Sustainability
Sustainability can be defined as 'meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs'.
For organisations, this means maximising the effectiveness and efficiency of your organisation for growth and success by proactive adaptation to future local and global issues.
Running an organisation in a more sustainable way means making informed business decisions based on thorough communication with your stakeholders, understanding their requirements and factoring social, economic and environmental aspects into sustainable business strategy
Until recently sustainability has been a priority mostly for larger companies; however now its take up is being driven through the supply chain by large companies, Local Authorities and the Welsh Assembly Government. In order to tender for many contracts, suppliers need to show that they are taking action in this matter.
More and more companies are responding with the 'joined-up thinking' approach of integrating sustainability into their business practices. Organisations are realising that working in a more sustainable way allows them to meet the demands of their customers, employees and shareholders; improve their performance; add value by improving recognition and brand value; demonstrate effective management and reduce risk through monitoring and planning.
For more information on incorporating sustainability into your business get in touch with your ARENA Network contact.
SMAS ®
To help organisations begin to consider and demonstrate more sustainability across their operations, ARENA Network have developed the Sustainability Management and Audit Scheme (SMAS)®.
SMAS provides a transparent approach to identifying your most significant stakeholders across the economic, social and environmental aspects of your organisation and engaging with them to, among other benefits; improve the credibility and efficiency of your organisation.
SMAS is a tool to help identify and prioritise stakeholder groups for engagement and demonstrate a transparent approach to initiatives the organisation engages in to facilitate the ongoing success of the organisation in today’s market.
We talked to Alun Bowen, Senior Partner of KPMG in Cardiff and leader of KPMG’s Global Sustainability Services® about business, sustainable development and SMAS.
Alun, how do you view the issue of business and sustainability and which, say, three main aspects are key in defining business sustainability?
"Sustainable development, sustainability, corporate responsibility and stakeholder relationships are all matters which are higher than ever before on the agendas of businesses. However, one of the major issues is that each of these terms can mean quite different things to different people.
"The way that I look at it is that the corporate social responsibility 'movement', as far as business is concerned, has a number of similarities to total quality and customer care, which were fundamental business issues in the 1970’s and 1990’s but are now almost taken for granted, unless you are good at these things, you do not have much of a business.
"If total quality was about making sure that your product or service reliably and cost effectively did 'what it said on the tin' and customer care was about listening to customers and responding to their needs. Corporate responsibility is about 'doing the right thing' as far as your stakeholders are concerned – principally your customers and employees – it should follow that if these are 'happy' – the same should apply to shareholders. Hence the need to understand the relationships with all stakeholders.
...THE INTERVIEW IS CONTINUED HERE
For more information regarding SMAS, please click on the logo below to be redirected
to the SMAS website.
Synnwyr Busnes - Business Sense
Synnwyr Busnes-Business Sense is a programme provided by specialists in sustainability at the University of Wales, Bangor in collaboration with ARENA Network and has grown from the work of the successful Wales Sustainability: Community, Environment and Economy (WALES SCEnE) project at the University of Wales Bangor.
Synnwyr Busnes-Business Sense provides a full business support service which includes a comprehensive appraisal of sustainable development issues, calculating an organisation's ecological footprint and developing strategies for working in a more sustainable way. Taster sessions and workshops on sustainability are also available.
Carrying out a sustainability appraisal will identify an organisation's practices as a starting point for improvement and can be the first step toward gaining Green Dragon Environmental Standard certification. For organisations that already have an environmental management system in place, it will broaden their environmental perspective to cover other issues such as business & enterprise, resourcing, community, culture, ethics, workplace and employment.
For more information on Synnwyr Busnes-Business Sense and to take advantage of the free sustainability appraisal for your business, please visit www.synnwyr-busnes.org