Develop workplace sustainability reports

What is the EPBC Act?

The EPBC Act establishes significant tools for ensuring ecologically sustainable development via environmental protection, with an emphasis on Commonwealth interests in the Act's nine matters of national environmental significance (MNES).

The EPBC Act requires the federal Environment Minister to examine and approve specific acts, such as projects, developments, undertakings, or activities, that are expected to majorly influence an MNES (known as "regulated actions").

If a development plan has no major impact on one of the MNES listed in the EPBC Act, the Commonwealth Government is unable to interfere. The Commonwealth, for example, does not have the authority to control a development project that will have an impact on air quality or noise. The appropriate state government is responsible for considering these and other environmental issues during any state evaluation and approval procedure.

A company or individual who wishes to perform an action or operation that they believe is or might be covered by the EPBC Act must notify the federal Environment Minister. Under the EPBC Act, a proponent of a regulated activity (such as a project developer) may face civil or criminal penalties if they proceed with the action without first getting evaluation and clearance from the Environment Minister. Although the Environment Minister may determine that permission is not required for a specific operation, it is illegal to carry out a regulated activity without first receiving governmental consent.

What happens if individuals or organisations refuse to comply?

For violations of the EPBC Act, there are severe criminal and civil sanctions.

The EPBC Act also gives the general public, and community-based organisations access to the Federal Court to seek an injunction to prohibit an activity that is likely to have a major impact on a nationally protected topic and has not been approved by the Australian environment minister.
When the Australian government conducts a compliance examination, it usually consults with local government officials. The Australian government wants to strengthen the environmental partnership by incorporating local and state governments and the general public. With its emphasis on minimising environmental consequences and regulating development via complete compliance, greater information, and collaboration, the EPBC Act is a key instrument.

Who is responsible for governing sustainability?

Although the states and territories have the same level of environmental regulating obligation, the way those responsibilities are defined differs. The Commonwealth Government has a distinct and restricted function in terms of environmental control. All other environmental regulations are the responsibility of the governments and territories. As a result, each state and territory takes a different approach to ecologically sustainable development, which has an impact on project developers' application, evaluation, and approval procedures in various jurisdictions.

Local governments play a crucial role in the environmental law system by establishing and enforcing land development control plans in their jurisdictions. Many aspects of state planning and development legislation are usually implemented and enforced by local governments, including awarding permits (including secondary approvals) within their authority. Local governments are responsible for the following to varying degrees:

Role of the Commonwealth Government

The Commonwealth's mission is to safeguard "matters of national environmental concern" in terms of environmental legislation (MNES). The EPBC Act (Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth)) is Australia's major legislative tool for protecting the environment and conserving biodiversity.

Regulations of Workplace Sustainability

Certain commercial activity may necessitate environmental licences and permissions. If an action may have an impact on regions of national environmental significance, companies will need to acquire permission from the Australian government.

For larger corporations

Corporations that satisfy the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (NGER) criteria must register and report annually once they have done so. All greenhouse gas emissions, energy production, and energy consumption from facilities under the operational control of registered firms must be reported to:

• The governing corporation that has been registered, or
• The group's members

To determine NGER Scheme duties, companies must:

• Be aware of the reporting requirements
• Determine their controlling corporation and the members of the controlling corporation's group, and
• Determine which facilities the controlling corporation and its group members have operational authority over.

Having identified the controlling corporation and its group members and the facilities under their operational control, companies must determine if their controlling corporation's glasshouse gas emissions, energy production, and consumption exceed any of the facility or corporate group thresholds. It is critical to know what to include when calculating glasshouse gas emissions and energy production and consumption for the controlling organisation. When determining whether or not they trigger a reporting threshold and, as a result, have any obligation to register and report under the NGER Scheme, all activities, including those of contractors or subcontractors, that take place at the facilities under the company’s operational control must be taken into account.

