Workplace Sustainability Policy: Green Purchasing Report

This report details a green purchasing policy developed for XYZ Company, focusing on workplace sustainability. It outlines the policy's scope, emphasizing the importance of green purchasing for environmental and cost benefits. The report defines goals, such as increasing the use of sustainable products and equipment replacement, along with broad strate...Read More

Workplace Sustainability Policy
Policy Scope – Green Purchasing
Organisation: XYZ Company
Date:

Report completed by:

1. Policy Summary
1.1 - Policy scope and importance
The area covered by the policy scope is green purchasing.
Green Purchasing is very important for every type of organization. This goes same
with the XYZ Company. Green purchasing is involved with the purchase of products that
would be helpful for the organisation to cause less damage to the environment. Green
products are generally those products that are biodegradable in nature and able to provide
reusability. This would be helpful in both reducing the waste materials dumped in the nature
and reducing the overall cost for the company.
In addition to this, the sustainable development is also performed efficiently by the
adoption of the Green Purchasing policy for the organization. Sustainable development
generally refers to the development of the organization’s overall production and business
efficiency and maintain a sustainability in the nature as well. The main aim here is to use the
natural resources of the earth and build on the profit margin so that the needs of the
company are fulfilled without any hampering the scope of further progress for both the
organization and the environment.
However, various situation purchase of greener products might mean that there are
costs inefficiencies that might take place in the organization. Hence, the organization is to
keep of note of the prices for which the alternate green product is to be purchased. After
conduction of feasibility, analysis of product the purchase process by the organization is to
be continued. This is because the company would not hamper their personal interest in their
businesses in order to accommodate the green products in their business models.
It is very important for the both the organization and its staffs to appreciate the use of
the use of the green products and the organizational culture is to support the development of
the eco-friendly products for the organization. This would be helpful for the company to
maintain the Corporate Social Responsibility for the organization.
1.2 - Policy Goals
For the project it has been identified that the XYZ organization would be looking
create a balance in between the environmental and organizational responsibilities that would
maintain overall balance in the nature.

1. As an organization we would look to develop a policy that would make the staffs in the in the
organization make use of the sustainable green products and use of the re-useable products
as much as possible within the office premises.
2. We would also like to replace at least 60 percent of our in-house equipment’s that are being
used currently in the organization currently. However, a feasibility study is to be conducted
to evaluate whether the use of the green products would be feasible in terms of reducing
the overall cost of the operations that are performed in the organization.
1.3 - Broad strategies
The strategies that have been used for the sustainable development of the
organization who is looking to create a green purchase policy. The following strategies
mentioned below are required to be adopted for the green purchase policy:
 Using renewable and reusable energies that would be helpful in reducing the overall
electricity consumption
 Use of highly efficient electric appliances
 Use of easily disposable materials
 Making use of more and more wooden products
 The products are to be ordered from the local vendors so that they would be getting the
products at a very cheap price.
1.4 - Our Policy and Mission Statement
The Green purchasing policy developed by the XYZ company is used for sustaining
the environmental resources. The policy supports the main missions of the organization that
is maintaining the development of the sustainability in the environment within the office
premises and also the staffs of the organization to compliance with the policies of the
organization.
1.5 - Relevant legislation/code of conduct
The legislations and the code of conducts that are to be followed by the organization
in order to maintain their Green purchasing policy are described below:
Energy White Paper Securing Australia's Energy Future (2004): The paper provides the
framework for the long-term policy so that the Australian energy can be reserved to a certain
extent. A list of initiatives that are to be adopted by the organizations in Australia that would
be extend the sustainability of the environment of the country.
The Australian National Research Priorities: The prorates announcements were made in
the year 2002 and core objectives of the priorities include the transformation of the industries
that are currently existing in Australia. The priorities require the new technologies that are

used currently in the XYZ organization involve increasing the national wealth of the nation
while reducing the overall impact of the development on the land and sea area of the
country.
Renewable Energy Development Initiative (REDI): The REDI or the Renewable Energy
Development Initiative is program in Australia that is introduced in the year 2004. The initiate
used a great funding of around AUS$100 million. However the funding was stopped in the
year 2008. Though the XYZ organization would not require the funds as they already are
self-funded.
1.6 - Key persons/stakeholders (internal and external)
The key stakeholders associated with the project are:
 Staffs and clients of the organization
 Project manager
 Local community
 Government
 Suppliers and contractors
 Sub-contractors

