  The benefits of the CSO is a more cohesive and custom approach to sustainability planning.

Okay, there is an ugly rumor running about that business leaders have an aversion to the basic idea of Green.  If we investigate this mild phobia, we would learn that the sustainable word is considered a more business-friendly concept.  But, why?  Well, it seems that the concept of Green had a rough time at birth.  It was kidnapped by a band of treehuggers, fed by veggans, and watched Captain Planet save the world from ravaging corporate polluters.

Green has a legitimate meaning that is best defined as “health impact on living things” from our actions.   I am sure that no one is really against this concept of a better life for all, but the concept has been skewed from it’s best intentions.  At this point in time, the taint of extremist has faded from this valuable term.  The real meaning is valuable to any business because employees are one of the biggest assets of any company; and if the workers are take less sick days, have fewer claims, and are more productive, the company will be more profitable.

I prefer to include four key topics in the environmental plan for a company.  Environmental program include: Heath and Safety (Green), Sustainability practices, Pollution reduction, and Conservation.  Regardless of highjacking tactics, there are core elements of any environment-conscious company’s plan.  This creates a holistic approach to the subject that allows a company to avoid the piecemeal approach to the whole project.

It is a good idea to do an energy audit, a carbon footprint, address indoor air quality, include recycling, or adopt Green purchasing protocols.  Unfortunately, these ideas alone are still acquired in a piecemeal and random fashion.  Start with an assessment of the current environmental practices that results in the completion of a holistic sustainability plan for each company.  This allows all subjects to be considered and included as they might apply.

Do not avoid the Green factor, the sustainability practices, pollution reduction, or conservation options.  It is frankly a matter stepping up to the plate in an honest way.  Building an environmental program is also progressive.  By this, I mean that you don’t have to do everything at inception, but you need a good start.  A Green business is assembled over a period of years as more elements are added to the sustainability plan.

If your company wants to start the process, it is recommended that you appoint a Green officer (also known as a Certified Sustainability Officer or CSO).  Training if this person can be done online, and having a in-house Green officer makes the effort seamless, affordable, and holistic.