Implement and monitor environmentally sustainable work ...bsbsus301aenvirosustainability.weebly.com/uploads/... · to reproduce the resources people use up. An ecological footprint

Implement and monitor environmentally

sustainable work practices

BSBSUS301A Learner Guide

Momentum Consulting Training Materials

Element 1: Investigate current practices in relation to resource

usage

BSBSUS301A Element one Implement and monitor environmentally sustainable work practices

© Momentum Consulting Version 4 August 2013 2

Website: www.momentumconsult.com.au

© Momentum Consulting (Qld) Pty Ltd

Copyright Notice No part of this module may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording or by an information retrieval system without written permission from Momentum Consulting (Qld) Pty Ltd. Legal action may be taken against any person who infringes their copyright through unauthorised copying. These terms are subject to the conditions prescribed under the Australia Copyright Act, 1968.

Copying for Educational Purposes The Australian Copyright Act, 1968 allows 10% of this module to be copied by any educational institute for educational purposes, provided that the institute (or the body that administers it) has given a remuneration notice to the Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) under the Act. For more information, Email [email protected] or visit www.copyright.com.au for other contact details.

Disclaimer Momentum Consulting (Qld) Pty Ltd has made a great effort to ensure that this material is free from error or omissions. However, you should conduct your own enquiries and seek professional advice before relying on any fact, statement or matter contained in this module. Momentum Consulting (Qld) Pty Ltd is not responsible for any injury, loss or damage as a result of material included or omitted from this material. Information in this module is current at the time of publication.

http://www.momentumconsult.com.au/

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.copyright.com.au/



Climate change and sustainability

Before we get started, we need to understand the key issues involved in climate change and

sustainability.

“Sustainability is achieved when we understand the economic, environmental and social

consequences of our actions and make deliberate choices that allow all people to lead

healthy, productive and enjoyable lives.” (Five Es, Unlimited Sustainable Development

Solutions http://www.eeeee.net).

People are creating emissions called greenhouse gases (GHGs) faster than the earth can

absorb them and most scientists believe this exacerbates climate change. Climate change is

the natural and human amplified long term (decades to centuries) alteration in global

weather patterns, particularly increases in average temperature and storm activity.

Consumers, employees and governments, investors and other stakeholders are placing

increasing pressure on organisations to operate more sustainably and responsibly.

Increasingly investment fund managers demand responsible environmental and social

governance. It is expected that a director or senior executive manage these issues and

report regularly directly to the board. The Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) rates

companies on long term economic, environmental and social criteria and influences the

investment decisions of asset managers in 15 countries.

Around the world governments are working towards a greener, more sustainable and

liveable future. They offer incentive schemes and introduce regulations to reduce the

effects of both climate change and overuse of the planet’s key resources.

Sustainability, like risk management has become a key strategic issue for organisations.

Organisations are turning sustainability into lucrative opportunities rather than expensive

burdens. They can operate more sustainably and more profitably and with considerably

reduced risk exposure.

No matter how complex global problems may

seem, it is we ourselves who have given rise to

them. They cannot be beyond our power to

resolve.

Daisaku Ikeda

Buddhist Philosopher and Educator

http://www.eeeee.net/



These organisations use their sustainability initiatives to enhance their brand value,

corporate image and employer branding.

Green trains

In 2006, when clients began asking for information on Eurostar’s carbon emissions, the

Cross Channel rail company commissioned an independent study. The study revealed that

journeys between London, Brussels and Paris produced one tenth the CO₂ emissions of

equivalent flights. They seized the opportunity – travelling by train wasn’t only good for

business but good for the environment.

Eurostar introduced its Tread Lightly program in April 2007. The program offered ‘carbon

neutral’ journeys at no extra cost. Purchasing carbon credits via an offset provider and

targeting a further 25% reduction on CO₂ emissions per traveler by 2012. A 10 point plan

was also launched by Eurostar to reduce its wider environmental impact for example:

sourcing on board food locally and stepping up waste recycling at depots.

