Tagged with Sustainable Business Growth

CONNECTING COMMUNITIES: SHIFTING THE SILOS

In changing times, the pressure on community organisations to respond and adapt to the needs of families, children and communities is high. With traditional funding streams concurrently being reviewed, many agencies are feeling caught between the high demands of grass roots work with their client group and the need to spend more quality time developing partnerships and planning alternative models to accommodate the changing service system landscape.

The Canopy, a growing multi-focus community organisation based in Lake Macquarie NSW, had existed for 23 years as a small family support agency with 4 staff.  Where agencies had traditionally collaborated with a focus on meeting needs of client groups, they had not collaborated on a broader sector level for the purpose of expanding funding opportunities and improving effective resourcing. Each organisation existed in its own “silo” from this perspective.

The Canopy’s vision was to increase the capacity of the organisation to deliver sustainable projects and programs. This was to be achieved with a strategy that maintained responsiveness to the needs of the region’s families, children and communities. Between 2011 and 2016, the organisation grew its services to include community development and facilities management while increasing the delivery of family services. Operating from 3 venues, effective service delivery remained a priority at all times, but sustainability was equally a consistent consideration.

The key strategies developed for this sustainable growth depended on focussed planning and active participation of all stakeholders including client groups, staff and volunteers, other agencies and government representatives. The traditional competitive silo approach was shifted, replaced with a collaborative and holistic approach. The process relies on trust, transparency, strong leadership, education of staff and a commitment to negotiate in a way which ensures that all organisations involved feel valued and ultimately benefit. More importantly, the vision must be clear at all times.

The rewards for “shifting the silos” are immense. First and foremost, client groups undoubtedly benefit – at the very least by an increase in resources and more streamlined services. Internally, there will be a shift in organisational culture from looking inward for assets, strengths and resources to  looking outward for possible partnerships and collaborations.

In February this year, after securing a partnership with Newcastle City Council, The Canopy has once again increased its service capacity from 3 venues to 8. There are now 20 staff who are proud to work for an innovative, multi-faceted family and community organisation which continues to evolve and adapt in order to meet the needs of their clients during changing times.

Lee-Anne Holmes
Executive Officer
The Canopy Inc.

The dairy farmers committed to sustainability

It was a soil bacteria course in New Zealand that convinced Reggie Davis to change his farming methods.

The fourth-generation Victorian dairy farmer had become increasingly concerned by the costs, chemicals and time involved in the use of nitrate fertilisers to maintain – what was considered to be – high-quality pasture for his dairy herd.

So when his dairy herd nutritionist mentioned that the US biological farming advocate Dr Arden Andersen was running a soil management course in New Zealand, Davis decided to go. He asked around to see if any neighbours might be interested. Within weeks, 40 other dairy farmers from Victoria’s south-west had signed up for Andersen’s course.

That collegiate interest in investigating new farming methods is reflected in figures published by the Australian Dairy Industry Council in its annual sustainability performance review.

According to the 2015 report, 75% of Australia’s dairy farmers recycle water, 60% have sustainable farm management plans and 45% have invested in biodiversity management and conservation planning.

cows

Dairy farmers have also set a national target to reduce industry greenhouse emissions by 30% by 2020, and have already cut emissions by 15% – largely through energy audits of dairy machinery and farm equipment.

The report says dairy farmers want to create “a carbon-confident industry” and various software has been created to help to calculate and reduce farm emissions. These include the dairy climate toolkit and the dairy greenhouse abatement strategies calculator.

There are some industry leaders. Bega Cheese, one of Australia’s biggest dairy product manufacturers, launched a sustainability program in 2014, which led to a $50m investment in environmental initiatives. The company offers climate change adaptation advice for farmers, supporting programs to plant trees for shade and shelter.

Similarly Burra Foods, a dairy processor and exporter in Victoria’s south Gippsland region, has recovered 60m litres of water a year from the evaporating process used to produce powdered milk. It has also cut its town water consumption by 20% and expects to make a further 25% reduction by 2017.

There are dozens of similar stories across Australia’s dairy industry, which is the country’s third biggest rural industry after beef and wheat. It’s a $13.8bn industry that employs more than 39,000 people on farms and in manufacturing, and an additional 100,000 in related occupations such as dairy research and veterinary services. So if dairy takes a hard hit, regional economies will certainly feel it.

