How Can We Help You Accomplish Your Goals?

Sustainability is a complex topic, and one on which there is lively debate.  Within the context of an organization, it is crucial to bear in mind that the appropriate approach to sustainability is a function of the organization’s purpose.  The way in which a large corporation approaches sustainability issues will likely be different than the approach taken by a government agency, a school, or a church.  The place to start is the organization’s purpose, mission, and vision.  Sustainability concepts, goals, and initiatives should flow from these, not be applied uniformly according to some externally defined framework or agenda.

With that said, there is general consensus that sustainability reflects three inter-related dimensions: environmental quality; social equity; and economic prosperity.  There also is widespread agreement around the idea that a reasonable balance among the three dimensions is a prerequisite to maintaining an organization, community, economy, or nation that is viable in the long term.  This implies that any organizational program or initiative that is faithful to the sustainability concept will include meaningful elements to address protecting the environment, promoting fairness and improved quality of life for people, and financial stability and success.

For some history on this concept and how we approach it, click here.

Organizations are subject to a wide array of laws and regulations at the federal, state, and local levels.  Many of these requirements address sustainability components, notably environmental protection and occupational health and safety.  Although in many respects the legal and regulatory system designed to protect human health and the environment is mature, changes continue to be made on an ongoing basis.

Changes to regulations must be made through a formal notice-and-comment process involving one or more proposed rules, opportunity for affected parties and the public to provide input, detailed review of and response to comments, further analysis, and assuming resolution of all major issues, publication of a final rule.  This process often requires two years or more to complete.

We work with organizations to understand the potential impact of regulatory changes.  We evaluate whether they will work as intended and produce the benefits expected by their sponsors.  We also frequently assess the magnitude and distribution of their costs, as well as who will bear these costs and the extent to which any associated economic burden is justified by the benefits to be obtained.  Our work has provided crucial input to decisions affecting major U.S. industries, and helped to produce the understanding and perspective needed to support public policy decisions that benefit both the business community and American society.

Organizations confront a wide array of sustainability issues that may have significance to their mission and/or operations.  It may be difficult to discern which are most worthy of attention, given that the organization, its employees/members, customers, business partners, and the general public may all have very different ideas about which issues require management attention, and possibly, improvement.

Fortunately, we are now at a point at which there is general consensus on the general contours of sustainability and the types of major issues that are likely to be of concern to businesses and other organizations.  We now also have well-developed methods that may be used to identify and focus attention on the specific issues that present the greatest risks and offer the most promising opportunities for improvement and value creation.

We can help you navigate the confusing constellation of terms (e.g., GRI, SASB) and develop a sensible and workable strategy that will allow you to focus management attention and resources where they will do the most good.  Our work in this area is informed by a deep understanding of which issues are most prominent in specific industries and across all sectors, and emphasizes the consideration of both risk and opportunity.

As discussed immediately above, there is general agreement about where to start when evaluating the types of risks and opportunities faced by many organizations.  The real work begins in carefully identifying and evaluating these risks and opportunities within the context of one’s own organization.

There are a number of methods and tools that can be brought to bear to make this process effective, productive, and enlightening to those involved.  Taking a careful and thorough approach to this “baselining” activity sets the stage for effective strategy development, specific improvement initiatives, real risk reduction and value creation, and success that can be built upon and replicated.

We can facilitate this process by reviewing the typical issues and endpoints considered by organizations in your sector, and applying different analytical techniques to identify and highlight the type and magnitude of the risks and opportunities that they present to your organization.  We bring an informed and impartial perspective to this crucial activity, which can enhance both the impact and the credibility of the effort.

Sustainability is centered on the concepts of environmental protection, social equity, and economic prosperity, as well as the interactions among these complementary dimensions.  How these concepts apply to any specific organization will be a function of its purpose, mission, values, capabilities, and other attributes.

With the recent publication of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), there is additional clarity regarding the ultimate goals of most sustainability programs and initiatives.  The key question, though, is whether and to what extent the organization wishes to explicitly align its strategies around these extremely ambitious global goals or instead, pursue a more limited agenda.  In either case, it is essential that the organization’s leadership make an affirmative decision about what is to be accomplished and over what time frame.

Another important consideration is the relative emphasis to be placed on environmental, social, and economic issues.  For some organizations, a natural point of emphasis is on environmental protection, while in others, social issues tend to dominate.  These tendencies flow from the organization’s mission, major activities, culture, and capabilities.  Economic issues are important as well, and can considered either as a constraint (i.e., reduce costs and liabilities) or an opportunity (e.g., improve customer relationships and drive sales).

We can help you sort through the possibilities and develop an approach that is faithful to the sustainability concept, consistent with relevant guidance and best industry practices, and workable within the context of your organization and business model.  Our approach draws upon deep knowledge of sustainability principles and extensive experience working with a wide array of organization types and sizes.

Once the organization’s leadership has made some decisions regarding the purpose, goals, and emphasis of a sustainability program or initiative, it is important to follow through with an improvement plan.  Effective plans are documented, and include explicit goals, time frames for their attainment, action steps, resources and responsibilities, and performance metrics.

