BSBSUS501 Develop Work place policy Assignment Answer

BSBSUS501 — Develop Work place policy and procedure for sustainability

Assessment 1

1. The required sustainability initiatives for MacVille are:

• Re-programming of all air-conditioning services to turn off after normal working hours
• Lights to be turned off at the end of day.
• Sorting of waste paper — differentiate recycling and general rubbish
• Inform and encourage proper usage of dual-flush usage in toilets

2. 2. According to Business Treading Lightly, the federal government has passed 19 environment related acts. That's a lot of change in environmental legislation in just over two decades.

One of the most-used definitions is by the World Commission on Environment and Development.

They define sustainability or sustainable development as "forms of progress that meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs." This definition argues for the rights of future generations to raw materials and vital ecosystem services to be taken into account in decision making.

As resources, energy, and water become more expensive, and the cost of managing waste increase, understanding, managing and reducing these costs will not only improve competitiveness, but will position your business in a new market where customers are increasingly looking for a more sustainable product or service.

Being able to demonstrate that your business has reduced its environmental impact, will increase the support of the local community, and help attract new skills and staff to your business. There are hundreds of different definitions of sustainability.

The NSW Business Chamber has released a study 'Environmental Law and Small to Medium Enterprises in Australia' which found;

• Business must be prepared to operate within this changing and expanding legislative environment.
• With the emerging legislation and regulation compliance will become a more complex and costly task, especially for those businesses that have not been keeping pace with the key environmental issues of energy efficiency, waste minimization and pollution control.
• All levels of government are becoming better resourced and a tighter regulatory environment.
• The growth in public interest law, increasing environmental regulation can only continue to further on local business.
• Small to medium enterprises should prepare themselves for increased regulation in the use of energy by business so they are competitive when state or national emissions trading schemes are introduced.
• Small to medium sized companies do not have access to the same level of resources that large corporations have to position themselves for the risks and opportunities that climate change presents.
• Little analysis ate change will affect business in s done on how the implications of climate terms of changes in operations required to reduce green house gases and water usage.

3. The current policies of MacVille Enterprises are not in line with the sustainable practices that are being promoted by the Sustainability Team. The shortfalls in the existing policy are:

• Waste management
• Water usage
• Electricity usage

In what we have researched earlier, the resources of water and energy become expensive and waste management expenses increase due to improper use.

4. The recommendations we could make to the existing policy is to introduce the topic of Sustainability. If applied in the proper content it is most likely to be effective, should come into effect immediately on implementation of the policy and a time frame of 3 months should be given for it to be followed throughout the company. On implementation of these sustainability issues it will definitely be beneficial to the company because they will be saving on these resources. The cost involved may be new equipment but the benefits will be reduction of waste management costs and environmental license fees. They will require putting up signage in all areas where necessary to inform people on the proper usage and emails to be sent out to inform people of the changes occurring.

5. 5. In the policy and procedure manual the issue of Sustainability to be introduced for future initiatives. The scope of changes and the new documents involved will be:

• Install waste collection bins — recycle & general rubbish in areas frequented by everyone with a description of what can be disposed off in each bin, also bins where the coffee is made so that the waste collected can be disposed off in the proper manner
• In all the toilets there have to be notices put up for proper use of dual-flush
• In every office notices to be put up to turn off lights at end of day.

6. The department that is in-charge of monitoring the air-conditioning should re-program the services which should automatically turn off the air-conditioning at end of day and restart it at certain time daily

7. Interim Report for MacVille

1. MacVille Sustainability Initiatives

The Business Manager, Seamus MacVille has noted that some of the resources are not properly utilized inspire of these practices being promoted by the Sustainability Team. Some of the initiatives that MacVille wants to be implemented are:

• At the Head Office, re-programming of air-conditioning services to be done to be active only during normal working hours — currently they are manually switched off or it is up to the last person leaving to turn it off, forgetting which, it is left working throughout the night.
• Lights to be switched off at night
• Sorting of paper into recycling and general rubbish
• The dual-flush system in the toilets to be properly utilized

1. Best Practice Models

For example — one of the best practice models which is simple and easy to follow is developed by a company called EcoBiz Queensland which is a six step process -

Step 1	Complete the application process
Step 2	Measure waste, energy and water
Step 3	Review waste, energy and water
Step 4	Complete an Action Plan
Step 5	Put your plan into action
Step 6	Report on your achievements

This process will help the company in measuring the business footprint, identify the opportunities for improvement, implement these techniques and re-measure to check whether these processes have worked. In order to manage your resources, first you have to measure them. Next you review and find ways to improve, chart out a plan, then implement these plans. In the end, after a certain period if you find that these plans are effective, then report your achievements.