The current dairy crisis is taking its toll. In April the processing giants Murray Goulburn and Fonterra announced cuts to farmgate prices paid to dairy farmers for milk. Murray Goulburn announced the cuts would be retrospective, which meant famers will be forced to pay back about $200m over the next three years. For most farmers, that will average $300,000.

Both the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission are investigating Murray Goulburn but many farmers face financial ruin or the possibility of years of debt. It seems a particularly cruel blow for an industry in which the majority of farmers have been prepared to commit to sustainable farming practices.

Reggie Davis is a good example. One of the reasons he decided to take a closer look at biological farming methods was to avoid using chemical sprays to control pasture pests. He’d noticed the lush growth produced by nitrate fertilisers attracted insects such as red-legged earth mite.

These are a devastating pest, and controlling an infestation is costly. As well as the price of sprays, and possibly hiring a professional spray crew, farmers may have to buy supplementary fodder for their cows while the affected pasture is treated. The CSIRO estimates the mites, which were introduced from South Africa in the early 1900s, cost Australia’s farmers more than $500m a year in lost production.

The Davis family run 600 Friesian cows on their 570-hectare property near Camperdown in south-west Victoria. They’re one of five farming families in the region who have formed a group called the Green Pastures Movement to practice and promote sustainable farming.

The famers worked with a local company, Camperdown Compost, to set up a system of compost rows to turn straw, sawdust and cow manure into natural farm fertiliser. It’s a big operation that requires a heavy-duty mechanical compost turner, towed by a tractor, to periodically turn the compost windrows.

The Davis farm produces about 2,000 tonnes of compost each year, and this is applied to pasture in autumn at a rate of about one tonne to the acre (or half a hectare). “We’ve seen a lot of positive changes with our soil health and our cows,” Davis says. “And people tell us that our milk tastes better.”

Read more.

Sustainability reporting 101: eight steps to driving business growth

sustainability businessWhen it comes to sustainability reporting, companies may feel like they’re in an increasingly uncomfortable public-private vice. On one side, consumers and shareholders are pressuring organizations to be better corporate citizens and increase transparency. Governments are establishing more reporting requirements as well, which will inevitably multiply through initiatives such as the recent Sustainable Innovation Forum at COP21.

Sustainability makes companies more profitable and more attractive to all stakeholders. In fact, more than 50 percent of consumers prefer purpose-driven brands. Additionally, 86 percent of consumers said they would be more likely to trust a company that reports corporate social responsibility results. Sustainability programs and reporting can boost consumer confidence, shareholder esteem and a company’s bottom line.

But many companies are failing to capitalize on these benefits simply because they don’t have the expertise and tools to capture and report progress on their sustainability goals. Even companies that want to operate more transparently often struggle with collecting and wrangling sustainability data, which is typically scattered across different silos and platforms.

Sustainability reporting has become an increasingly important issue, and practices around reporting have dramatically evolved in recent years. There are several trends that are impacting this – including improved visibility into key data points, increased involvement from the c-suite, greater focus on corporate transparency and global legislation.

Below are eight strategies for organizations to capture and report progress on their sustainability goals in the face of organisational challenges.

Create a roadmap — A roadmap should show how your sustainability reporting will function. For example, you might first set out expectations for governance, shareholder engagement and disclosure. Then look at your expectations for performance in specific areas including operations, supply chain, products and services and employees. Assess which of these areas represent the biggest pain points or opportunities and which can be addressed most effectively. Remember to be specific in your requests and explain why you need the data. For example, “We are consistently providing our investors and customers with incorrect information because there are no formal processes or accountability mechanisms” is a clearer request than “I need people to give me data.”

Identify key players and develop a governance structure — This step involves identifying the data owners of your sustainability program and establishing communication pathways between them and the sustainability team. Many groups may already be undertaking parallel work so make sure to bring several teams to the table including finance, energy management, IT, operations and the executive team.

Develop accountability structures — This is a framework not unlike an organizational chart in that it shows the different groups involved in reporting. It includes an outline of the roles and responsibilities of each group, and describes the processes, people and supports necessary to function effectively. Accountability structures provide clarity, organization and communication.

Leverage technology — The right systems allow you to house various data points from all owners in one place. Rather than manually inputting data from a variety of sources, which is time-intensive and error-prone, implement a SaaS, cloud-based solution. That way, data can be more easily analyzed and acted upon. This platform should also offer drill-down capability into single-site, interval-level data to find inefficiencies that can be hidden in monthly reports.

