TAFE Qld Brisbane BSBSUS501 Assessment 1: Sustainability Policies

This document provides a comprehensive response to the BSBSUS501 Assessment 1, focusing on the development of workplace policies and procedures for sustainability. The assignment addresses key concepts such as the three dimensions of sustainability (economic, environmental, and social) and provides examples from an organizational perspective. It identifies the costs and benefits of implementing a sustainability policy, explores relevant legislation, regulations, and codes of practice for a coffee shop business, and provides practical examples for policy development. The assignment also discusses employee responsibilities, the process of developing and implementing new policies, and methods for measuring the success of sustainability goals. Furthermore, it covers continuous improvement, ISO 14001, and signs of successful sustainability integration within an organization, offering a complete overview of sustainability practices in a business context.

TAFE Qld Brisbane Online
BSBSUS501 Develop workplace policy and procedures for
sustainability
Assessment one: Answer template
Answer Template for Assessment 1
Student Details
Use this template document to type your answers. When ready, upload the completed Microsoft Word file to
Connect. Each of the following responses need to be a minimum of 50 words to demonstrate a good understanding.
Question 1. Identify and describe the three (3) dimensions of sustainability and provide examples
from an organizational perspective
Answer According to Emas (2015), sustainability means meeting the needs of the present generation
without hampering the resources of the next generation or without comprising the future
generation’s ability to meet their needs. The sustainability is mainly supported by three different
pillars and they are: economic pillars, social pillars and the environment pillars. These pillars
are mainly referred to the profits, planet and the people.
Economic sustainability: The economic sustainability refers to creating an economic
value based on a particular decision or project. Economic sustainability refers that the
decisions are made in the most fiscally and equitable way considering the other aspects of the
sustainability.
Environmental sustainability: Environment sustainability is defined as the responsibility
that is associated with the environment to control and avoid the degradation and depletion of
the natural resources to ensure a healthy and sustainable environment for the upcoming
generation.
Social sustainability: Social sustainability refers to the ability of a particular community
to develop and maintain a structure and the process which will not only hep in managing the
needs of the generations but it will also support the future generation’s ability to meet their
needs and live a healthy life.
Sustainability from the organizations perspective:
According to Mowforth and Hunt (2015), the economic sustainability dimension is
concerned with the impacts that the organizations creates on the stakeholders of the company
and on the economic system of the community, nation and on the global levels. The economic
sustainability refers to the organization’s growth, development, productivity. If the organization
wants to sustain in the high competition market they need to find a way to expand their
business in the economic environment without hampering the future possibilities this will help in
lots of ways.
The organization needs to consider the use of environmental resources in an effective
way so that the production does not get affected and as well as the wastage of the resources is
minimum. Without proper renewable and non-renewable resources supplies the production
process will slow down. The organization should see that the production does not get affected
and at the same time the resources that are allocated is not wasted. The organization should
consider biodiversity and ecosystem integrity.
The social sustainability dimension should be kept in mind while making the plan of a
certain project so that the next generation does not get affected. Before establishing an
organization the management should identify the cultural identity of the community. The
accessibility of the resources and the level of stability that the organization has in the society
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TAFE Qld Brisbane Online
BSBSUS501 Develop workplace policy and procedures for
sustainability
Assessment one: Answer template
Question 2. Identify the costs and benefits for an organization following the introduction of a
sustainability policy and procedures
Answer Benefits of using sustainable policy:
 Improved brand image
 Gives a competitive advantage to the organization
 Increase the productivity of the business environment and reduce the operational cost
 Attract skilled employees and investors
Reduce wastage of resources and leads to optimum use of allocated resources
Question 3. You are the owner of a Coffee Shop and you are moving towards sustainable business
practices.
(a) Identify the legislations, regulations, standards and Codes of Practice that cover
each of the three dimensions of sustainability; Environment, Socio-Political and
Economy.
(b) Identify two examples of activities in your business for each of the 3 dimensions
that you will have to address when writing new policies.
Answer (a) The rules and the regulations that the coffee shop need to follow are:
 Business licensing: With the rise in consumption of the coffee, employment has also
grown strongly in the industry. Starting a business will require a lot of documentation
and the most important thing that the organization needs to consider is the business
licensing.
 Food safety laws: The coffee shop needs to follow the strict food safety laws that were
implemented by the food administration of Australia.
Answer (b) The two examples of the activities that the business needs for each of the dimensions are:
 Economic dimension: Fair trade with the suppliers, economic benefits that the
company can get by importing the coffee seeds from the countries where it is
cheaper.
 Environmental dimension: Water saving, waste management, workplace
resources, supply chain and energy efficiency.
