Author: Howard Nielsen, NACC: Sustainability People

Firstly, you can’t insure against a carbon tax! But there’s a fair bit that can be done to ensure that your non profit organisation minimises what it will pay in the future for unsustainable activity by itself, suppliers and manufacturers.

To gain some practical insight into what to do we are going to head to some of the detail on the Green Street website. Green Street was featured in the February Better Boards Newsletter and is being used by some progressive not-for-profit organisations to reduce their costs at the same time as they help the planet.

One feature of Green Street is the ‘Icons’ section on each workplace’s profiles which details what to do to be sustainable in thirteen areas of potential workplace activity.

As a practical guide for this newsletter two of these areas are highlighted: Green Planning and Responsible Purchasing.

How does your organisation go against this basic checklist?

Green Planning

• We have a sustainability policy which measures up against accepted world standards

• Sustainability is a solid thread throughout our strategic and operational plans

• Staff are trained in sustainability practices

• Each work area has its own sustainability plan

• We track progress against sustainability targets and include our stakeholders in that process

• We engage with suppliers and other stakeholders to set, review and change sustainability plans

• We have a sustainable procurement policy

• We have an accredited Environmental Management System in place

Responsible Purchasing

• We buy goods with low packaging whenever possible

• When low-packaged goods are not provided when appropriate we negotiate with the supplier or producer of the goods to minimize packaging on products in the future

• We buy locally produced products whenever available

• We purchase from local suppliers whenever possible

• We buy fair trade products – those from ethical and environmentally friendly workplaces and production sources where workers are paid a fair wage

• We buy only low energy electrical products

• We buy only products that are able to break down easily into nature or are able to be recycled easily

If you rate well against this checklist then you are probably a good way down the track of being ‘insured’ against a carbon tax. Indeed, more than that, you will be gaining a competitive advantage while building your capability and reputation as a very good corporate citizen. Doing well and doing good.

Howard will be writing a series of pieces on sustainability in the Better Boards Quarterly. There will be a mixture of case studies, practical tips and content knowledge. If you would like to know more about the content of this quarter’s article please make contact with the author, Howard Nielsen as below.