BSBSUS501 Develop workplace policy and procedures for sustainability Assessment

Richmond School of Business
Assessment Tasks
BSBSUS501 Develop workplace policy and procedures for sustainability

Assessment Information

The assessment tasks for BSBSUS501 Develop workplace policy and procedures for sustainability are included in this Student Assessment Tasks booklet and outlined in the assessment plan below.

To be assessed as competent for this unit, you must complete all of the assessment tasks with satisfactory. 

Assessment Plan

Assessment Task

Assessment Task Summary

1. Written questions

You are required to correctly answer all written questions.

2. Develop sustainability policy project

You are required to research and develop a briefing report prior to developing a sustainability policy for a case study organisation. You are also required to consult with stakeholders and develop a sustainability policy and procedure, as well as an action plan for implementation.

3. Sustainability policy and procedures presentation project

You are required to present the sustainability policy and procedure to staff, as well as implement continuous improvements and establish a system for recording continuous improvements.

4. Sustainability implementation project

You are required to implement sustainability initiatives for Grow Management Consultants including conducting a sustainability inspection and developing a memo to encourage sustainable practices based on the sustainability inspection.

5. Sustainability policy evaluation project

You are required to analyse sustainability data, report on results, recommend improvements and update the sustainability policy and procedure.

Assessment Task 1 Instructions

Provide answers to all of the questions below:

1. Outline the Kyoto Protocol and Australia’s obligations under the Protocol, as well as its current targets and the adequacy of these targets.

2. Outline the purpose and scope of the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate.

3. Outline the purpose and scope of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act).

4. Outline the purpose and scope of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act Regulations.

5. Outline the purpose and scope of the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Scheme.

6. Outline the purpose and scope of the Australian Packaging Covenant voluntary code of practice.

7. Outline the purpose and scope of the Australian Ecolabel Program voluntary code of practice.

8. Identify one internal information source and one external information source that can be used to plan and develop a company’s sustainability policy. For each source, explain how this source can be used to develop the sustainability policy.

9. Explain the key steps in a policy development process.

10. Explain the main components of a policy document.

11. Outline policy development practices that may be used in response to resistance to the introduction of policies.

12. Outline why a company may choose to implement an environmental management system (EMS). List at least three reasons why a company may implement am EMS.

13. Outline at least three key components of an EMS.

14. Outline how a business can use environmental sustainability indicators and two examples of indicators that can be used.

15. Outline how a business can use life cycle management procedures to assist with implementing sustainability practices.

16. Outline at least two barriers to introducing policies and procedures, and strategies that can be used to address each of the barriers you identify.

Assessment Task 2: Sustainability Policy and Procedure Project

Task summary

You are required, in the role of Operations Manager of Grow Management Consultants, to conduct research and analysis and prepare a briefing report to guide the development of a workplace sustainability policy and procedure. You will then consult with stakeholders at a meeting, using your report as a basis for discussion. Following the meeting, you will develop a sustainability policy and procedures document, as well as an action plan for implementation of this policy and procedure.

This assessment is to be completed in the simulated work environment in RSB.

Required

• Access to textbooks/other learning materials
• Computer with Microsoft Office and internet access
• Policy and Procedures Template
• Action Plan Template
• Briefing Report Template.

Submit

• Email with sustainability briefing report attached
• Email with sustainability policy and procedures and sustainability action plan attached.

Assessment criteria

For your performance to be deemed satisfactory in this assessment task, you must satisfactorily address all of the assessment criteria. If part of this task is not satisfactorily completed, you will be asked to complete further assessment to demonstrate competence.

Assessment Task 2 Instructions

Carefully read the following:

Grow Consultants specialises in leadership consultancy and has been operational for the last five years.

It offers a range of services which support companies to:

• assess leadership behaviour of existing managers and their performance metrics
• design and implement customised leadership programs based on the assessment.