1. Shortfalls in existing policy

The shortfalls noticed in the existing policy are that the practices that are promoted by the Sustainability Team are not being implemented, which are:

• The air-conditioning is being manually switched on and off
• The last person leaving the office is responsible to turn them off, if it is not done, then the air-conditioning is working for 24 hours daily
• The lights are left on if is it not turned off by the last person who is leaving the office

1. New Policy requiring development

The new policy that will be required to implement changes to the current policy should state the following:

• Re-programming to be done to the air conditioning to turn off automatically by end of day and turn on at a certain hour every morning
• Re-program the lights to go off by the end of day
• Waste paper to be sorted out into recycling and general waste
• Stall to he, encouraged to use the proper flushing methods in the toilets to reduce excess usage of water

1. Personnel requirements for policy revisions

The personnel who will be in charge of the review and revision of policy documents will

Be:

Steering Committee - In charge of the recent decisions for the changes in policies. Changes in the direction of the company, moving towards triple bottom line sustainable approaches within the coffee industry

Business Manager - Seamus MacVille who will be given the task of implementing the required changes by informing the property services and finance department

Property Services - the department in charge of making the requested changes to the existing structure and re-programming of the air-conditioning, lights and waste management

Finance Department - The department who will monitor the financial aspect involved in the purchase of required equipment for the changes planned regarding waste management

Human Resources Department The department that will be in charge of recruitment and training new staff towards sustainability practices and will be responsible for

Passing on the information to their head office administration staff

8. Revised Policy

1. change of exiting policy

Currently MacVille has a policy and procedure manual in place. There are a few changes that are required to this resources policy.

• The company has air conditioning but they have to be manually turned on and off. Often if the last person leaving the premises forgets to turn it off, it remains on throughout the night, which are an expense and a waste. Similarly, the lights need to be turned off by the last person leaving. The new changes that need to be made are re-programming of the air-conditioning and lights to get turned off at the end of day.
• Waste management of paper — paper needs to be sorted into recycling and general rubbish. In doing so the recyclable paper can be recycled and the rubbish going into landfill will be reduced which will lead to less environmental damage
• Water usage — the dual-flush has been fitted in all the toilets but due to information not been passed on regarding its capability it is not used effectively. If notices are put up regarding the proper usage in toilets it will be utilised properly which will lead in less usage of water.

In following these few changes it will help and preserve the natural resources and also help in proper management of these resources.

1. Recommendations for new policy

The Steering Committee has in the recent press release informed about a new direction the company is taking. They want MacVille to be a leading practitioner in triple bottom line sustainable practices in the coffee industry, where there will be changes in the buying, roasting and coffee shops.

Sustainability has been prevalent since the mid 1990's but the new approach towards it is the triple bottom line approach. This is a brief of what Triple Bottom Line sustainability is all about.

 As stated in the Indiana Business Review - The Triple Bottom Line (TBL) is an accounting framework that incorporates three dimensions of performance: social, environmental and financial. This differs from traditional reporting frameworks as it includes ecological (or environmental) and social measures that can be difficult to assign appropriate means of measurement. The TBL dimensions are also commonly called the three Ps: people, planet and profits. We will refer to these as the 3Ps.

Calculating the TBL

The 3Ps do not have a common unit of measure. Profits are measured in dollars. What is social capital measured in? What about environmental or ecological health? Finding a common unit of measurement is one challenge. Some advocate monetizing all the dimensions of the TBL, including social welfare or environmental damage. In concluding the above mentioned triple bottom line sustainable practices if it has to be measured in monetary terms, the implementation and measuring of it will be worked out by the new team who will be recruited from internal staff and externally. They will have to train the internal staff and recruit highly skilled staff that will be capable of reviewing and passing on this information to the rest of the company.

9. Review current resources usage for the organization

The current usage of resources is mostly wasteful. The air-conditioning is manual and needs to be turned on and off by the staff. If it is forgotten it is being used 24 hours which amounts of wastage of electricity. Similarly the lights too have to be turned off when the staff is leaving work. Water is being wasted due to the dual-flush system not being utilized properly. Paper is not being disposed of properly which can be separated into recycled and general rubbish.