Eurostar was correct in its assessment of the opportunities sustainable operations offer -

eighteen per cent more passengers were attracted in the first half of 2008 compared with

the previous year.

Carbon crisis Climate change and sustainability

The Ecological Footprint (EF) measures how sustainable

people’s lifestyles are as individuals, as a country and as a

world. This is done by comparing human demand with the

earth’s ability to recover from the damage humans do and

to reproduce the resources people use up.

An ecological footprint estimates how many planet earths

it would take to support a person, a country or humanity

as a whole. The higher the number of the footprint, the

less sustainable the lifestyle.

The Living Planet Report, 2006 reports that humanity’s

demand on the planet has tripled since 1961 and exceeds

the world’s ability to regenerate by about 30%. This

ecological overshoot means that it now takes more than

15 months for the earth to regenerate what people use

in a single year.



The biggest component by far and the fastest growing of the global ecological footprint at

48% is Carbon Dioxide (CO₂). Released by the use of fossil fuels and measured by the Carbon

Footprint (CF), the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased more than

40% in the last 200 years. Between 1961 and 2005 it increased eleven fold.

The reliance by humankind on fossil fuels for energy continues to grow. The largest

contributor to the CF is energy generation.

Greenhouse gases and the greenhouse effect

The earth has an energy budget. Energy comes in through sunlight and goes out by radiating

back into space. A number of gases in the atmosphere trap the heat radiated from the

earth towards space, these are known as greenhouse gases. This is referred to as the

greenhouse effect. When it operates naturally, energy debits and credits remain in balance

thus keeping the planet warm and habitable.

Water Vapour accounts for between 80% and 90% of the earth’s natural greenhouse effect.

The human caused portion of the greenhouse effect can be attributed to the burning of

fossil fuels. Scientists believe that when too much CO₂ and other greenhouse gases enter

the atmosphere they trap even more heat and this has contributed to global warming.

The ozone hole which has expanded over the Southern Ocean is the second effect creating

unnaturally high greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Whilst chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs),

the cause of 80% of the ozone destruction are being phased out, they remain in the

atmosphere for up to 120 years.

Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions are set to be increasingly scrutinised, regulated and

priced. Carbon emissions are not just a social responsibility matter but also a legal,

operational, risk management and strategic issue. Europe already imposes greenhouse gas

limits and Australia is set to follow shortly with the proposed Emissions Trading Scheme

(ETS).

Australia has the highest per capita greenhouse emissions in the developed world, about 26

tonnes per Australian annually. Australia’s high output can be attributed mainly to two

factors:

The high use of fossil fuels for electricity generation; perhaps not reasonable in a

windswept and sunny climate.

Transportation; more reasonable in a large and open country.

About 70% of Australia’s GHG emissions are CO₂, one of the most damaging greenhouse

gases.



Activity One

1. Would you invest in a company that you knew damaged the environment?

How important do you think being ‘green’ is to consumers and employees?

2. Describe three sustainability initiatives currently in place at your organisation.

3. How do you expect climate change to affect your organisation over the next five years?



Sustainability reporting

In 2007, Australia launched a voluntary Greenhouse Gas

Reporting System to begin measuring emissions output in

preparation for the launch of a Carbon Pollution Reduction

Scheme (CPRS).

The National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting System

(NGERS), a mandatory scheme, commenced in July 2008.

Increasingly consumers, employees, investors and other

stakeholders expect organisations to report on their

sustainability. They view reporting as a measure of

trustworthiness and good governance. Reporting signals

the organisation’s seriousness about environmental responsibility and indicates its ability to

track and manage its ecological footprint. This in turn correlates with good general

management and superior market performance.

An organisation’s lack of attention to environmental concerns is likely to have serious cost

and risk implications placing them at a strategic disadvantage. It is assumed that

organisations that do not report have high emissions. They are considered exposed to

forthcoming emission charges, increasing energy costs and other risks that could undermine

their ability to operate successfully.