Services are offered Australia-wide, with consultants flying in to conduct specific training with companies, as well as offering regular workshops at the company’s premises. To date, technology (for example, webinars) has not been employed in training.

The company also writes and produces books on a range of topics about leadership. Currently the company has ten publications, which are published through a publishing house in the USA (Hozit Publishers). One of the Principal Consultants is American and knew these publishers. The cost of publishing the books and shipping to Australia is about the same as it would be to use a publisher in Australia.

The books are produced using non-recycled paper and are transported via air to Grow Management Consultants office. They are then distributed by post to customers from the Grow Management Consultants’ office. As sales have been slow for the books, the company has also been exploring options for e-books.

The company was established by its Principal Consultants, Paul Burns and Sammy Martin, both of whom are Directors. The company also employs four Senior Consultants, an Operations Manager, an Office Manager, Administration Officer and a Receptionist.

The office building is owned by the company and is located in an outer lying metropolitan suburb. All staff drive to work in their own cars and there is on-site parking. The nearest railway station is 10 minutes’ walk from the office.

Paul Burns has recently attended a Sustainable Business workshop and is keen to implement sustainable practices throughout the business. The strategic plan has also been recently updated and has been influenced by Paul’s attendance at the workshop. It includes the following statement as part of the mission statement:

We are committed, as a business, to the well-being of both economic and ecological systems, of both humans and other living things.

However, there are no specific actions indicated in the Strategic Plan and so, at present, the statement appears to be paying lip service only.

Paul is keen to develop a sustainability policy and procedures that address all aspects of the business including, as a minimum: travel, purchasing, office energy use, office supplies, and cleaning. However, Paul also has specifically stated that he does not want to incur costs in developing policy and procedure and that all the work must be developed in-house, therefore consultants must not be used.

Current issues and practices within the organisation are as follows;

• There is older style florescent lighting in all offices, staff room and bathroom. These lights are often left on after the workday has finished.
• There are no formal energy usage procedures for staff or signage to remind staff.
• The company does not have a policy for purchasing equipment and buys equipment when required; often purchasing whatever is on special at the time.
• The two principal consultants have company vehicles. Both vehicles are now five years old and need to be upgraded.
• Staff buy stationary requirements on an ad hoc basis, often resulting in large stocks of items such as notepads and A grade printer paper.
• There is a waste bin and recycling bins, which are mostly used correctly.
• The company hosts regular meetings and workshops. Catering is provided by an external caterer with all plates and cups supplied (plastic).
• The office is cleaned once a week by contract cleaners who use regular cleaning products.

Current company procedures for developing policies and procedures are as follows:

• The need for the policy and procedure should be established and a preliminary briefing report developed.
• This should be discussed at a meeting with the senior management team consisting of at least one of the Principal Consultants. Another staff member should also be selected to ensure representation of all staff.

Complete the following activities:

1. Develop a briefing report.

Review the case study information provided and conduct research using the Internet or any other source of information to identify the following:

• Relevant environmental and sustainability legislation, regulations and codes of practice
• Sources of information on sustainability, including incorporating sustainability into business planning and using it as an opportunity to identify new business initiatives.
• Sustainability policies and procedures developed by other organisations
• Life cycle mapping processes.

Review the information on the following websites:

https://www.business.gov.au/risk-management/environmental-impact/environmental-management/environmental-legislation-licences-and-permits

http://www.sustainability.vic.gov.au/services-and-advice/business/energy-and-materials-efficiency-for-business/resources-and-tools/life-cycle-management

Using your research and analysis, develop a briefing report to present at a senior management meeting. The purpose of the briefing report will be to provide relevant information about sustainability, including legislation and to seek input into the development of the policy and procedure.

Use the Briefing Report Template to guide your work.

