What does a “Sustainability Department” do?
By Gail Nickel-Kailing on August 26th, 2008
More and more companies are adding “Sustainability Managers” or other folks responsible for corporate sustainability activities; sometimes it help to ask: “What does a sustainability department do?”
GreenBiz.com recently posted a piece explaining it here>> Briefly, author Daniel Winokur tells us that:
The goal of a sustainability department is to make the company more sustainable - that is, to help the company ensure its long-term future by protecting communities, restoring and conserving ecosystems, and creating competitive profit. For some businesses, a small number of modifications may result in an entirely sustainable operation. For others, the path will be longer and more complicated. In either case, the result will be a shift that affects the entire company, similar to integrative concepts like Total Quality Management (TQM).
A company’s sustainability department may start projects of its own, but much of its work will be through partnering with other departments and business units. This is because sustainability is not an isolated competency, like marketing or operations can be. Instead, it’s a business mindset applicable to all areas of business activity.
The good news is that your “sustainability department” does not have to have a full time staff; you can add an intern, work with a consultant, make this a “job share” situation, or assign it to a single person. Depending on the size of your company, your initiative can be small or encompass an entire department.
Results? Sustainability initiatives can often mean:
- Lower costs through reduced resource use
- Reduced risk of backlash/increased access to new locations by community outreach
- Capital investments in more efficient infrastructure, saving money and resources
- A more healthy, less wasteful, less toxic, and more pleasant workplace
- Monetizing resource use reductions - by trading greenhouse gas credits or selling waste materials
- Providing input to business units at planning stages to design for financial and environmental efficiency
- Turning waste streams into revenue streams
- Modeling all of the energy and materials flows in and out of a business
- Studying the life cycle of the value chain
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5 Responses to “What does a “Sustainability Department” do?”
By Michael Josefowicz on Aug 26, 2008 | Reply
Gail,
With all due respect I have to disagree about the “intern” idea.
If one moves the words around a bit the quote might be
The goal of a business is to create a competitive profit and to make the company more sustainable - that is, to help the company ensure its long-term future. . .
I strongly agree that, depending on the situation of the business, the best way to do this might well be to nurture communities and restore and conserve ecosystems.
But this is a job for the person with power -CEO, President or Boss to lead. Without the strong leadership of the person at the top, it will be lots of time spent for very little results.
By Gail Nickel-Kailing on Aug 26, 2008 | Reply
Michael,
I agree that there has to be a top-down commitment to make sustainability in an operation happen.
That said, an example of an intern who has done a terrific job is Kate Scholz, Sustainability Communications Coordinator for Hemlock Printers in Vancouver BC.
Kate started with Hemlock as an intern and is finishing up her third summer with them. She has done a terrific job.
While it takes a whole company to get to the point where they have been singled out as the “Most Environmentally-Friendly Printer in Canada” three years running, I’m sure her hard work, enthusiasm, and training have contributed to that recognition.
So yes, get commitment at the top, but don’t rule out getting the right intern on board who can take responsibility and make some amazing things happen.
Gail
By Michael Josefowicz on Aug 26, 2008 | Reply
Gail -
I don’t underestimate the effect that any person in an organization can make - either an intern, or press person, salesperson or someone in the bindery.
But a look at Hemlock Printers shows a long term commitment to sustainability since the 70’s. The problem as I see it, is that it can sound like a quick fix, when the real problem is the organizational culture set at the top.
From Hemlock Printers website:
Hemlock has a long-standing history of corporate citizenry and sustainable practices, led by its President and supported by its dedicated employees. The company is committed to producing the highest quality printing with the least social and environmental impact, and has been at the forefront of this work since the early 1970s.
In 2004, the company linked employee leaders into a Sustainability Committee to increase the momentum of improvements to environmental performance and to boost the introduction of sustainable business practices.
By Jim Augustin on Aug 27, 2008 | Reply
Sustainability is about seeing the connectedness of all things and acting accordingly. Its principally about the world’s people. Its about being responsible stewards and finding out that there are benefits in all areas of your business. Your company’s sustainability as a goal is far too narrow.
Partnering is an alignment of interests that prompts concerted action.
As for the Sustainability Department partnering, it seems to me you may partner with external organizations, but several departments working together is teamwork.
By Michael Josefowicz on Aug 28, 2008 | Reply
Jim-
I agree that sustainability is about seeing the connections. The point I might highlight is that we are also part of the world’s people. The thing I am trying to get at is that “your company’s sustainability is far too narrow” is true - from the point of view of you as a person.
But, from the point of view of the business, a relentless focus on the sustainability of the business is exactly what’s necessary. For many in this industry, there are no resources to invest on actions which do not support that sustainability.
The good news, from my point of view, is that with the constraints of limited resources - great people, energy, money, resources- doing well and doing good are getting much closer.