Companies may begin by calculating greenhouse gas emissions and energy-related operating expenses and accumulating data such as gas, electricity, diesel, other fuel expenditures, and waste disposal arrangements.Consider the following scenarios:

• An abattoir's emissions from natural gas/LPG consumption, waste (wastewater, landfill), electricity, and liquid fuels may be required to be reported.
• Liquid fuels, electricity, and fugitive emissions would be required to be reported by a mining operation (underground or open-cut).
• Coal mines would also have to account for the energy generated by coal extraction and the methane created by coal mining.

Water Conservation in the Workplace

There will be solutions to preserve water wherever work is done and in whatever industry companies are in. Small modifications in the way water is used at work can significantly impact total usage.

Below are some water conservation suggestions for businesses:

Employee awareness

To raise awareness of using water wisely, provide water-saving information, employee suggestion programmes, or host a water efficiency seminar.

In the canteen or kitchen

• Instead of cleaning dishes and cups individually, use a dishwasher — and make sure it is full before turning it on.
• If employees are washing by hand, they should collect the water in a basin rather than letting it trickle down the drain.
• Instead of running a tap or keeping jugs/refillable bottles of cold water in the fridge, a water cooler provides staff with easy access to cold water.

In the baths and restrooms

• Dripping faucets can waste a great deal of water. It is usually only a simple and inexpensive washer to replace that can save money.
• Uncontrolled urinal flushing can waste hundreds of litres each hour. When upgrading obsolete equipment, utilising a control device to ensure that flushing stops when the premises are not in use can save up to 70% on water use. There are also waterless urinals available.
• Toilet flushing may take up to 13 litres each flush on older toilets. Water-saving gadgets such as a 'Hippo' or a 'Save-a-Flush' bag can be used if the company has an older cistern. Each flush saves between one and three litres. Many cisterns may also be converted to dual flush.
• Toilets that leak - owing to sticky buttons or passing valves, new dual flush (button controlled) toilets can leak. It is possible to squander more than 250 litres every hour in this manner. Check all toilets for leaks — a trickle of water can generally be seen trickling down the back of the pan.
• Showers - contemporary, efficient showerheads may save up to 50% on water consumption, while shower timers remind users to take shorter showers.

Outside

• Large amounts of water can be wasted on grounds upkeep, especially during the summer.
• Keep landscape irrigation watering to a minimum using hosepipes and sprinklers, which may consume up to 1000 litres per hour. When a trigger nozzle is attached to a hosepipe, water will cease flowing as soon as it is withdrawn.
• Water butts - catch rainwater in a tank or butt and use it to water plants and bushes. When landscaping, choose plants and shrubs that can withstand dry weather.

Cleaning

• Workplace cleaning - aim to limit the amount of time spent cleaning the workplace. Consider recycling water while cleaning equipment.
• Window cleaning — seek ways to cut down or prioritise window cleaning tasks.

Become familiar with the plumbing system.

Many companies/ offices now use smart technology to track and collect statistics on water use at regular intervals. This can aid in the detection of unexpected or irregular usage, such as a leak. Any irregularities that arise as a result of regular monitoring can thus be investigated swiftly.

Watch

Next, watch some short videos explaining some strategies for conserving water in the workplace.

Environmentally Sustainable Work Practices

Environmentally sustainable work practises are those that minimise environmental damage and resource waste. Workers in the business services industry may contribute to environmental protection by following the ‘three R’s’:

Recycle

• Whenever feasible, recycle waste materials

Reduce

• Cut down on the quantity of junk mail that comes into the workplace
• Instead of paper files, utilise electronic files.
• Use both sides of the paper when printing
• Cut down on waste by opting for items with minimum packaging that may be used effectively before being recycled.

Re-use

• Toner cartridges that have been recycled.
• Make ‘doodle pads’ out of one-sided paper
• Save paper by printing draft copies on it.
• Wherever feasible, re-use containers, packaging, or waste items
• Instead of single-use batteries, use rechargeable batteries.

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Green Office Ideas

Below are some ideas that you can incorporate into your office environment to help drive the space into a more sustainable environment:

Increase the amount of plants/Vegetation in the room to improve the air quality

Plants absorb contaminants while also releasing oxygen back into the air, making them a ‘win-win’ situation for a business.