Your briefing report should address the following:

• Introduction, including current organisational practices.
• Key sustainability facts and figures and the benefits to businesses of implementing sustainable initiatives.
• How sustainability can be built into business planning and can inform business opportunities to reflect the organisation’s commitment to sustainability.
• Legal requirements in relation to workplace sustainability relevant to Grow Management Consultants, as well as any relevant regulations and codes of practices.
• Details of three sustainability policies and procedures researched and inclusions within the policy and procedures.
• An overview of life cycle mapping, including lifestyle stages, life cycle map, life cycle matrix.
• Identification of the most effective strategies to reduce environmental impact (use the Sustainability Victoria website resources to assist you to complete this task). This should include, as a minimum, strategies to minimise resource use and to reduce toxic material and hazardous chemical use. Provide an example to illustrate this concept for the production of the books sold by Grow Management Consultants. Attach your example to your report as appendices; you should complete the life cycle map and life cycle matrix and mitigating strategies. Example actions should be included as below.
• Example sustainability actions to inform the sustainability action plan for the next 12 months. You should identify at least five ideas initially, including identifying priority actions and longer-term actions.
• Recommendations on suitable performance indicators that can be used to measure environmental performance once the policy and procedure is implemented.
• Options for strategies that could be implemented to ensure that resource efficiency within the business is continually reviewed and improved.
• Proposed scope of the policy, including a list of headings to be included and a brief description of each heading.
• Recommendations for policy options including discussion on likely effectiveness, timeframes and any costs.

2. Send an email to Paul (your assessor).

The text of the email should be in grammatically correct English, written in an appropriate (polite, business-like) style.

It should introduce and summarise the contents of the attachment and ask for the place, time and date of the meeting with stakeholders (your assessor and at least two other students).

The email text should also identify stakeholders who will need to be involved with the policy development as per the scenario information provided.

Your assessor will advise you of the date and time of the meeting.

You should also print enough copies of your briefing report to provide one to every participant at the meeting.

Attach your briefing report to the email.

3. Participate in a meeting with the stakeholders.

Provide a copy of the briefing report to each person.

Discuss your briefing report with the meeting attendees, clearly explaining the information and your ideas.

At the meeting stakeholders will provide input into the development of the policy and procedures through their comments and ideas. Encourage their participation.

During the meeting, demonstrate effective communication skills including:

• Speaking clearly and concisely
• Using non-verbal communication to assist with understanding
• Asking questions to identify required information
• Responding to questions as required
• Using active listening techniques to confirm understanding

4. Send an email to all stakeholders at the meeting (your assessor).

The text of the email should be in grammatically correct English, written in an appropriate (polite, business-like) style.

It should:

• Outline the feedback provided at the meeting that you will take into account in developing the policy and procedures
• Confirm their agreement to the scope of the sustainability policy and procedures, including:
• Required outcomes of the sustainability policy and procedure
• Key Performance Indicators for sustainability actions
• Methods of implementation that will be used to implement the sustainability policy and procedures

5. Develop the sustainability policy and procedures

Develop the policy and procedures based on your research and proposed outline, as well as the input from the team as confirmed in your email.

Ensure that your policy and procedures make a statement about the organisation’s commitment to sustainability (as set out in the scenario information), as well as how sustainability initiatives will be incorporated into business planning and will also serve as business opportunities.

Use the Policy and Procedures Template to guide your work.

6. Develop an action plan for the upcoming 12 months

The final part of the assessment task requires you to develop an action plan to show the actions that will be completed over the upcoming 12 months.

The action plan should show the priorities of actions as well as timelines and responsibilities.

Use the Action Plan Template to guide your work.

7. Send an email to the Principal Consultants (your assessor)

The text of the email should be in grammatically correct English, written in an appropriate (polite, business-like) style.

It should summarise the contents of the attachments and seek their approval to move forward with the project.

Attach your policy and procedures and your action plan to the email.

Assessment Task 3: Sustainability policy and procedures presentation

Task summary

In the role of Operations Manager, you are required to present the new sustainability policy and procedure and action plan to Grow Management Consultants staff to assist in the implementation of the policy.

You will be required to develop at least 8 PowerPoint slides to accompany your presentation that includes graphics such as tables, charts or images.