Identify the quickest ROI opportunities — Use analytics to identify projects with low up-front investments that can yield positive results over a relatively short period of time. As much as 50 percent of potential efficiency improvements are low to no cost. Analytics can be performed remotely using a SaaS platform or through onsite assessments to find and prioritize projects. Building improvements such as fine-tuning heating and cooling equipment, or installing energy meters that provide a granular view of energy use can be a great place to start because efficiency-focused projects tend to have a significant ROI. In situations where your leadership team is skeptical, proving the return of sustainability initiatives to your CFO can build buy-in. Knowing what projects to pick is extremely important, and should in part relate to overall corporate strategy and values. This approach will build confidence and support for future sustainability-related ventures.

Communicate successes — Share success stories with stakeholders (employees, customers and shareholders), and highlight the value of what has been accomplished, as well as challenges the organization needs to address. Remember, sustainability communications will only deliver brand value if they are based on brand strategy and integrated with mainstream communication.

Continually assess and refine — Examine where your strategy is performing well and expand upon those aspects. Then refine (or discard) the tactics that are showing less success. For example, your team might have done a great job gathering and defining sustainability metrics, but it lacks resources to analyze and act on this data. As you work through this step, you’ll want to assess your reporting strategy on a regular basis, and integrate feedback from internal and external stakeholders.

Create a sustainable culture from the top down — Companies that see significant returns on their environmental initiatives recruit a diverse roster of employees who have one thing in common — an appreciation for the climate challenge and a passion for action. That starts all the way at the apex, with the board of directors. For a company operating in the 21st century, the risks and opportunities a board considers must include environmental and social issues. Doing so not only illustrates the company’s commitment to sustainability at the highest levels, but also enables the board to provide meaningful oversight for emerging environmental and social issues that confront the business. To read more click here.

Why Buy Locally Owned?

There are many well-documented benefits to our communities and to each of us to choosing local, independently owned businesses. We realize it is not always possible to buy what you need locally and so merely ask you to Think Local FIRST!

This is a concise article from Sustainable Connections in the USA…  read it here https://sustainableconnections.org/thinklocal/why

100 Speakers at Joint Sustainability and Liveable Cities Conference Melbourne, June 2013

Over 100 Presenters over the 3 days – 17th to the  19th  of June 2013 at the Novotel Melbourne St Kilda.

Confirmed keynotes presenters include;

  • Dr Nick Fleming, Chief Sustainability Officer, Sinclair Knight Merz and Chairman of the Sustainability Taskforce of Infrastructure Partnerships Australia, and a Director of the Board of the Australian Green Infrastructure Council. NSW
  • Jason Roberts, Co-Founder, Better Block,  USA
  • Melissa Houghton, Director, Sustainability at Work, VIC
  • Professor Anthony Capon, Head, Discipline of Public Health, Faculty of Health University of Canberra ACT
  • Tony Wood, Energy Program Director, Grattan Institute, VIC
  • Simon Lockrey, Research Fellow, Sustainable Products and Packaging, Centre for Design, RMIT University, VIC
  • Professor Billie Giles-Corti, Director,   School of Population and Global Health,  Melbourne University, VIC
  • Angela Hazebroek , Director Urban and Regional Planning Solutions (URPS),  SA
  • John Thwaites, Professorial Fellow, Monash University, and Chair of ClimateWorks Australia and the Monash Sustainability Institute.

Message from the Mayor Amanda Stevens
The City of Port Phillip remains committed to maintaining a sense of place, reinforced by a network of public spaces, local character and built heritage as well as well designed community infrastructure to support our diverse community. This conference will be an excellent opportunity to explore innovation, exchange ideas and be creative… more

Welcome from Conference Chair, Paula Drayton
“This is a fantastic opportunity for professionals in the public and private sector to examine the challenges and solutions needed to develop the Liveable Cities of tomorrow.  The Conference will also examine public policy and social/community outcomes and consider what actions we can take to positively influence the ongoing debate… more

The full program is available on the conference website

Two Conferences! Three Days! One Location!
Delegates will have access to an extensive range of topics with over 100 presentations across three days including Keynotes, Concurrent Sessions, Case Studies and Posters.