2. Policies and Procedures
2.1 - Changes to policies/procedures
The XYZ Company is looking to minimize the wastes discharge and the harmful
expulsion that occurs in the nature due to the business of the organization. Hence, a policy
of minimizing the use of products that are non-renewable and non biodegradable are
reduced in the organization. The organization would also set up some guidelines for their
employees to only use the biodegradable substances in office premises. In addition to this,
the purchasing of the green substance are to be regarded as a policy and the reduction of
the use of the use of alternate products are to be minimized. Additionally, the reduction in
the use of fuel consumption by the organization should also be included in their protocol.
In addition to this, the organization should be contracting the suppliers and the sub-
contractors who supply only the green products and avoid the bio-hazards. In addition, any
type of alternative products are to be appreciated by the organization so the contractors are
encouraged to provide them with the alternative green products.
2.2 - Initiatives
The list of initiatives that are to be adopted by the organization for the development of
the green purchasing policy for the organization:
 The organization should start using the green products and adopt the use of recycled
products within the organization. The initiative should begin from the office housekeeping
products such as cups and plates. This should further extend to the raw materials procured
for their business procedures.
 Using solar energy: The electric appliances and the electric power supplies should be
alternated with the use of solar energies. This should start with implementing the altering
changes in the departments one by one. After a small sample the policy is to be extended to
the rest of the organization slowly.
 Reducing the use of papers within the organization: the organization would reduce the
paper works in the company by using the electronic solutions that are available online and
also in the electronic devices such as local databases and spreadsheet software.
 Use of organic products for sanitizing and other purposes: The adoption of organic products
for the household procedures and the cleaning process within the organization is also
required to be considered as a serious initiative to be adopted the XYZ company.

 Availability of sustainable food products and packaging is to be used in the cafeteria region
of the organization so that much of waste products are not generated from the organization.
2.3 - Key benefits of initiatives
The major benefits that can be obtained from the deployment of the policies from the
organization are listed below:
 Cost reduction: The costs that incurs to the organization would be reduced on the long run
as the devices used would lower the fuel consumptions in the organization.
 Contributing to CSR: The use of green products and reducing the overall waste production by
the company would automatically contribute towards the organization maintaining the CSR.
 Reducing the overall impact on the environment: The reduction in fuel consumptions and
the use of cost effective products for the organization would reduce the overall discharge in
the environment.
 Positive PR: The use of policies by the organization would be enhancing the overall
reputation for the company.
 Improvement of employee health: The use of the green products by the organization would
reduce the health hazards for the employees of the organization.

3. Resource, time and budget requirements
3.1 - Required Resources
The required resources for the project is described in the table provided below:
Resource Name Type Material
Label Initials Group Max.
Units Std. Rate Ovt. Rate
Project manager Work P 100% $15.00/hr $0.00/hr
Civil Engineer Work C 100% $13.00/hr $0.00/hr
Environmental
Engineer Work E 100% $11.00/hr $0.00/hr
Staff Work S 100% $5.00/hr $0.00/hr
Green Products Material G $3,000.00
Raw Materials Material R $4,000.00
Solar Devices Material S $4,000.00
3.2 - Proposed timeline / review dates
The proposed timeline and the dates for the completion of the tasks are described in
the schedule provided below:
Task Name Duration Start Finish Predecessors
Designing Green
Purchasing Policy 88 days Fri 12-07-19 Tue 12-11-19
Project initiation 9 days Fri 12-07-19 Wed 24-07-19
Define Scope 3 days Fri 12-07-19 Tue 16-07-19
Project Document
support plan 6 days Wed 17-07-19 Wed 24-07-19 2
Project Planning 13 days Thu 25-07-19 Mon 12-08-19
Project Budget 2 days Thu 25-07-19 Fri 26-07-19 3
Project Schedule 3 days Mon 29-07-19 Wed 31-07-19 5
Project Approval 4 days Thu 01-08-19 Tue 06-08-19 6
Quality Planning 4 days Wed 07-08-19 Mon 12-08-19 7
Organizing resources 32 days Tue 13-08-19 Wed 25-09-19
Resource Procurement
Plan 5 days Tue 13-08-19 Mon 19-08-19 8

Resource Procurement 21 days Tue 20-08-19 Tue 17-09-19 10
Set Up environment 6 days Wed 18-09-19 Wed 25-09-19 11
Project Deployment 10 days Thu 26-09-19 Wed 09-10-19
Data management 2 days Thu 26-09-19 Fri 27-09-19 12
Communication
Management 2 days Mon 30-09-19 Tue 01-10-19 14
Contracting sub-
contractors 2 days Wed 02-10-19 Thu 03-10-19 15
Schedule control 1 day Fri 04-10-19 Fri 04-10-19 16
Project Team
management 2 days Mon 07-10-19 Tue 08-10-19 17
Manage project scope
and requirement 1 day Wed 09-10-19 Wed 09-10-19 18
Quality Assurance 13 days Thu 10-10-19 Mon 28-10-19
Project analysis 2 days Thu 10-10-19 Fri 11-10-19 19
Project Testing 4 days Mon 14-10-19 Thu 17-10-19 21
Updating Project 5 days Fri 18-10-19 Thu 24-10-19 22
Produce Performance
report 2 days Fri 25-10-19 Mon 28-10-19 23
Risk Planning 5 days Tue 29-10-19 Mon 04-11-19
Risk identification 2 days Tue 29-10-19 Wed 30-10-19 24
Risk Mitigation 3 days Thu 31-10-19 Mon 04-11-19 26
Project Delivery 6 days Tue 05-11-19 Tue 12-11-19
Manage project Closing 4 days Tue 05-11-19 Fri 08-11-19 27
Close project 1 day Mon 11-11-19 Mon 11-11-19 29
Sign off project team 1 day Tue 12-11-19 Tue 12-11-19 30
3.3 - Proposed budget / costs
The total budget for the project is $44,100. The budget break of the system is
described in the table provided below:
Task Name Cost
Designing Green Purchasing Policy $44,104.00
Project initiation $1,080.00
Define Scope $360.00