10. Changes in policy that reflect MacVille's commitment to sustainability

In re-programming the air-conditioning to turn off at end of day and the lights being turned off at the end of day, it will help in saving electricity and resources

Waste management — in separating the paper into recycling and general waste it will help in recycling the recyclable paper and reducing the amount going into landfill which will help save the environment. Dual-flush in encouraging the people to use the

Dual-flush - in toilets it will help in reduction of resources which is otherwise being wasted due to improper use. In making these necessary changes it reflects MacVille's commitment to sustainability which proves that they are taking the TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE approach seriously. The other changes that they intend is in the buying of coffee beans, roasting methods and disposing of the remains of the coffee in a sustainable manner.

Assessment 2

1. Environmental sustainability Policy of Opera House Sydney

In giving the world one of the 20th Century's greatest buildings, Jorn Utzon changed the creative and cultural landscape of Australia forever. Sydney Opera House continues the legacy of Utzon's creative genius by creating, producing and presenting the most acclaimed, imaginative and engaging performing arts experiences from Australia and around the world - onsite, offsite and online.

One of our long-term strategic goals is to create a vibrant and sustainable site. For us, sustainability means meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. In doing this we apply the values of stewardship, inclusivity, integrity and transparency.

This Policy details our commitment to the environmental component of sustainability. We believe that to achieve an enduring contribution to our culture and society and to maintain economic viability, we must live responsibly within our environment. We are committed to:

• Conserving natural resources;
• Minimizing waste and pollution;
• Reducing our greenhouse gas emissions; and
• Enhancing the natural environment.

The key stakeholders for the policy and plan -

We will drive to improve the environmental performance of the Sydney Opera House precinct through engaging and influencing our stakeholders including commercial, corporate and presenting partners, our supply chain and our customers.

As a global icon, host for visitors from around the world, and a community symbol that unites Australians, we believe it is our responsibility to demonstrate and communicate our practices openly to raise environmental awareness and to engage and empower others.

1. Environmental Sustainability Commitment

The Sydney Opera House aims to embed environmental sustainability in everything they do while meeting the strategic goals of their diverse business: artistic excellence; improving community engagement and access; maintaining a vibrant and sustainable site; earning their sing their World Heritage Values.

• Monitor and review performance.
• Report publicly every year on our performance:
• review our environmental performance at the executive level initially;
• establish clear accountabilities; Mill
• communicate our commitments to staff and stakeholders:
• set, communicate and achieve environmental sustainability objectives, targets and an implementation plan every three years
• implement a sustainable event management system; and
• Establish practices to achieve requirements of environmental legislation„ government policies and industry standards. We acknowledge that we are at the start of this journey. We commit to learning and continually improving to achieve these goals.

1. People responsible for implementing the policy, outcomes, activities undertaken and responsibilities assigned

The Executive Team works in partnership with the Trust and is responsible for developing, implementing and monitoring the organizational strategy. The executive Team comprises the Chief Executive and five directors. The people in the implementation level will be the Managers and their staff and stakeholders.

The CEO's message as mentioned in the Annual Report 2009 — "Our commitment to environmental sustainability gathered strength this year with the appointment of a new Manager, Sustainability and Energy to lead the campaign to reduce our environmental impact. Development of a new Sustainability Policy and Plan next year will continue to guide us toward more environmentally aware operations.-

Environmental sustainability was strengthened this year through a variety of initiatives. From February 2009 the Sail Lights were turned off for an extra four hours per night, saving close to 12 megawatt hours per year. In Sydney Opera House, biodiesel generators were used to light the sails for Luminous and Smart Light Sydney with carbon emissions offset through independently verified Greenhouse Friendly TM carbon credits. With the new role of Manager, Sustainability and Energy appointed in November 2008, a 'Green Team' was created to encourage environmental awareness throughout the organization using specially designed programs and information for staff and stakeholders.

Other initiatives included waste audits, installation of water efficient spray guns in restaurant areas, a 'Greening the House' exhibition to celebrate World Environment Day and development of a Recycling and Waste Management Strategy. Consultation with stakeholders was undertaken to inform a new Environmental Sustainability Policy and Plan.