Reduce the amount of paper used

Reducing paper usage may be accomplished in a variety of ways. One is a transition in organisational culture towards a paper-free attitude, in which staff consider alternatives to printing before printing. The correct underlying technology, such as a business intranet to record regulations or an Electronic Content Management solution to set up workflows, is required to facilitate this cultural transformation.

Converting paper records to digital material can also help avoid having stacks of paper in the office. Here are a few examples of how to do this:

• Provide new workers with policy and guideline materials via the corporate intranet rather than printed copies.
• Instead of printing meeting agendas, include them in presentations.
• Instead of asking for signatures on paper, use processes to receive digital approval on bills.

Office Supplies

While some companies may not have the funds to replace all office goods with sustainable alternatives, they can still make a difference by focusing on key areas, such as more efficient printers. There are two further suggestions: stocking up on reusable pens and purchasing ecologically friendly paper (search for 'chlorine-free' and large levels of post-consumer recycled material). Companies can encourage staff to consider carefully before using supplies and using up what they currently have before purchasing new ones.

Lighting

Increasing the amount of natural light in the office is a smart approach to conserving electricity. Installing smart power strips and replacing incandescent light bulbs with LED replacements would also help. Installing sensors or timers in the office might be part of a larger project which saves both energy and money.

Home Office

Reducing commuter traffic reduces air pollution, water pollution, and oil consumption, which is beneficial to improving workplace sustainability. Introducing remote working for staff members lessens the environmental impact of commuting, but many workers will also discover that they are more productive and have a better work/life balance. Additionally, using fewer office spaces and utilities has financial and environmental benefits. Working from home does not have to be for all staff or for the entire week. Flexible work hours and part-time remote employment have a favourable environmental impact.

Printing Waste

Double-checking print work before submitting it and urging staff to do the same can help save thousands of kilos of paper each year. There are now software solutions available that will detect these areas of printing waste. A print management software system can decrease paper waste by measuring, monitoring, and managing print activity. Features such as routing print jobs to the most appropriate printer can help.

Implementing 'pull printing,' where the print job is pushed to the print queue and released at the printer only when needed, is another technique to reduce paper waste. This cuts down on the number of misplaced documents in the printer's tray.

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Common Environmental Concerns in the Workplace

The first step in combating environmental challenges at work is to recognise about the ones most likely to be encountered.

Noise

Noise may not be the first issue that comes to mind when considering environmental issues, yet it is prevalent in almost every workplace. Excessive noise levels might cause stress and lower job quality.

Noise may not be the first issue that comes to mind when considering environmental issues, yet it is prevalent in almost every workplace. Excessive noise levels might cause stress and lower job quality.

Poor Ventilation and Air Quality

Poor air quality is most frequent in polluted environments such as manufacturing and industrial sites, but it may also be found in normal office buildings. Eye discomfort and sinus and respiratory problems can be caused by poor air quality, such as abnormally high or low humidity. These problems are exacerbated in workplaces with insufficient ventilation, which allows viruses, allergies, and even gases and residue from cleaning products to circulate. Cardiovascular disease, lung cancer and other long-term infections are increased by prolonged exposure to poor air quality. Employees with asthma or weakened immune systems are more vulnerable to health problems caused by poor air quality and ventilation.

Excessive Moisture

Mould may grow everywhere there is moisture, and is spread by minute spores, making it a typical workplace environmental hazard. Excess humidity, condensation, leaking pipes, leaks, or flooding all contribute to its growth, which is easy to overlook. Mould left unchecked can cause long-term structural damage as well as health issues for personnel. Eye and throat discomfort, nasal congestion, coughing or wheezing, and even skin irritation can all be caused by being exposed to damp and mouldy conditions. While the severity of these symptoms varies, among those with asthma, respiratory problems are more prevalent and severe.

