Environmental Sustainability Report and Analysis for COS Company

This report provides an analysis of COS, a national office products firm, and its environmental sustainability efforts. The report begins with an overview of COS's background and its commitment to environmental sustainability, highlighting the importance of addressing the impact of human activity on the environment. The research methodology includes a review of literature and a phone interview with a company employee. The report identifies key stakeholders, including employees, the public, and regulatory agencies, and their respective needs regarding environmental policies. Various policy options are explored, such as green purchasing, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and converting reports to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). The report recommends using a SWOT analysis to assess the potential effects of different policy alternatives and suggests the development of a report detailing associated costs and timelines. The study aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of COS's sustainability challenges and opportunities, offering actionable recommendations for improvement.

PART A: Report 1
PART A: REPORT
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PART A: Report 2
Organization Background
The continued human activity across the world is a severe threat to the survival of the
society, and that directly affects the performance of various companies and their mission (Sipes
2010, p. 56). One of the companies that are significantly affected is COS, which is the largest
national office products firm owned and operated in Australia. COS was started in 1976 by a
Dominique Lyone, and the company only had two employees went it commenced its operations.
The top selling product in the early days of the firm was typewriter (COS n.d.). The company is
known to operate as a business-to-business supplier of some of the products that are used in
nearly every modern office. COS is highly determined in conducting its operations in a way that
promotes environmental sustainability. As such, there is the need to come up with specific ways
through which it can achieve primary goals while at the same time remaining conscious of its
environment.
Research Conducted
To arrived at the most favourable outcome of the study, various pieces of literature
materials are reviewed concerning the company and its sustainability program. The company has
valuable information regarding its activities on the website from where most activities are
highlighted. That makes the information sourced from the official website to be regarded as
authoritative and relevant for the research. Another source of information is a phone interview
with one of an employee holding a higher management position in the firm.
Method and Techniques of Policy Writing
The method and technique of the policy writing are formal and simpler. As such the
target audience are capable of understand the policies more easily. Out of the four main methods

PART A: Report 3
and techniques of policy writing, the systematic listing is used. It is chosen because it will make
the message visible as the major points are listed.
Needs of the Stakeholders Identified
The stakeholders that are more likely to be affected by the new policy are employees who
take a shower, make tea, and take part in activities that consume energy while in the company
(Luken 2003, P. 102). The policy on the reduction of nonproduction energy use will have a direct
effect on these categories of stakeholders. For instance senior executives always want an
environment that promotes high production and quality of the products as such changes in the
greenhouse gas emissions will affect them (Cadman et al., 2015, p. 39). The public, on the other
hand, expects quality goods and environment that is free from pollution. The regulatory agencies
expect all organisations to operate within the set of environmental regulations.
Sustainability Policy Options
Some of the policy options for COS Company include adopting the ‘green' purchasing,
decreasing the emissions of greenhouse gas, reducing nonproduction energy use, and converting
of the reports to global reporting initiative (GRI). As a printing firm, these are some of the areas
that the company is expected to focus on to ensure that it meets is the goal of achieving and
maintaining environmental sustainability.
Recommendations
The most valuable recommendation for the identified policy option is to adopt the use of
SWOT analysis tool to determine the possible effects of the cited alternatives (Maignan, Ferrell,
& Ferrell 2005, p. 72). Internal effects are considered the strengths and weaknesses, which are
the first two letters of the SWOT. External effects are the opportunities and threats that the
options may have on the organisation. Besides, there is the need to come up with a report that

PART A: Report 4
provides information on the appropriate cost and the timelines that the management will have to
take to realise the change.
List of References

PART A: Report 5
Cadman, T., Eastwood, L., Michaelis, F.L.C., Maraseni, T.N., Pittock, J. and Sarker, T., 2015.
The political economy of sustainable development: Policy instruments and market mechanisms.
Edward Elgar Publishing.
COS. (n.d.). COS has been built on the principle of Social Responsibility. [online] Available at:
https://www.cos.net.au/c/social-responsibility#cos-and-the-environment [Accessed 3 Sep. 2018].
Luken, R.A., 2003. Towards sustainable development in industry?. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Maignan, I., Ferrell, O.C. and Ferrell, L., 2005. A stakeholder model for implementing social
responsibility in marketing. European Journal of Marketing, 39(9/10), pp.956-977.
Sipes, J.L., 2010. Sustainable solutions for water resources: policies, planning, design, and
implementation. John Wiley & Sons.