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Student Workbook
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Disclaimer
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www.ibsa.org.au
ISBN: 978-1-925123-54-8
Stock code: BSBSUS5011W
Table of Contents
Introduction .........................................................................................................................1
Features of the training program .................................................................................1
Structure of the training program ................................................................................1
Recommended reading ................................................................................................1
Section 1 Develop Workplace Sustainability Policy .......................................................3
What skills will you need? ............................................................................................4
What is sustainability in a business context? .............................................................4
Sustainability policies ...................................................................................................6
Define the scope of sustainability policy .....................................................................8
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Glossary ............................................................................................................................ 78
Appendices ....................................................................................................................... 81
Appendix 1: Australian Hardware business plan excerpt ........................................ 81
Appendix 2: Australian Hardware key personnel ..................................................... 82
Appendix 3: Australian Hardware organisation chart .............................................. 84
Appendix 4: Australian Hardware operational plan ................................................. 85
Appendix 5: Australian Hardware sustainability policy ............................................ 88
Appendix 6: Australian Hardware performance management policy ..................... 91
Appendix 7: Australian Hardware procurement policy ............................................ 92
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Student Workbook
Introduction
Introduction
Features of the training program
The key features of this program are:
Student Workbook Self-paced learning activities to help you to develop an
understanding of key concepts and terms. The Student Workbook is broken down
into several sections.
Facilitator-led sessions Challenging and interesting learning activities that can be
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completed in the classroom or by distance learning that will help you consolidate
and apply what you have learned in the Student Workbook.
Assessment tasks Summative assessments where you can apply your new skills
This training program introduces you to developing workplace policy and procedures for
sustainability. Specifically, you will develop the skills and knowledge in the following topic
areas:
1. Develop workplace sustainability policy.
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Your facilitator may choose to combine or split sessions. For example, in some cases, this
training program may be delivered in two or three sessions, or in others, as many as eight
sessions.
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Recommended reading
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In print
Dallas, N., 2008, Climate change basics: 24 lessons revealing the fundamentals,
McGraw-Hill, Australia.
Moscardo, G., Lamberton, G., Wells, G., et al., 2012, Sustainability in Australian
Introduction
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Wells, G., 2013, Sustainable business: theory and practice of business under
Limited, Massachusetts.
Online documents
National Sustainability Council, 2013, Sustainable Australia report 2013:
Conversations with the future, Canberra, available online, viewed January 2015,
available from <http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/
e55f5f00-b5ed-4a77-b977-da3764da72e3/files/sustainable-report-full.pdf>.
Winfree, T., 2006, Guideline brief: Knowledge and skills for sustainability, National
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Websites
<http://www.environment.gov.au/index.html>.
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/sustainable-business>.
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Innovation & Business Skills Australia, Sustainability and energy efficiency, IBSA,
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Milne, M. and Gray, R., Explainer: what is the triple bottom line?, The Conversation,
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<http://www.sba.asn.au/sba/>.
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Please note that any URLs contained in the recommended reading, learning content and
learning activities of this publication were checked for currency during the production
process. Note, however, IBSA cannot vouch for the ongoing currency of URLs.
Every endeavour has been made to provide a full reference for all web links. Where URLs
are not current we recommend using the reference information provided to search for the
source in your chosen search engine.
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responsible company.
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As part of supporting these objectives, and particularly the last, Australian Hardware
intends to review its sustainability policy to:
improve its environmental performance as well as performance on social
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measures such as labour practices and product responsibility as set out in the
Global Reporting Initiative Framework
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Connie is the newly employed HR Manager. As HR manager, she has responsibility for
overseeing the review and potential redevelopment of policy. She intends to undertake
a review of the legal environment, standards and methodologies in sustainable practice
and reporting, and explore ways in which sustainability may be better integrated with
the Australian Hardware business model. She will conduct her review in close
coordination and partnership with senior management.