Asbestos

Asbestos is a good insulator and is frequently used for reinforcement or fireproofing. Asbestos exposure, on the other hand, can cause serious health problems, so it has been prohibited in numerous nations. Because certain asbestos particles may stay in the body for decades, it is highly harmful. Asbestos exposure can cause inflammation and respiratory or lung illness, such as lung cancer and mesothelioma. The effects of asbestos exposure are more likely to be severe among employees who smoke or have asthma.

Ergonomics

Ergonomics studies aspects of the working environment that influence employee productivity and well-being. Poor ergonomics at workplace can lead to weariness and health problems, lowering productivity and quality of work.

Poor lighting and uncomfortable workplace chairs are two prevalent concerns that negatively influence employee health. Insufficient or extremely bright illumination can induce eye strain as well as affect decision-making when visually analysing the quality of a product. Uncomfortable chairs can cause bad posture and a number of muscle, joint, and bone ailments, thereby driving up healthcare expenditures and employee absenteeism. Companies are better positioned to detect and address environmental concerns that will most likely influence their workplace if they understand them. Taking efforts towards a more environmentally friendly workplace will benefit all employees' health and productivity in the short and long term.

WATCH

Next, watch the next couple of videos explaining ergonomics in the workplace.

Organisational Policies for Workplace Sustainability 

Following are the some of the responsibilities that contribute to the workplace sustainability policy:

• Re-using and recycling natural resources to save natural resources;
• Being an ecologically conscious neighbour;
• Constantly striving to enhance environmental performance;
• Ensuring that energy is used responsibly within the organisation;
• Providing a safe and healthy work environment;
• Raising environmental consciousness among workers, volunteers, and users by teaching and inspiring them to act responsibly
• Assisting in initiatives to promote environmental awareness and protection;
• Wherever feasible, using professional skills to assist in the creation of solutions to environmental concerns;
• Conducting thorough audits, reviews, and self-assessments of this policy's execution;
• Using processes that do not have a negative impact on the environment in work activities;
• Fostering an ecologically conscious society in which accountability is assigned and understood;
• Collaborating with vendors who value environmental stewardship.

Procedures for workplace sustainability

Following are the procedures that an organisation has to perform to comply with workplace sustainability policies:

• Ensuring that services and products are safe, energy-efficient, environmentally friendly, and can be re-used, recycled, or disposed of securely.
• Preserving energy in its operations by increasing energy efficiency and, if possible, preferring renewable energy sources over non-renewable energy sources.
• Re-using and recycling materials, buying recycled products, and utilising recyclable packaging and other materials.
• Correcting accidents or circumstances that jeopardise the health, safety, or the environment quickly and responsibly. Any such instances will be quickly reported to the proper authorities, and impacted parties will be notified as needed.
• Utilising the least amount of materials and energy possible in its activities, avoid contamination of the air, water, and other environments, and dispose of waste and rubbish safely and responsibly.
• Developing clear rules for staff, volunteers, and users to follow in order to adopt solid environmental work practices, and giving enough training to guarantee that these practices are.
• Contributing to ecologically sustainable approaches, technology, information, and methodologies by utilising its specific expertise and experience.

What is CSR?

Corporate social responsibility refers to an organisation's obligation to satisfy its stakeholders' requirements and stakeholders' responsibility to hold corporations accountable for their activities. CSR efforts help stakeholders but embracing CSR as a business strategy provides significant benefits for the corporation as well.

Importance/Outcomes of Corporate Social Responsibility

For numerous reasons, corporate social responsibility has become a major factor in company strategy:

Type of Report Format

What is the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) and How does it work?

The Triple Bottom Line is an economic concept that asserts that corporations should pay as much attention to social and environmental issues as possible while still maximising profits.. Instead of one bottom line, TBL theory proposes three: prosperity, people, and the planet. A TBL is used to assess a company's commitment to corporate social responsibility and its environmental effect over time.

Features of TBL

• The triple bottom line idea states that businesses should pay as much attention to social and environmental concerns as they do to profitability.
• Profit, people, and the environment are the three components of the TBL.
• The triple bottom line evaluates a company's financial, social, and environmental performance over time.
• According to TBL theory, a company cannot account for the complete cost of conducting business if it simply considers profits and ignores people and the environment.

