Waste Not, Want Not

The concept of preventing waste is not new.  Over the last few decades, the term "Sustainability" has become linked with global climate change and its practice has been impacted by that association.

In the 1920s and 1930s, Henry Ford instituted some of the most aggressive recycling programs in the post industrial age.  Every scrap of wood was used and reused, end-of-life automobiles were disassembled for reuse, and the company used their buying power to drive waste reduction into their major suppliers.

Although each campus is unique, most portfolio types have a similar carbon footprint with 80% tied up in energy use and 10% attributed to refuse.  This means that the cost savings potential of a simple energy conservation and recycling program can be significant to an organization.  In Healthcare and Higher Education, energy use can range from 1.5% to 3% of the total annual expense.  A 10% reduction in energy use results in an 8% reduction to the organization's carbon footprint and a noticeable increase to the operating margin.

More importantly, reduced energy use and reduced waste have significant Resiliency impacts.  Electrical transformers feeding the campus are often operating beyond their intended service life.  Reducing the load on the transformers and other switchgear reduces the chance of a failure.  Reducing the base load on emergency generators frees up capacity for other important business continuity functions to be protected.  Reducing supply chain waste frees up valuable storage space for other, revenue generating functions.  Reduction of refuse reduces cost and protects against refuse removal disruptions and pests.

For more information on practical Sustainability programs, see "Energy and the Environment of Care" at:   http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/ENVQ/ENVQ0213/index.php#/42

Creating a Sustainability Program starts with a strategy that fits the organization's culture.  Without team engagement, the program cannot succeed.  Many organizations make the mistake of diving into tactical goals without this crucial step only to find that their "program" quickly flounders. 

Developing collaborative strategies allows the many tactical initiatives to flourish together towards a set of common organizational goals.  This also allows the tactical plans to change as the business environment changes without affecting the overall strategy.  At a minimum, most organizations have the data and potential to create effective programs in the areas of energy usage reduction, recycling and conservation, transportation and resiliency.  Those organizations with a mission tie to sustainability, such as experiential learning in higher education or environment of care in healthcare settings will garner additional benefits from an effective program.

An effective Sustainability Program is much different than what many organizations currently have in place under the same name.  Creating an overarching strategy with tactical initiatives allow progress to be measured and reported in a transparent manner.  Sustainability should follow the same effectiveness measures that the organization uses to evaluate its core business model - it should never be a separate program from what the organization is in business to achieve.