To begin reporting for your organisation, collect and report information on greenhouse gas

emissions. Detail your plans for improving energy efficiency and your targets for reducing

emissions. Investigate the factors that affect the sustainability of your organisation. These

will vary for different industries and individual organisations. When you have identified the

factors important to your organisation’s sustainability, you can work out how to measure

them.

Used by more than 1600 organisations worldwide and developed at the Amsterdam Global

Conference on Sustainability and Transparency in 2010, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)

is the most widely used sustainability framework of reporting principles, guidelines and

standard disclosures on environmental, social and economic performance. Known as G3

Guidelines, they help organisations make relevant disclosures on their economic,

environmental and social performance. The G3 Guidelines can be downloaded from the GRI

website www.globalreporting.org

http://www.globalreporting.org/



Regulations

The federal government’s climate change policy is underpinned by two key mechanisms:

1. National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act, 2007 (NGER Act)

http://www.climatechange.gov.au/reporting

2. The Australian Government’s Climate Change Plan – Clean Energy Future

http://www.cleanenergyfuture.gov.au/

The NGER Act establishes a mandatory reporting system for corporate greenhouse gas

emissions and energy consumption and production that exceed specified thresholds. The

Act requires organisations to register and report if they emit greenhouse gases, produce

energy or consume energy at or above specified annual thresholds. The Act carries penalties

of up to $220,000 for failure to register and additional penalties for late reports. Two types

of constitutional corporations that should register in the first year:

Those with a facility that emitted more than 25 kilotonnes (25,000 tonnes) of GHG’s

or produced or consumed 100 terajoules or more energy

Those where the corporate group as a whole emitted more than 125 kilotonnes of

GHG’s or produced or consumed more than 500 terajoules of energy

The Clean Energy Future (CEF)

Economic experts around the world recognise that putting a price on carbon is the most

effective and cheapest way to cut pollution. Under the CEF around 500 big polluters in

Australia will be required to pay for their pollution. These businesses will need to buy and

surrender to the Government a permit for every tonne of pollution they produce. The

proposed initial price for these permits will be $23 per tonne and will only have CPI rises for

the first three years of operation. The price will then be

determined by the market and there will a floor price and a

ceiling price that companies must work within with the

buying and selling of permits. This has been done as an

incentive to big business to reduce pollution and to allow

businesses a three year surety of price so changes can be

made to the way they produce their goods. This legislation

became operational on July 1st 2012.

http://www.climatechange.gov.au/reporting/

http://www.cleanenergyfuture.gov.au/



Related Acts

The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, 1999: This Act provides

primarily for the protection of the environment, particularly those aspects that are matters

of national significance. It also promotes biodiversity and ecologically sustainable

development and the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources.

http://www.environment.gov.au/epbc

The Energy Efficiency Opportunities Act, 2006: This Act encourages more efficient use of

energy by large energy users. Registered corporations must submit a plan every five years

explaining how they plan to assess the opportunities for improving energy efficiency during

the next five year period.

http://www.ret.gov.au/ENERGY/EFFICIENCY/EEO/Pages/default.aspx

Queensland legislation, Clean Energy Act, 2008: The main object of this act is to improve

efficiency and management of the use of energy and the conservation of energy in relation

to particular businesses and other activities.

How well positioned is your organisation?

Take a moment to consider the following questions:

Have you analysed your integrated value chain for sustainability?

Have you considered ways to exploit the opportunities sustainability may offer?

Have you developed strategies, policies and programs to allow your organisation to operate more sustainably?

Have you identified the effects of climate change on your organisation’s operations?

Have you set sustainability targets and do you monitor them regularly?

Have you trained people in sustainable practices and made sustainability considerations part of your organisation’s decision making, planning, project and reporting protocols?

Is a senior executive charged with guiding your organisation to increased

sustainability?

