by Andrew Wales *
Sustainability, triple bottom line and state of the environment reporting – these terms are moving quickly into the everyday vocabulary of Local Government. While these concepts represent an exciting new way of doing business for Councils, many are still asking the fundamental question, “Where do we start?”.
An increasing number of Councils are unable to move beyond the talk to on the ground action because they are simply unaware of how to start the process. Knowing where to start with a sustainable approach to business comes down to first understanding these three key principles:
- Sustainability and triple bottom line processes can only be implemented effectively into day to day operations of Council with the backup of a strong management system framework.
- Positive outcomes will only be achieved from the sustainability program if the supporting management systems are simple, streamlined and integrated. Sustainability is very much about taking all the existing disparate environmental and social programs and initiatives of Council and integrating them into a single core business management framework.
- To move forward with sustainability, there needs to be a good understanding of what management frameworks already exist upon which sustainability and triple bottom line processes can be built.
This final point is the key to ensuring the long term success of any Council drive towards sustainability. Unless you know what you have in place already, you run the risk of reinventing the wheel with your approach or, worse still, implementing programs and processes that are not relevant to what your Council might need.
So the answer to that fundamental question of where to start is really quite simple. Start with a thorough review of the existing frameworks, systems and processes already in place within your organisation that can be extended to also carry the sustainability program forward. The review itself should be kept simple. There is no need to drag the process out by examining every single task, role and minute process in Council to identify where sustainability might fit.
Instead, focus on the broader frameworks into which sustainability can be built, look at how successful these frameworks have been in the past in delivering outcomes for the organisation and look for gaps where new processes may need to be built.
There is a potential for the review to become too big and confusing for those without a good understanding of sustainability management frameworks. Therefore, Councils commencing with a review should seriously consider investing in the services of expert third party reviewers, who can carry out the review quickly and objectively.
A good third party reviewer will be able to clearly identify the sustainability gaps and opportunities within the organisation, and present Council with a step by step roadmap for the future development of a streamlined, workable sustainability management system.
Whatever road your Council decides to take, never underestimate the importance of commencing with a thorough objective review of what you have in place already. Without this, you may find yourself lost in a minefield of unworkable triple bottom line processes that prevent you from achieving all of the wonderful outcomes sustainability can deliver.
* Andrew Wales is Managing Director of Omega Environmental.