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Since the industrial revolution in the 19th Century, natural resources have been used at
an ever increasing rate. In the latter half the 20th century, a rising concern for
sustainable practice began to emerge. In the 21st century an active push has begun
towards sustainability in all aspects of life, including business contexts. This has come to
affect numerous situations such as personal lifestyle choice, living arrangements, the
provision of services, the manner and way in which we work, the manufacturing of goods,
and the renewal and saving of energy resources.
A general definition of sustainability or sustainable development was put forward in a
1987 United Nations report by the World Commission on Environment and Development.
The report stated that sustainability is defined as development that meets the needs of
the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own
needs. 1
World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987, Our common future, Oxford
University Press, Oxford, available online, viewed January 2015,
<http://www.un-documents.net/our-common-future.pdf>.
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Definition: Sustainability
Sustainable development is
development that meets the needs of
the present without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet
their own needs.
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Making sure current processes of interaction with the environment are pursued
with intent to maintain the long-term health of the natural environment.
Socio-political sustainability:
Environmental
Social
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Economic sustainability:
Economic
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Organisations with an eye on sustainability will ensure they set goals and report on the
above aspects of sustainability in addition to traditional measures of business success.
To support these goals, organisations need to develop policy as a way of articulating and
promoting organisational sustainability aims.
Approaches to sustainability in a business context may not be the same as sustainability
from a government policy-making perspective, or the perspective of the environmentally
aware or well-meaning individual or consumer. From a business perspective, economic
measures of sustainability tend to predominate. This means that, in organisational
strategic planning, social and environmental sustainability may not always be treated as
ends in themselves, but as means to drive cost-cutting, profitability, or long-term
workforce capacity. However, businesses are not just about making money: taking into
consideration stakeholder interests beyond owners and investors means seeing the
business as part of and dependant on fulfilling social needs and the business and society
as both dependant on a sustainable environment.
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Australian Hardware
CoffeeVille.
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Sustainability policies
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Beyond explicit goals for sustainable practice, policies and procedures are the main
documents outlining organisational aims and approaches to sustainability. Policies will
set out the general aims of the organisation with respect to aspects of sustainability,
summarise how the policy will be put into practice, and declare senior management
commitment to the policy. Procedures give practical, sometimes step-by-step guidance for
carrying out policy aims. Lets begin by looking at sustainability policy and factors that
underpin policy success in more detail. We will then consider the key processes of
defining the scope of policy and gathering information, which will comprise the bulk of the
remaining discussion in Section 1.
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Policy
A policy is a general statement of aims. For example, a sustainability policy may state the
intention of an employer to comply with relevant environmental legislation and reduce the
impact of the organisation on the environment. Policies usually contain statements or
reference regarding the:
purpose or intent of policy
codes of practice.
At a minimum, a workplace policy should contain a statement of purpose and one or more
broad guidelines on action to be taken to achieve that purpose.
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Sustainability policies typically set out how the organisation or specific business functions
will adhere to sustainability principles such as reducing the impact on the environment or
protecting the environment for future generations. Importantly, organisations acting
sustainably does not simply mean acting charitably or altruistically. Sustainability may be
seen as a strategic approach to achieving a number of business aims. For example,
building an organisations reputation for environmental and socially responsibility can
have a direct effect on the marketability of the organisation as a consumer brand. It can
also contribute to becoming an employer of choice, which allows the organisation to
recruit the talent it needs to remain profitable over the long term.
Policy underpinnings
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Policies are typically supported by a range of factors, including organisational culture and
management practices. To be effectively implemented, policies need whole-hearted
commitment from all levels of the organisation, including senior management.
The sustainability policy should refer to the following underpinning success factors.
Culture
Compliance
Accountability
Consultation
Capacity
Culture
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Compliance
The policy should reference, and be developed in accordance with, the legal obligations
and compliance requirements related to sustainability. Your policy should refer to relevant
Acts, Regulations and codes of practice. For example, relevant legislation may include:
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
relevant state or territory legislation.
The policy may also reference industry or best practice standards or internal benchmarks
for the organisation. For example, a relevant standard for sustainability is the:
AS/NZS ISO 14001:2004 Environmental management systems.