We offer vast experience in translating goals and needs into customized and effective project and program plans that deliver real results.  We are highly skilled at developing enough detail and “meat” to meet client objectives and minimize risks without over-specifying what needs to be done (or how) and thereby wasting resources or creating needless bureaucracy.  We can help you figure out what to do, how to do it, and where to start.

Making real and meaningful improvements in an organization’s sustainability performance requires action to address the root causes of any uncontrolled or substandard performance of systems, processes, equipment, and people.  If the cause(s) of existing sustainability issues or risks are not fully characterized, some further study and analysis may be required.

Once the organization has reasonable clarity on root causes of the existing under-performance, the focus can shift to identifying and evaluating options for making improvements.  In doing so, it is important to think creatively and with an open mind, and consider alternatives that may be “out of the box.”  These may offer the greatest opportunities for non-incremental improvement.  Options should be assessed with respect to their probability of success, cost, positive and negative ancillary impacts, feasibility of implementation in your specific organization, and consistency with corporate values, priorities, and culture.

We have worked with many clients to address complex sustainability issues, and offer extensive experience in identifying novel approaches, developing tailored evaluation tools, and producing methods and approaches that support informed management decision-making and tangible actions that reduce waste and emissions and improve morale and organizational performance.

Getting everyone on the same page is essential to achieving meaningful progress toward a more sustainable future.  Sometimes it is necessary to provide information, messages, and inspiration to team members to improve understanding and enable appropriate action.  As an emerging concept, sustainability and its implications for the organization may be unfamiliar to some members of your team.

We can help you address this gap by working with you to develop materials, messages, and delivery mechanisms that are suitable for your organization and your people.  There are many good examples and sources of information and materials available at no cost in the public domain, and we can work with you to develop and implement an effective awareness-raising program quickly and very cost-effectively.

To translate intentions, vision, and goals into accomplishments, organizations need strategies, systems, and processes.  Depending on the scale and ambition of any new (or existing) program to promote sustainability, effective approaches may vary from having a few simple documents to very elaborate, integrated collections of documented strategies, tactical plans, management systems, metrics, processes, work instructions, and protocols.

We advocate a tailored approach that relies on providing as much detail, guidance, and internal checks and balances as required to achieve the organization’s goals, control risk, and conserve funds and other resources, but no more.  We can work with you to strike the right balance, and build, implement, and enhance the infrastructure your organization needs to accomplish its sustainability vision and goals.

Although many people are interested in sustainability and supportive of its ideals in principle, they may not see how it can be applied in their workplace.  Others may be new to the concept or skeptical of its relevance to what they do.  To create the necessary understanding and enable staff to actively participate in fulfilling the organization’s sustainability vision, training is often an effective and valuable response.

We have developed and delivered both general and targeted trainings to address a wide range of environmental, EHS, and sustainability topics.  We also have prepared manuals, handbooks, briefing decks, webinars, and other materials to support both in-person and on-line delivery of trainings to people with diverse backgrounds and interests.  Our approach is to work closely with our clients to define learning objectives, training format(s) and content, and evaluation methods, so that we achieve lasting impact and optimal use of their resources.

Expectations for sustainable business behavior are steadily rising.  Customers, business partners, and current and prospective employees are stakeholders who often are particularly interested in how an organization conducts its affairs, and whether and how it is improving its environmental and social performance.  We are now well past the point at which ignoring this trend or attempting to hold information tightly are viable strategies.

With that said, it is important for the organization’s leaders to approach communications regarding its sustainability posture and performance with intention.  It is unwise to let external parties set the information agenda, or base a communications strategy on who is most critical or strident in asking for information.  Instead, we advocate a strategic approach in which leadership defines what is to be communicated, through what means, over what time period.  Credibility is an important asset to any organization or leader, and a solid communications strategy can enhance it, while a spontaneous, seat-of-the-pants approach can destroy it.

We can work with you to define a sensible approach to communicating your sustainability issues, goals, programs, and performance to both internal and external audiences.  There are many useful frameworks, methods, and tools available to support this process, and we can provide assistance in a way that amplifies the effectiveness of your existing communications team with a very modest investment of resources.

People across the country are heavily invested in environmental and social issues, particularly as they affect their own communities.  In addition, the array of stakeholders taking an interest in the sustainability performance of companies and government agencies includes many nonprofit organizations with an activist orientation, as well as investors, insurers, and other parties concerned about sustainability-related risks and liabilities.  In some cases, these stakeholders may make assertions or claims about the adequacy of existing practices and/or performance of your organization.  Generally, these assertions require an explicit, effective response.

The place to start is with the facts.  In our experience, it is not uncommon for interested stakeholders to make assertions or even accusations that are of questionable validity.  They may be based on debatable assumptions, incomplete or obsolete data, or flawed methods.  We can provide expertise in carefully reviewing stakeholder assertions and their basis, providing insights as to their validity, and in many cases, providing a more realistic, fact-based version of the organization’s actual posture and/or performance.  This corrected version can then serve as the centerpiece of communications and dialog with stakeholders, including the general public.  When combined with effective outreach tactics, including direct dialog, this approach has proven highly effective.