This assessment is to be completed in the simulated work environment in RSB.

Required

• Access to textbooks/other learning materials
• Computer with Microsoft Office and internet access

Submit

• Email with sustainability presentation attached

Assessment criteria

For your performance to be deemed satisfactory in this assessment task, you must satisfactorily address all of the assessment criteria. If part of this task is not satisfactorily completed, you will be asked to complete further assessment to demonstrate competence.

Assessment Task 3 Instructions

 

Complete the following activities:

1. Develop a sustainability presentation.

In order to present the new sustainability policy and procedures and action plan to staff, you are required to develop a PowerPoint (or another presentation program) presentation that addresses the following:

• Promote the policy and procedure by outlining the benefits of sustainability based on the research and analysis you undertook in Assessment Task 1 and 2.
• An outline of the new sustainability policy and procedures and the rationale for development (as per the briefing report).
• Expected outcomes of the sustainability policy and procedures
• Planned sustainability actions and roles and responsibilities.

The slides should include:

• graphics such as tables, charts, or images to add interest to your presentation.
• a summary of sustainability benefits in your presentation first and then at the end of the presentation, outline the new sustainability policy and procedure and action plan.

Use the notes section of the presentation program to help you remember content when you are presenting.

Save this file as Sustainability Presentation.

2. Send an email to your assessor.

The text of the email should be in grammatically correct English, written in an appropriate (polite, business-like) style.

It should introduce and summarise the contents of the attachment and ask for the place, date and time of your presentation.

Attach your Sustainability Presentation to the email.

3. Deliver your presentation.

At the outset of the presentation, indicate that the team will be able to ask questions during and at the end of the presentation and may offer suggestions for additional strategies.

Clearly deliver presentation content using the slides you have developed.

During and after the presentation, demonstrate effective communication skills including:

• Speaking clearly and concisely
• Using non-verbal communication to assist with understanding
• Asking questions to identify required information
• Responding to questions as required
• Using active listening techniques to confirm understanding

You will be assessed on the quality of your presentation skills as well as the presentation itself.

Assessment Task 4: Sustainability Implementation project

Task summary

In the role of Operations Manager, the student is required to implement sustainability initiatives for Grow Management Consultants. This will include conducting a sustainability inspection and developing a memo to encourage sustainable practices based on the sustainability inspection.

This assessment is to be completed in the simulated work environment in RSB.

Required

• Access to textbooks/other learning materials
• Computer with Microsoft Office and internet access
• Usage Record Template

Submit

• Email with the following attached:
• completed Usage Record Template
• staff memo
• sustainability register.

Assessment criteria

For your performance to be deemed satisfactory in this assessment task, you must satisfactorily address all of the assessment criteria. If part of this task is not satisfactorily completed, you will be asked to complete further assessment to demonstrate competence.

Assessment Task 4 Instructions

 

Complete the following activities:

1. Undertake an inspection of RSB facility.

Assume that, following acceptance of your sustainability policy and procedures, you have been asked to implement strategies identified in your action plan for the continuous improvement of resource efficiency. This is to include an inspection of the workplace to identify environmental sustainability and resource usage issues and to identify and report on possible solutions.

You will therefore undertake an inspection of RSB facility using the environmental sustainability and resource Usage Record Template.

Record at least 3 actual or potential environmental sustainability and resource usage issues that you found during activity one.

Your assessor will advise you of the date and time of the inspection and will observe you conducting the inspection.

2. Develop a memo for staff about best practice sustainability procedures

Assume that you wish to commence implementing a further initiative from the action plan, which is to provide regular communications to staff about sustainability practices.

Based on one of the issues identified in your environmental sustainability and resource usage record, develop a short memo to send to staff about best practice sustainability procedures. For example, if you have identified that water usage is high, you could write about tips to reduce water usage. The memo you develop must be written in plain English and in user-friendly language and be designed to promote engagement in sustainability initiatives.