Socio-political dimension: community engagement, responsible marketing and good customer
satisfaction.
Question 4. Using the link provided research the Queensland Government Business and Industry
portal identify six (6) articles that will assist you to meet the three (3) dimensions of
sustainability for your Coffee Shop.
http://www.business.qld.gov.au/business/running
Answer van den Nouwelant, R., Davison, G., Gurran, N., Pinnegar, S. and Randolph, B., 2015.
Delivering affordable housing through the planning system in urban renewal contexts:
converging government roles in Queensland, South Australia and New South
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TAFE Qld Brisbane Online
BSBSUS501 Develop workplace policy and procedures for
sustainability
Assessment one: Answer template
Wales. Australian Planner, 52(2), pp.77-89.
A. Adams, C., Muir, S. and Hoque, Z., 2014. Measurement of sustainability performance in
the public sector. Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, 5(1),
pp.46-67.
Thaker, D.A., Monypenny, R., Olver, I. and Sabesan, S., 2013. Cost savings from a
telemedicine model of care in northern Queensland, Australia. Med J Aust, 199(6), pp.414-
417.
Lawrence, G., Richards, C. and Lyons, K., 2013. Food security in Australia in an era of
neoliberalism, productivism and climate change. Journal of Rural Studies, 29, pp.30-39.
Head, B.W., 2014. Evidence, uncertainty, and wicked problems in climate change decision
making in Australia. Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy, 32(4), pp.663-
679.
Rolfe, J. and Kinnear, S., 2013. Populating regional Australia: What are the impacts of non-
resident labour force practices on demographic growth in resource regions?. Rural
Society, 22(2), pp.125-137.
Emas, R., 2015. The concept of sustainable development: Definition and defining
principles. Florida International University.
Mowforth, M. and Munt, I., 2015. Tourism and sustainability: Development, globalisation
and new tourism in the third world. Routledge.
Barla, P., 2007. ISO 14001 certification and environmental performance in Quebec's pulp
and paper industry. Journal of environmental economics and management, 53(3), pp.291-
306.
Question 5. Discuss the responsibility of employees with regards to compliance with organizational
sustainability policies and procedures. How can you ensure that they have the
information and skills needed to comply?
Answer The employee should understand their responsibility and they should work according to the
guidelines that are sent by the organization.
The worker should be properly trained and there should be regular appraisal of their
performance.
Question 6. Explain the process that needs to be followed to develop a new or amended policy for
your Coffee Shop business
Answer 1. Consult with your employee
2. Transfer the ideas for implementing the policy
3. Identify the barriers for implementing the policies
4. Make the policy realistic
5. Publicise the procedure of implementing the policy
6. Train the employees about implementing the policies
Question 7. The new policy needs to be implemented; how do you do this? What are the elements of
an implementation plan and who do you need to communicate with
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TAFE Qld Brisbane Online
BSBSUS501 Develop workplace policy and procedures for
sustainability
Assessment one: Answer template
Answer 1. Consulting with the workers
2. Transferring the ideas about the plan
3. Identify the barriers for implementing the policies
4. Make the policy realistic
5. Publicise the procedure of implementing the policy
6. Train the employees about implementing the policies
Question 8. You have now implemented your new policy on a sustainable practice. How do you
know it is working? The implementation plan contained goals. Name three (3) of
possible goals and describe how you would measure the success of these goals.
Answer 1. Sales increase
2. Increase in the customer base
3. Increased Brand recognition
The achievement of the goals can be achieved by reviewing the sales of the organization.
Question 9. One of your goals is to reduce the number of times the dishwasher is used each day.
This reduction will save on power, water and dishwasher detergent. The policy states
that the dishwasher is to be full before turning it on. After a period of six (6) months you
have to work out whether this policy worked or not.
What tools can you use to capture this information?
Answer Monthly survey can be done which will help to find whether the policy has worked or not.
Question 10. Describe the purpose of continuous improvement and the processes used to ensure it
happens
Answer Continuous improvement will help the organization is bringing better policies and will also
ensure that the operation is going smoothly.
Question 11. Describe ISO 14001 and how a business can use it.
Answer As opined by Barla (2007), ISO 14001 is set to find out the criteria for an environmental
management system.
The business organization can use this standard to increase the environmental management
system.
Question 12. What are the signs that sustainability has been successfully embedded into the
organization’s day to day operation?
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TAFE Qld Brisbane Online
BSBSUS501 Develop workplace policy and procedures for
sustainability
Assessment one: Answer template
Answer The production of the organization will increase.
The organization will be more environmentally aware.
The organization’s operation cost will increase.
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