Purchased 6% Green Power, supporting Australia's renewable energy industry, and continued implementation of our Energy Saving Action Plan and Water Saving Action Plans.

Replacement of all old printers, faxes and photocopiers with energy efficient multifunctional machines.

Promoting safer and cleaner work practices, 'Site Clean Up Week' was conducted from 6-8 April 2009 to assist staff, contractors and business partners in disposing of dangerous goods and hazardous substances. This initiative aimed to improve awareness of OH&S requirements and environmental compliance standards. Ensuring the safety of visitors, staff and business partners, a new safety management system, including an OH&S Risk Register was developed. The register improves identification, monitoring and management of potential safety hazards across high risk areas of the site and will be operational in July 2009.

1. Procedures to communicate and implement policy to stakeholders

This Policy provides a framework to implement measures to improve their environmental performance. They will:

• monitor and review performance
• Report publicly every year on their performance
• review their environmental performance at the Executive level annually
• establish clear accountabilities
• communicate their commitments to staff and stakeholders
• set, communicate and achieve environmental sustainability objectives, targets and an implementation plan every three years
• implement a sustainable event management system
• Establish practices to achieve requirements of environmental legislation, government policies and industry standards.

1. New sustainability initiatives, embedded in new or revisedpolicy

Sydney Opera House ongoing commitment to the highest customer service standards saw a new program of customer service training commence, with further training to be delivered next year.

Their safety record continued to improve this year and a range of new programs and systems were developed. Sydney Opera House's ongoing commitment to safety will ensure improvement initiatives continue next year.

Their commitment to environmental sustainability gathered strength this year with the appointment of a new Manager, Sustainability and Energy to lead the campaign to reduce the environmental impact.

Development of a new Sustainability Policy and Plan next year will continue to guide them toward more environmentally aware operations.

They will continue to

• Conserve natural resources
• Minimize waste and pollution
• Reduce greenhouse gas emissions
• Enhance the natural environment.

Next year, energy management initiatives will include:

• Developing a Sustainability Plan with clear objectives and targets for energy reduction;
• Upgrading metering and monitoring to allow better understanding and management of electricity, gas and water use;
• Continuing with lighting controls and upgrades; and
• Continuation of air conditioning upgrades, including a new approach to control condenser water temperature controls to run the chillers more efficiently and pre-treatment of outside air for the Concert Hall to better control humidity

1. New energy systems implemented

The new energy management systems Opera House has implemented are:

Improving the efficiency of air conditioning

Sydney Opera House is working to make the air conditioning system more efficient. They replaced older pumps and motors with new, more efficient ones. They have changed the way the seawater cooling is used in the air conditioning system to enable the equipment to operate more efficiently. They are in the process of installing a small, efficient air conditioning chiller to handle low loads so that the large chillers can be turned off when not required. They predict this will result in energy savings.

Turning off lights

They have reduced the operating hours of Sail lighting, turning the lights off for around an extra 4 hours per night. This saves around 12 megawatt hours per year.

Energy Efficient Lighting

 They are progressively replacing older lighting with newer energy efficient lighting. They switched to compact fluorescent lights in the dressing rooms that use 80% less energy. They replaced old, energy hungry tubes with energy efficient LEDs in the Green Room.

1. Sustainability or environmental targets for use of resources

In implementing new energy efficient ways for use of resources it is reducing the green house emissions, using energy efficient bulbs, turning the lights off for a few hours each day, leads to reduction in electricity costs which leads to sustainability in terms of finance

1. Potential, shortfalls to the plan and implementation of strategies for continuous improvement

Potential shortfalls could be delay in implementing the plan due to improper working of the equipments, installation difficulties. Acceptance of changes at all levels. The strategies that can be applied are procedures to be followed properly, the equipment to be checked thoroughly and responsibilities to be assigned to people at all levels to ensure they comply and do their job efficiently and time frames to be allotted for every change. Information to be sent out to everyone to inform them of the changes and why they are being made, to educate them about the impact it can have on the environment. Improvements in new technology will help in continuously improving and finding better ways in maintaining or enhancing environmental sustainability.

Launch of an internal 'Greening the House' campaign and section on the staff intranet aimed at educating staff about environmental sustainability and encouraging energy efficiency.