While the triple bottom line theory is divided into three categories, it is vital to realise that each category is not compartmentalised. People, earth, and wealth are all interrelated via a systems theory perspective.

Environment and Social Impact Report

What does it mean to have a social impact?

People's livelihoods and the services provided by the natural environment are both affected by social consequences.

Following are some examples of social consequences:

• Assets or land, especially gardens, being lost
• Healthy and safety consequences
• The utilisation of natural resources in an unsustainable manner
• Using resources in a way that is incompatible with other uses
• Affecting people's capacity to adapt to and minimise climate change consequences

What does it mean to have an environmental impact?

Environmental effects are those that have an effect on the natural world. These are effects on landforms, land, and soil; water resources; plants and animals; the atmosphere and climate; and the interconnections between these components.

Following are some examples of environmental consequences:

• Changing an area's physical geography. For example, a project might change an area's physical geography by:
  • Changing its physical attributes
  • Having an impact on coastal or fluvial dynamics
  • Causing erosion
  • Creating an odour
• Pollution generation. For example, a project could:
  • Lead to land pollution.
  • Pollute the water supply
  • Influence the quality of the air
  • Produce hazardous waste
• Impact on ecosystem functions and services. A project could, for example:
  • Have an impact on existing or prospective conservation areas
  • Remove any organisms or species that have been introduced.
  • Have an impact on vulnerable or endemic species, as well as their habitat
  • Affect mangroves

Annual Sustainability Reports

According to Global Reporting Initiatives- “A sustainability report is a document produced by a firm or organisation that details the economic, environmental, and social consequences of its operations." The organisation's principles and governance model are also presented in a sustainability report, as well as the relationship between its strategy and its commitment to a sustainable global economy

This type of data assists customers, investors, politicians, and other stakeholders in evaluating major firms' non-financial performance and pushes companies to establish long-term business plans that meet expectations.

Standalone Sustainability Reports

The standalone reports are prepared to document sustainability outcomes in specific areas including economic or social aspects. These may be prepared as per the need of business record-keeping or regulation requirements.

The notion of sustainability is developing as more small firms join the ranks of large corporations that practise corporate social responsibility. Depending on how broadly sustainability is defined, it may relate to a company's attempts to decrease its environmental effect, promote community engagement, and provide more than just a wage to its employees. Discussion of a company's aims, techniques for meeting those goals, and the advantages should all be included in a sustainability report.

Define sustainability and collect data

To explain what sustainability means, company representatives should meet with the individual or organisation that has asked them to create the sustainability report. It may "green" attempts to make the company more environmentally friendly, collaboration with a local charity, or initiatives to assist employees in gaining access to wellness, professional training, tuition reimbursement, and enhanced benefits. It is necessary to gather as much information as possible on the company's specific sustainability-related initiatives and their costs and outcomes.

Make a plan for the sustainability report

Reports should include an executive overview, a section detailing the firm's reasons for seeking sustainability, a section on how the company is pursuing its goals, a section on expenses, a section on the specific advantages the company anticipates, a status report, and a summary with suggestions.

Reports must include supporting papers in the appendix. An executive summary should provide a high-level overview of the report's contents, and the relevant details are then provided in the following sections. The report's sections must be in sequence so that they flow logically.

List the company's strategic objectives

The writer of the report must make a list of the big-picture goals, or end goals, that are discussed in the report. They can think of them as strategic goals that explain why actions are being taken rather than tactical goals that explain how they will be accomplished. Improved public relations, lower spending, more earnings, stronger consumer loyalty and sales, and the potential to attract better personnel are all examples of strategic aims.

Make a list of the company's sustainability initiatives

The report writer should include a section on the company's unique approaches, or initiatives, for addressing sustainability. For instance, the corporation may define sustainability as lowering its environmental effects. Installing more energy-efficient lighting, launching a recycling programme, compensating employees for taking public transportation or carpooling, procuring materials and supplies from green suppliers, or lowering the size or energy cost would be among its strategies.