The memo should be no more than one page and include images such as photos or graphs to assist with understanding and engagement.

3. Develop a sustainability register.

You are required to develop a register for recording and tracking all continuous improvements in resource efficiency.

The register should be able to include, as a minimum, the ability to record the reported opportunity, action to be taken, responsibility, timelines and outcome.

4. Write and email to all staff (your assessor).

The text of the email should be in grammatically correct English, written in an appropriate (polite, business-like) style, summarising the contents of the attachments.

Attach the following to the email:

• completed Usage Record Template
• staff memo
• sustainability register.

Assessment Task 5: Sustainability policy and procedures review project

Task summary

You are required to report on outcomes of implementation of the sustainability policy and procedure by analysing data provided about the implementation of the policy and procedures.

This assessment is to be completed in the simulated work environment in RSB.

Required

• Access to textbooks/other learning materials
• Computer with Microsoft Office and internet access
• Sustainability Policy and Procedures (developed in Assessment Task 2)
• Survey Results
• Sustainability Implementation Report Template

Submit

• Email with the following attached:
• Sustainability Implementation Report
• Revised Sustainability Policy and Procedures

Assessment criteria

For your performance to be deemed satisfactory in this assessment task, you must satisfactorily address all of the assessment criteria. If part of this task is not satisfactorily completed, you will be asked to complete further assessment to demonstrate competence.

Assessment Task 5 Instructions

Carefully read the following:

Assume that the sustainability policy and procedure you developed has been implemented, as well as findings from regular sustainability inspections. Sustainability initiatives implemented include:

• Energy audit and all recommendations implemented including signage about energy use (e.g. switch off lights at night, turn down brightness, turn off taps)
• Recycling policy introduced, and three more recycling bins introduced.
• Green purchasing policy developed (on staff intranet, email sent to staff to advise).
• Green transport policy developed and implemented (on staff intranet, email sent to staff to advise).

Assume also the following sustainability targets:

• Reduce electricity consumption by 20% within six months.
• Promote awareness of sustainability initiatives amongst all staff members

A staff survey has been undertaken (results provided separately), as well as an energy audit.

The results of the energy audit are as follows:

Actions implemented:

• replace halogen downlights with energy efficient downlights and transformers
• connect to natural gas, converting to an energy source with one-third of the greenhouse gas emissions of electricity from coal
• replace electric storage hot water heater with instant solar hot water
• replace air conditioner with a more efficient inverter unit.

Prior to energy audit:

• Annual energy bill: $2,415 a year
• Annual greenhouse emissions: 18 tonnes a year

Six months later:

• Annual energy bill: $1,800 a year
• Annual greenhouse emissions: 10.2 tonnes a year

One year later:

• Annual energy bill: $2,215 a year
• Annual greenhouse emissions: 14 tonnes a year

Note: Four new staff members employed may account for increase. Energy targets were not adjusted to account for the new staff.

Complete the following activities:

1. Develop a sustainability implementation report

You are required to review the results of the staff survey and the energy statistics provided.

Based on your review, develop a short report that outlines:

• Analysis of staff survey results and achievements against targets
• Analysis of energy audit data and achievements against targets
• Recommendations for additional actions that need to be taken based on the data above.
• Summary of the success of the sustainability policy and procedures based on analysis.
• Updates to sustainability policy and procedures to account for recommended improvements.

Use the Sustainability Implementation Report Template to guide your work.

2. Update your sustainability policy and procedures

Update this document to reflect the information you have gathered since you wrote it.

Save this version as Revised Sustainability Policy and Procedures.

3. Send an email to stakeholders (your assessor).

The text of the email should be in grammatically correct English, written in an appropriate (polite, business-like) style.

The email text should briefly explain the purpose and contents of the report and summarise the key changes you have made to the policy and procedures, ensuring that you clearly explain why changes were made.

Attach the following to the email:

• Sustainability Implementation Report
• Revised Sustainability Policy and Procedures