saem sd presentation 2008

P I L L A R S O F P I L L A R S O F S U S T A I N A B I L I T YS U S T A I N A B I L I T Y T H E B A S I C ST H E B A S I C S

Graham L. Twaddell, MSGraham L. Twaddell, MSEnvironmental & Sustainability ManagerEnvironmental & Sustainability Manager

WORKSHOP OUTLINE

Define sustainable development

Identify the benefits of sustainability

Discuss how sustainability can be achieved

WHAT IS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT?

Sustainable development, or sustainability, is the simple idea that, as human beings, we place a high value on our own quality of life and that of future generations.

The most commonly used definition of sustainability is, “Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Our Common Future, Brundtland Commission, 1987

Nothing new…

U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt stated in his 1907 State of the Union address,

“To waste our natural resources, to skin and exhaust the land instead of using it to increase its usefulness, will result in undermining the days of our children the very prosperity which we ought by right to hand down to them amplified and developed.”

PILLARS OF SUSTAINABILITY

Sustainability can be visualized as pillars that together support, produce and enhance a sustainable world.

These pillars are economic growth, social development and environmental protection.

ECONOMIC SOCIAL ENVIRONMENTAL

Triple bottom line.

Sustainability Pillars

S O C I A L

Employee Benefits, Health Care,

Community Involvement, Education…


E C O N O M I C

Production Costs, Profits vs Loss,

Compliance Costs,Sales…


E N V I R O N M E N T A L

Waste, Energy Efficiency,

Environmental Degradation…

The Pursuit of Sustainability…

EconomicEnvironmental

Social

SUSTAINABILITY

The next generation matters as much as the next quarter…

In order for organizations to maintain a competitive edge and ensure longevity they need to adopt a management system that addresses not only economic issues, but issues that address environmental and social matters also.

Reasons to be Sustainable:

1. Limitless Longevity: survival of your organization. Sustainability is a rapidly growing concept. As other organizations implement and practice sustainability, those that do not will simply fall behind and lose the ability to aggressively compete.


2. Smart Savings: Being clean and green will save your organization money

e.g. less energy, less water, lesswaste, less clean up, less liability and exposure.

Planet Earth’s natural resources are

finite…and thus costly!


3. Natural NeighborhoodFor your kids and your community,

enhancing you and your loved ones’ lives, as well as setting a moral and ethical example.


4. Recognition RewardsEnhance market share, client and public

relations, and your organization’s reputation.


5. Excel and ExceedGoing beyond compliance, by setting – and

exceeding - industry standards, your organization has a tangible impact on its rivals.

Make your own reasons…

To be sustainable, our actions must reflect what is important to us; qualities such as:

Clean airClean waterHealthSecurity Prosperity

Industry and Sustainability

As the world has become more industrialized, there have been increasing environmental pressures such as harmful emissions and waste, which have had global, regional or local impacts.


Global, regional or local impacts include: Local level: urban air pollution, contamination of soils

and rivers and land degradation Regionally: acid rain and water contamination Globally: climate change, ozone layer depletion, loss

of biodiversity, increased movement of hazardous waste and increased land-based marine pollution


There is a mutually reinforcing relationship between social and industrial development.

Industrialization has the potential to promote, directly and indirectly, a variety of social objectives such as:

employment creation poverty eradication gender equality labor standards greater access to education and health care.


The predominant task facing industry today is to maximize the positive influence of industrial activities on economic and social development, while minimizing the negative impact of production and consumption on the environment.


In this regard, the overriding challenge is to promote the positive impacts while limiting or eliminating the negative impacts of industrial activities on social development.

So… how do we do this?

What gets measured, gets managed......

Indicators are a tool that can be used to measure an organizations’ progress towards sustainability.

Put simply…indicators are “Something you can do!”

What gets measured, gets managed......

By identifying appropriate indicators within each of the sustainability pillars, one can start to manage unsustainable activities, implement sustainable practices and set sustainable goals for the future.

Becoming greener involves doing just one thing.

The more we do, the more sustainable we The more we do, the more sustainable we becomebecome..

Social Sustainability Indicators

SOCIALMax

ValuePoints

Attained

Employee Salary 10

Employee Benefits 10

Healthful and Safe Working Environment 10

Health and Wellness Program 10

Volunteering in Community 10

Education Opportunities 10

Ride Share Program 10

Employee Salary Direct Deposit 10

TOTAL 80

Environmental Sustainability Indicators

ENVIRONMENTALMax

ValuePoints

Attained

Hazardous Material Inventory Service (HMIS) & Tier II 10

Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan 10

Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures Plan 10

Air Permits 10

Water Permits 10

Pollution Prevention (P2) Plan 10

Hazardous Waste Management 10

Landscaping 10

TOTAL 80

Economic Sustainability Indicators

ECONOMICMax

ValuePoints

Attained

Percentage Profit 10

Energy Consumption 10

Water Consumption 10

Generation of Waste (municipal and hazardous) 10

Waste Recycling and Reuse 10

Inventory Control (Just In Time Ordering) 10

Electronic Banking and Mailing 10

Alliance of Sustainable Businesses 10

TOTAL 80

WORKSHOP CONCLUSION

Define sustainable development

Identify the benefits of sustainability

Discuss how sustainability can be achieved

Questions?

Graham TwaddellGraham Twaddell

[email protected]@envirosure.com