Report on progress

The report must include a section that discusses the current expenses and advantages of the company's sustainability efforts, and includes the estimated expenses and benefits and the actual outcomes and estimates based on them.

Recommendations and a Summary

The report writer should finish the report with a summary of the project, data on whether the organisation is on track to accomplish its stated objectives, and any recommendations for the future. They should include precise recommendations for each project facet as well as any big-picture suggestions, such as adding or removing certain activities, expanding the programme, or boosting sections of the programme.

Based on the assessment of existing sustainability practices and the feedback received from the stakeholders, unaddressed issues and inefficient ways of performing operations can be identified and recommendations made. Therefore, outcomes of the monitoring and evaluation process must be analysed critically in order to identify the success level of the planned corporate social responsibility and sustainability practices and must be reported to the management. This may lead to creating alternative plans and the incorporation of what has been learned into future practices.

Seeking feedback by presenting reports is one of the important responsibilities of the manager in order to improve sustainability policy approaches and to seek the required guidance/support from the authorities.The management needs workplace sustainability reports to track procedures– not just to see what has been done but to gauge what still needs to be done. The underlying advantage is developing a conceptual framework for further improvement and in advancing the current and future thinking practices using previous experiences.

Recommendations may relate to:

• Improvement in methods of sustainability
• What are the trends in Corporate Social Responsibility-Implementing best industry practices?
• Recognition and motivation approaches
• Integration of sustainability elements in performance reviews
• Role Model behaviour
• Sustainability strategy review
• Engagement with stakeholders
• Sustainability reporting techniques

Ways of Presenting Reports and Seeking Feedback

Effective communication is key to the success of any sustainability program, and the ability to actively engage with stakeholders is essential for driving positive change. Whether you're seeking feedback from employees, investors, customers, or community members, this section will provide you with practical insights and actionable strategies to strengthen your reporting practices and cultivate meaningful relationships with your stakeholders.

Formal and Informal Meetings

Formal meetings are conducted in a planned and structured way informing participants about the purpose of the meeting. Formal meetings can be conducted with the purpose of reviewing sustainability performance and discussing any issues/challenges faced. In order to encourage socially responsive activities in creative way, face to face conversations can be held with the concerned authority. Similarly, formal meetings can be organised once the problem has been solved and ideas implemented in order to find out any issues with respect to opportunities provided or organisational barriers faced by project managers during resource usage.

Informal meetings can also prove beneficial, when a leader finds it hard to arrange a formal meeting or when it is urgent to communicate some suggestions which are important to implement on an urgent basis. These are conducted spontaneously without any planned structure and usually follow a casual approach. 

WATCH

Watch this video providing some examples on how to conduct formal and informal meetings.

Online Feedback Forums

Feedback forums can be created online for providing flexibility in the process and to cater to the needs of all stakeholders. These forums aim at inviting employees’ collaboration and expression of ideas for growth and improvements. Along with seeking views and opinions, forums can also help in drawing the attention of authorities towards some constructive suggestions.

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Strategies for effective documentation of sustainability reports

It is better to record feedback/suggestions in a written format in order to avoid any communication gaps. A comprehensive report including factual data, methodology of the feedback, suggestions for improvement and concrete ideas for better sustainability implementation in future must be prepared.

Recommendations must be shared with higher management using written correspondence such as emails, printed reports, and through meetings or informal discussions, depending on the urgency and nature of recommendations.

Record the information in a concise way along with charts and diagrams to save time for  management and to facilitate easy interpretation. For example, suggestions may be based on a large number of opinions of stakeholders. It must be summarised and analysed before being documented.

Suggestions must be supplemented by measurable and practical actions. They should conform to organisational requirements with respect to any time constraints and resources available.

Feedback must always include the information about past sustainability management interventions and inefficiencies along with suggestions for better practices for future, in order to establish critical association and comparison.

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The next video is presented by Lindsay Rock to explain Sustainability Reports.

Test your knowledge on the questions below: