sustainability: the right thing to do?
TRANSCRIPT
www.sebesta.com
Sustainability: The Right Thing To Do?
Judy Purman
Sustainability Specialist
Three Main Themes
1. Sustainability Defined
2. Sustainability Metrics
3. Implementing Sustainability
Economically profitable
Environmentally responsible
Healthy places to live and work
Meeting the needs of the present without compromising
the ability of future generations to meet their own
needs.
Sustainability Defined
People•Image and social
responsibility
Planet•Environmental
impact
Profit•Economics
Triple Bottom Line: Traditional Model
Triple Bottom Line: More Balanced Model
People•Image and social
responsibility
Planet•Environmental
impact
Profit•Economics
Balance
Sustainability Defined
Notes: (1) Book: Business Strategies for Sustainable Development: Leadership and Accountability
Source: A.T. Kearney Analysis.
http://www.atkearney.com/shared_res/pdf/Sustainability_Report_S.pdf
Sustainability Defined
• Facilities
• Business Travel
• Purchasing/Procurement
• Energy
• Human Resources
• Outreach/Community Support
Sustainability Defined
Facilities
Sustainability Defined
Facilities
• Healthy Environment
• Waste and Recycling
• Landscaping
Business Travel
• Environmental Impact – GHG
• Teleconferencing
• Carpooling
Sustainability Defined
Purchasing and Procurement
• Supply Chain
• Office Paper
• Green Cleaning
Sustainability Defined
Human Resources
Healthy Environment
Benefits
Employee Development
Outreach/Community SupportTime
Dollars
The Business Premise
People. Occupants. Employees.
1%
11%
88%
Associated Building Costs
Design & Construction
Operations & Maintenance
Employee Salaries & Benefits
Source data: NIBS 1998.Image from : Dahl (2008)
Three Main Themes
1. Sustainability Defined
2. Sustainability Metrics
3. Implementing Sustainability
Sustainability Metrics
How does one achieve sustainability?
How does one go green?
Commitment to sustainability must be founded on
quantitative, verifiable results.
Sustainability Metrics
Environmental
Energy consumption per sq ft or unit of production
Renewable energy used or bought
Compliance: Notice of violations
Water conservation and quality
Waste generated and recycled
Human Resources
Employee retention (%)
Number of sick days
LEED Certification for buildings
Carbon Footprint
Sustainability Metrics
• Baseline data points
• Benchmark against which to track changes
• Guide for decisions on what to change
• Scorecard
Sustainability Scorecard: LEED Certification
LEED Is– a tool to measure sustainability.
– a tool to promote sustainability.
– becoming a language for sustainable buildings.
Available For• New Construction
• Renovations and Alterations
• Operations & Maintenance (existing buildings)
Sustainability Scorecard: LEED Certification
Design/Operation Must Balance Impacts
• Site
• Water use
• Energy use
• Materials
• Indoor Environmental Quality
SiteAverage American Requires
25 Acres of Ecologically
Productive Land
Sustainability Scorecard:
LEED Certification
• Preserve undeveloped land, farmland
• Plant native species
• Minimize hard surfaces
• Minimize dark surfaces
• Minimize light pollution
Buildings use 12% of US Water
Water
Sustainability Scorecard:
LEED Certification
• Install efficient fixtures
• Minimize irrigation
• Identify alternative sources of water for
non-potable use
• Optimize whole building to
operate efficiently
• Perform Building
Commissioning
• Use BAS to
monitor energy use
Buildings use 40% of US energy
Energy Use
Sustainability Scorecard:
LEED Certification
Buildings use 40% of US Materials
Materials
Sustainability Scorecard:
LEED Certification
• Reduce material use
• Reuse materials
• Use recycled materials
• Recycle
The Average American Spends
90% of Their Time Indoors
Sustainability Scorecard:
LEED Certification
• Provide sufficient ventilation
• Use low-emitting materials
• Provide occupant control
• Maintain thermal comfort
• Provide daylight and views
• Manage acoustics
Indoor Environment
Sustainability Scorecard: LEED Certification
Benefits of LEED
• Identify savings
• Third Party Verification
• Ongoing Program
Start with Energy!
Sustainability Scorecard: LEED Certification
Measure of the Total Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Environmental Impact Into Numerical Calculation
• Defined Boundary
• Unit of Measure
• Metric Tons CO2e Emitted
Sustainability Scorecard: LEED Certification
• GHG and Global
Warming Potentials
• GHG will be quantified
and traded in terms of
CO2e
– A ton of methane has
the value of 23 tons of
carbon dioxide
Greenhouse
Gas
Global Warming
Potential (CO2e)
Carbon
Dioxide (CO2)
1
Methane (CH4) 23
Nitrous Oxide
(N2O)
296
HFCs 120-12,000
PFCs 5,700-11,900
Sulfur
Hexafluoride
(SF6)
22,200
Sustainability Scorecard: LEED Certification
1
51
101
151
201
251
301
351
CO2 CH4 N2O
GW
P
Greenhouse Gas
Global Warming Potentials Compared
Source: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change, Third Assessment Report
Sustainability Scorecard: LEED Certification
• Calculate footprint using standard methods
• World Resources Institute Protocol
• Consistent, verifiable
Snapshot in Time of the Total GHG Emissions
Sustainability Scorecard: LEED Certification
61%19%
2%
2%
2%1%
3% 10%
Electricity
Natural Gas
Air Travel*
Fleet Fuel
Farm
Aviation School
Business Cars
Commuting*
7,000+ mtons CO2eq in 2007
Three Main Themes
1. Sustainability Defined
2. Sustainability Metrics
3. Implementing Sustainability
Corporate Sustainability Plan
What is it?
A strategic action plan with short- and long-term goals
Roadmap for sustainability as a decision criterion
Integrating sustainability into corporate culture
Documents past and current sustainability initiatives
Metrics for tracking progress
Built in method for plan revision
Corporate Sustainability Plan
How do you develop a CSP?
Participatory planning process
Facilitated stakeholder meetings
Policies
Targeted action items
Drafts for review
Formal adoption
Publicize
Corporate Sustainability Plan
• Short Term (0 – 6 months)• Risk Assessment• Stakeholder Mapping• Core Capabilities Assessment• Priority Action Plans• Pilot Projects
• Medium (6 – 18 months)• Develop an environmental tracking system• Strengthen education and awareness efforts• Promote individual ownership of the process
• Long Term (18 months and beyond)• Re-thinking processes and re-examining markets• Stakeholder management and partnerships
Corporate Sustainability Plan
Sample Sustainability Initiatives:
1. Reduce energy use by 10% in 2 years.
2. Implement a green building policy.
3. Increase recycling by 20% by 2015.
4. Implement a green cleaning policy.
5. Reduce the use of herbicides by 30% by 2015.
6. Decrease employee turnover by 5% in 3 years.
7. Replace laptops every 3 years (instead of every 2).
8. Reimburse employees 50% of public transportation costs.
v
Corporate Sustainability Plan
People, Planet, Profit
Corporate Sustainability Plan
“Such organizations appear to have realized that the cost [of
implementing sustainability programs] is far outweighed by
the benefits and opportunities it creates.”
(Making Advances in Carbon Management: Best Practices from
the Carbon Information Leaders. A Joint Carbon Disclosure
Project and IBM Study)
Implementing Sustainability
Measure
and
Analyze
Plan Implement Assess
Why Sustainability?
It’s the Right Thing to Do….. Better serve your clients and customers
Increase shareholder value
Streamline internal operations
Improve productivity
Reduce costs
Increase your ability to compete
Achieve a competitive advantage
Minimize environmental impact
Energy market volatility and expenditure reductions
New regulations – you need to prepare