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Accountability
A key underpinning feature of environmental management systems is that persons are
given specific management responsibilities and are held accountable for carrying out
those responsibilities to the required standard. Policies should outline responsibilities for
managing key aspects of the policy, including for example, environmental risk
management, monitoring and reporting.
A policy should broadly outline the workgroups and individuals who will be responsible for
implementing the major elements of the policy. Responsibilities may lie with:
senior managers
staff
department managers
visitors
supervisors
contractors.
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Consultation
In order to gather the widest possible input and promote the wide acceptance and
support for sustainability policy, the policy should value and support a clear process for
consultation with stakeholders from all levels of the organisation including employees,
suppliers, clients, managers and external experts where relevant.
Your policy needs to be communicated to all affected employees and should be available
to all interested parties, including stakeholders, employees, suppliers and customers.
Capacity
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The sustainability policy should outline the requirements of the system in terms of the
resources, personnel and capabilities essential for the system to function. Your policy
should include delegated responsibilities for various elements of the system, and
describe processes for training staff and allocating resources.
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The scope describes the extent of a policy. A policys scope refers to what and who will be
impacted by its application, for example, the particular location, workgroup, or applicable
legislation.
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department.
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Legislation, standards and methodologies will be discussed in more detail later in this
Section.
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You will need to conduct research and consult with relevant personnel and stakeholders
on both technical details and the organisational context.
Learning activity: Sustainability policy
Access the sustainability policy for your organisation and several that you wish to
research and compare. For example, compare your organisations policy with the
following sustainability policies (or search online to find policies from your industry):
Fujitsu sustainability policies, Fujitsu,
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<http://www.fujitsu.com/au/sustainability/our-sustainabilityprogram/sustainability-policies/>.
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<http://policy.monash.edu.au/policy-bank/management/facilitiesservices/environmental-sustainability-policy.html>.
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What are some of the biggest differences between the policies (in content,
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structure or organisation)?
What additions or changes would you make to one or more of these policies to
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How would you go about gathering the relevant information to improve a policy?
What is the scope of your organisations policy?
What legislation, standards, methodologies, frameworks or philosophies are
discussed above?
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Over the next few chapters we will discuss important considerations when determining
the scope of the policy, specifically:
making reference to legislation and standards
identifying the organisations approach/es to sustainability management
identifying implementation priorities and approaches.
Federal
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Determining the legislative obligations of your workplace may be quite difficult, so you
may be required to seek the assistance of a lawyer or consultant. The various levels of
laws and regulations are outlined below.
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<http://www.environment.gov.au/about-us/legislation>.
Local
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State/Territory
Federal legislation
borders (e.g. not allowing Australian animals and plants to escape and become
pests overseas)
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require environmental assessments and approval processes when dealing with the
You need to particularly pay attention to the requirements of the EPBC Act if you or the
organisation you act on behalf of:
owns land
develops land
farms
works for a council, state, territory or federal agency
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The EPBC Act is administered by the Department of the Environment along with a range of
other legislation. The federal environmental legislation is listed on the Department of
Environments website at:
Legislation, Department of the Environment,
<http://www.environment.gov.au/about-us/legislation>.
Environmental legislation is not the only legislation that will be relevant to your
sustainability policy. You will also need to identify how other major areas of Australian law
relate to your organisations sustainability practices.
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For example, the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 does not specifically address
sustainability and environmental concerns, but it can be relevant to sustainability policy.
For example, if your organisation makes claims about environmental and sustainable
aspects of operation, it is important to make sure the claims are accurate and correct.
Some common claims that you should take particular care in making include making
claims that products or services are:
green
recyclable
carbon neutral
environmentally safe
renewable
energy efficient
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environmentally friendly
Making accurate claims is both good business practice and the law. This area of law is
regulated by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC).
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As well as making accurate and correct claims about business operations, you also need
to take care when selecting images for your product or advertising. Using images of
forest, earth or endangered species can itself be deemed as an environmental claim and
found to be misleading if your product does not benefit those things.