Is sustainability integrated into your organisation’s corporate social responsibility

policies?

http://www.environment.gov.au/epbc

http://www.ret.gov.au/ENERGY/EFFICIENCY/EEO/Pages/default.aspx



Activity Two

Identify five major environmental aspects present at your organisation and rank them according to

the risk that each poses to the environment.

Where are you now?

In order to achieve optimum resource efficiency, organisation’s need to calculate their

current impact on the environment. As the saying goes, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t

manage it”. A good place to start is with your ecological and carbon footprints.

It is important to identify the environmental measures that best apply to your organisation

and then locate relevant data that can provide you with meaningful information.

Ask yourself:

What areas of the organisation’s business activities have an impact on the

environment?

Do the organisation’s business activities have potential to harm any aspect of the

environment, including air, noise, water (stormwater, ground water, waste water),

soil, flora, fauna and people?

Which of the organisation’s current business activities have a positive impact on or

protect the environment?

Not only do you need to consider the impacts of the resources your organisation acquires in

order to produce products or services, you also need to consider the impact of the use of

the product or service by the customer. A light globe manufacturer, for example: needs to

measure the resources they used to make a light globe and the energy customers will

consume in using the light globe.



Measure and document current resource usage

You will need to carry out a resource usage

assessment in order to measure the resource

usage. In addition to examining the use of all

resources consumed by your organisation,

you also need to investigate waste generated

by your organisation. The results will assist

you in identifying ways resource efficiency

can be improved and to develop an action

plan.

In addition to calculating the organisation’s

total resource consumption and waste

generation the resource usage assessment will also:

Calculate the resource usage and waste generation for each business activity or area

Identify which business activities or areas use the majority of resources

Identify which business activities or areas create the most waste

Discover opportunities for resource efficiency improvement

Precisely calculate the cost of resources and wastes

Allow informed business decisions to be made

Reduce costs associated with resource consumption and waste generation

Facilitate communication about resource efficiency.

Data should be regularly updated once the initial assessment has been carried out. You may

consider analysing the data on a monthly basis. Some organisations break the data down

further seeking to identify trends in a day - greater usage in the morning in contrast to the

afternoon or a week to compare days. The analysis will assist in deciding where your efforts

should be focused when identifying resource efficiency solutions.

Once the data has been collected and analysis completed you can now move onto

identifying the actions that may reduce resource usage and waste generation. This

information can be documented in your resource efficiency plan.



Purchasing strategies

The purchasing decisions your organisation

makes on goods, resources and services will

have an impact on the environment. To be

environmentally responsible organisations

should seek to buy resources, goods and

services that have less impact on the

environment than their alternatives.

For example: purchasing products that are

made from recycled materials or have

minimal packaging.

The benefits of environmental purchasing are:

Decrease energy and water use

Increase resource efficiency

Decrease waste

Reduce pollution

Establish markets for environmentally friendly products and services

Place pressure on suppliers to produce products and services with lower environmental impacts.

Environmental purchasing involves considering the impact of the product at any stage of its

manufacture, use or disposal. In other words, throughout its life cycle. Organisations also

need to consider where the product has been sourced from. Products transported over long

distances result in higher carbon emissions. Refer back to our Green Train story on Eurostar,

one of their environmental initiatives was sourcing their on board food locally.

Many organisations have added a ‘Sustainability Clause’ into their supplier contract.

Organisations recognise that its own and its suppliers’ environmental performance are

factors in their long term success. In line with the drive to become a more environmentally

friendly organisation, you may have noticed initiatives implemented by your own

workplace. For example the promoted use ’Green’ stationery supplies.



Activity Three

1. What are the goals of resource usage assessments?

1. Identify three benefits of environmental purchasing.

2. How can organisations ensure that work processes meet environmental requirements and

identify areas in which changes need to be made?

Implement and monitor environmentally sustainable work ...bsbsus301aenvirosustainability.weebly.com/uploads/... · to reproduce the resources people use up. An ecological footprint

Documents