| Sustainable Operations Require Business Engagement |
| Written by Daniel Stouffer | |
| Friday, 23 October 2009 | |
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We know that our individual impact on the environment is something that we must all now consider. We cannot ignore this problem anymore and must think of future generations to come. Insofar as we need to act individually, organizations and businesses need to study their own positions as well as produce products that we all need to survive. Irregardless of the size of the enterprise, a program of sustainable operations must be introduced and maintained on an ongoing basis.
We know that our individual impact on the environment is something that we must all now consider. We cannot ignore this problem anymore and must think of future generations to come. Insofar as we need to act individually, organizations and businesses need to study their own positions as well as produce products that we all need to survive. Irregardless of the size of the enterprise, a program of sustainable operations must be introduced and maintained on an ongoing basis. What is the definition of "sustainable operations?" Generally this refers to the ability to "endure" and is particularly applicable to environmental issues. Over the past couple of hundred years we have paid very little regard to this notion and we can now see the damage that we have, consequently, got to live with. In future, we will be required to be as self-sufficient as possible and not to place demands on natural resources regardless of the repercussions. A business these days must fully adopt the concept of sustainable operations and the driving force to ensure that this happens must come from the top. This is not a concept that can be delegated to a division or a department. Nor can it be referred to as a public relations exercise. There will be significant repercussions for the enterprise that does not understand its moral obligations. Around the world, it is estimated that 80% of the largest organizations already fully understand and control sustainable operations within. However, by far the majority of businesses are only waking up to various possibilities and there is considerable progress to be made. One of the worst things that senior management could do is to rush to try and conform without being fully aware of their position. They may realize that they are not maintaining sustainable operations and try and bluff their way through it and promote the fact that they are in compliance. However, it takes a full understanding of their footprint, energy usage and emissions levels, together with resource usage and disposal methods. Any attempt to shortcut will surely lead to them being accused of "greenwashing." It takes a full lifecycle analysis of an organization before a true position can be revealed. Every element of the business is responsible in one way or another for its impact on its surroundings and a full interpretation will be necessary before any realistic action may be taken. There are different levels of carbon emissions to understand and all must be reported and be the subject of restrictive action in future. Senior management must understand that carbon emissions represent the biggest problem. When it comes to energy production and use they must now know all about scope one and scope two emissions, while scope three emissions, referring to supply chain, postproduction and end-of-life disposal, are more difficult to analyze but nevertheless significant. As a program of sustainable operations is implemented, the organization will find that it will ultimately benefit as it understands the efficiency of each one of its assets. It is to be expected that a finer return on investment will be enjoyed from these assets as they are analyzed and brought up to speed. The Article Author: Daniel Stouffer has much more information about sustainable operations and why a visit to www.verisae.com can benefit you. |
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