Example: Misleading images
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The ACCC provides a guide to green marketing which provides a useful overview on how
to avoid making misleading and inappropriate claims. For more information, refer to the
following publication:
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Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, 2011, Green marketing and the
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Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, 2011, Green marketing and the Australian
Consumer Law, Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, Canberra, p.11, available
online, viewed January 2015,
<http://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/Green%20marketing%20and%20the%20ACL.pdf>.
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State legislation
States and territories also have a range of legislation that describes sustainable
management of resources. Areas of state legislation that can apply to your organisations
management of sustainability can include:
planning
waste management
primary industry
energy
environmental protection
vegetation
conservation
animal management
water resources
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Most Australian states have an Environment Protection Authority (EPA), authorised under
a state department, that is responsible for enforcing compliance with state-based
environmental legislation. Your states EPA website may provide resources that can guide
your business towards better work practices.
To find out about legislation applicable in your state or territory, visit business.gov:
Environmental legislation, Business.gov.au,
<http://www.business.gov.au/business-topics/business-planning/environmentalmanagement/Pages/environmental-legislation.aspx>.
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For additional state information, you should visit the website of:
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These websites provide lots of advice on how you and your business can protect the
environment and comply with regulations.
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targets
be documented, implemented and maintained
be communicated to all persons working for or on behalf of the organisation
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The standard also lays out a framework for planning and implementing policy based on
the well-known Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle:
Establish
sustainability
objectives and
processes
Implement the
process
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Plan
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Act to continually
improve processes
and results
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Act
Check
Monitor and
measure success
against policy
objectives and
processes
A key to the effective use of the standard is putting in place systems of continuously
reviewing policy and taking action to improve environmental performance.
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Best practice
There are many sources of information about sustainability best practice, so it is
important to find those most relevant to your industry sector and workplace. You can find
out how best practice applies to your workplace by:
gaining some background knowledge on general sustainability and environmental
principles via internet research, books, magazines and other media sources
identifying best practice models developed by industry associations
consulting government departments, industry associations and other relevant
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One international resource that you may find helpful and informative is The Guardians
best practice exchange for sustainable business:
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/sustainable-business/best-practice-exchange>.
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The Sustainable Green Print (SGP) is the Australian printing industry's own recognisable
certification program designed to help printing companies meet their environmental
responsibilities and go above and beyond compliance.
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SGP is based on the ISO14001 international standard. SGP is tailored to meet a printers
business requirements, the demands of their customers and the changing trends in
dealing with managing environmental responsibility.
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This multi-level system provides a choice of four linked achievement levels including ISO
14001 (Level 3 SGP) allowing printers to choose their participation and progress levels. 5
5Printing Industries Association of Australia, 2013, Sustainable green print, available online,
viewed January 2015,
<http://www.printnet.com.au/verve/_resources/SGP_Brochure_2013_web.pdf>.
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January 2015,
<http://www.environment.gov.au/archive/settlements/publications/
government/purchasing/green-office-guide/>.
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You can gain an understanding of best practice by finding out whos doing it best in their
environmental approaches. The Banksia Environmental Foundation, established in 1989,
is a national non-profit organisation that promotes environmental excellence and
sustainability through its awards program and other associated events. The Banksia
Environmental Awards are regarded as one of the most prestigious environmental awards
in Australia. You can search for award winners from previous years to find out more about
innovative and leading approaches to sustainability.
Learning activity: Banksia Environmental Awards and best practice
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Research the leadership winners from last year in the categories of Setting the
Standard for Large Organisations and Setting the Standard for Small to Medium
Businesses.
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Identify why each of the organisations won the award. Why are the organisations
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or organisation? Why?
Approaches to sustainability
As part of determining the scope of your sustainability policy, you will need to consider
various approaches or recognised methodologies for overcoming traditional, linear
models of resource use and achieving sustainability goals. You may also need to consider
approaches to supply chain management and reporting. Finally, you will also need to
consider strategies for implementing approaches and methods.