1. Describe individual and team responsibilities with sustainability plan

This part details what must be accomplished to achieve your objectives. Include a task manager for each step, so that roles are clearly defined and there is accountability. As you enumerate tasks and assignments, these descriptions should be plainly and generally stated. Emphasize the expected results associated with these tasks.

Opera House works to harness the ideas and enthusiasm of their people, allocate responsibilities wisely, build capacity and skills of staff, and see the resulting achievements generate further ideas and energy.

1. Suggestions for assigning responsibility for tracking continuous improvement

Continuous improvement is an ongoing effort to improve products, services or processes.

Among the most widely used tools is a four-step quality model —

The plan-do-check-act cycle;

1. Plan - Identify an opportunity and plan for change
2. Do - Implement the change on a small scale
3. Check - Use data to analyze the results of the change and determine whether it has made a difference
4. Act - If the change was successful, implement it on a wider scale and continuously assess your results. If the change did not work, begin the cycle again.

Assessment 3

The outcomes of the implementation process are:

• Conserving natural resources — In terms of sustainability, Opera House has managed to conserve and maintain energy consumption by turning off the Sail Lights up to 4 hours every night, installation of water efficient spray guns in restaurants in reducing the amount of water used.
• Minimizing waste and pollution — carbon house emissions offset through Green House carbon credits. They replaced old, energy hungry tubes with energy efficient LEDs in the Green Room.
• Reducing our greenhouse gas emissions — by using biodiesel generators to light the Sail Lights. Improving the efficiency of the air conditioning • Enhancing the natural environment - By replacing older lighting with newer energy efficient lighting.

Graphs to summaries progress

1. Graph showing electricity usage in Sydney Opera House and Office Leased (Office & Storage) 2009-2006, usage as mentioned in Opera House, Annual Budget 2009

Bar chart showing gas usage in Sydney opera house kitchens from 2009 -2006

In evaluating the graphs we identify the following trends in data:

• overall reduction in electricity — 6.4%
• electricity usage has reduced in the Opera House — 7.08%
• increased electricity usage in the Office Lease area — 69%
• increase in gas usage — 1.64% reduction in water usage — 18%

Further actions that needs to be taken

• There will need to be continued reduction in the electricity usage in the Office Lease area

• Water usage needs to be reduced

• The gas usage needs to be reduced — this can be achieved by installing energy saver appliances by using a convection oven, using a microwave where possible, and cover pans while cooking. Use correct burner for the job, turn off the burner a few minutes early when boiling food.

Develop a plan to address identified actionareas

• Developing a Sustainability Plan with clear objectives and targets for energy reduction — newer energy efficient lighting, reduction of the operating hours of Sail lighting, energy efficient LEDs in the Green Room.
• Upgrading metering and monitoring to allow better understanding and management of electricity, gas and water use;
• Continuing with lighting controls and upgrades
• Continuation of air conditioning upgrades, including a new approach to control condenser water temperature controls to run the chillers more efficiently and pre-treatment of outside air for the Concert Hall to better control humidity

Identify and describe areas of successful implementation (from information provided)

There has been reduction in electricity usage by implementing energy efficient lighting, reduction of operating hours of Sail Lights, by using energy efficient LED lights.

There has been reduction in water usage by installing water efficient spray guns in the restaurant areas.

They have become energy efficient by using biodiesel generators to light the sails, carbon emissions have been offset through independent Greenhouse friendly carbon credits. Two waste audits were conducted this year to gain an in depth understanding of the waste streams at Sydney Opera House. Audit information has been used to review current practices and to develop a Recycling and Waste Management Strategy for improving waste recycling, which will be implemented in the next year. The strategy will include a new three bin separation system (paper, comingled and landfill), improved recycling of building maintenance materials including light bulbs, and trial systems for managing organic food waste from kitchens within the Sydney Opera House precinct.

Revisions to policy and procedures

This Policy provides a framework to implement measures to improve their environmental performance. The policy can be revised to:

• monitor and review performance
• Report publicly every year on their performance
• review their environmental performance at the Executive level annually
• establish clear accountabilities
• communicate their commitments to staff and stakeholders
• set, communicate and achieve environmental sustainability objectives, targets and an implementation plan every three years
• implement a sustainable event management system
• Establish practices to achieve requirements of environmental legislation, government policies and industry standards.

BSBSUS501 Develop Work place policy Assignment Answer

BSBSUS501 Assessment TASK 1

BSBSUS501 Task 1

BSBSUS501 Task 3