Project Document support plan $720.00
Project Planning $1,560.00
Project Budget $240.00
Project Schedule $360.00
Project Approval $480.00
Quality Planning $480.00
Organizing resources $23,560.00
Resource Procurement Plan $1,240.00
Resource Procurement $9,208.00
Set Up environment $13,112.00
Project Deployment $13,440.00
Data management $4,320.00
Communication Management $4,320.00
Contracting sub contractors $4,320.00
Schedule control $120.00
Project Team management $240.00
Manage project scope and requirement $120.00
Quality Assurance $2,704.00
Project analysis $416.00
Project Testing $832.00
Updating Project $1,040.00
Produce Performance report $416.00
Risk Planning $1,040.00
Risk identification $416.00
Risk Mitigation $624.00
Project Delivery $720.00
Manage project Closing $480.00
Close project $120.00
Sign off project team $120.00
3.4 - Possible barriers/impediments to the policy
The potential barriers that may rise towards the implementation of the policy are:

 The organization might face some difficulties in managing the cost that would incur to the
organization if they are to support the green purchase policies.
 The alternate products that are to be purchased by the organization might incur more cost
than it was actually required.
 In addition to this, some of the products might use less power however, their efficiencies are
much less than that of their alternate products.

4. Other important policy information
4.1 - Methods/Activities to promote sustainability policy
The promotion of the policy is to be by circulating a mail that contains the policy
documents and making it mandatory to read the documents for the members of the
organization to follow the policies appropriately. In addition to this the organization should
also be able to provide advertisements and encourage marketing with the propaganda of
green purchasing in the their scheme.
4.2 - Key responsible persons
The communication plan for the project of the XYZ organization is provided below:
Communication plan
Stakeholders Activities to be
undertaken
Assigned
responsibilities
Timeframe Expected
outcomes
Government The government
should be
encouraging the
organization in
taking up the project
The government
should be
supporting the
organization.
At the initial
stages of the
project.
The project can
run smoothly
Project
manager
The project
manager should
make the initiation,
planning and the
delivery of the
project
The project
manager is to be
assigned with the
responsibility of
supervising the
whole project
Throughout
the project.
The project
would be
managed
efficiently.
Project team The project team is
mainly associated
with procurement of
the materials and
setting the
environment for the
green purchasing
policy.
The task of
implementation of
the project is the
responsibility of the
project team
The
implementation
phase
The project
implementation
would be done
smoothly.
Organizational
Staffs
The staffs of the
organization would
have to provide
feedbacks.
The would be the
ones who would be
using the policy.
After the
implementation
of the project.
The feedbacks
would aid the
development of
the system.

5. Monitoring and Reviewing policy
Monitoring and Reviewing the policy
The higher administration within the organization would be responsible for the
monitoring process of the policies of the organization. Regular audits of the policy would be
done and an evaluation on overall position of the business in the organization would be
looked upon and feedbacks would be provided accordingly. The finance department of the
organization would be performing the financial audits and the providing insights on the
financial impacts of the policy on the source of the income for the organization. In addition to
this, management is required to monitor the employees of the organization and the purchase
department regularly.

6. Sources / References
The following references and sources were used to create this policy:
Flynn, J.P., Gascon, G., Doyle, S., Matson Koffman, D.M., Saringer, C., Grossmeier, J.,
Tivnan, V. and Terry, P., 2018. Supporting a culture of health in the workplace: a review of
evidence-based elements. American Journal of Health Promotion, 32(8), pp.1755-1788.
Hubbard, S.M. and Lopp, D., 2015. An integrated framework for fostering human factor
sustainability and increased safety in aviation ramp operations. Journal of Aviation
Technology and Engineering, 5(1), p.44.
Jaiswal, D. and Kant, R., 2018. Green purchasing behaviour: A conceptual framework and
empirical investigation of Indian consumers. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services,
41, pp.60-69.
Jiménez, P., Winkler, B. and Bregenzer, A., 2017. Developing sustainable workplaces with
leadership: Feedback about organizational working conditions to support leaders in health-
promoting behavior. Sustainability, 9(11), p.1944.
Khoiruman, M. and Haryanto, A.T., 2017. Green purchasing behavior analysis of
government policy about paid plastic bags. Indonesian Journal of Sustainability Accounting
and Management, 1(1), pp.31-39.
Liobikienė, G., Mandravickaitė, J. and Bernatonienė, J., 2016. Theory of planned behavior
approach to understand the green purchasing behavior in the EU: A cross-cultural study.
Ecological Economics, 125, pp.38-46.
Markey, R., McIvor, J. and Wright, C.F., 2016. Employee participation and carbon emissions
reduction in Australian workplaces. The International Journal of Human Resource
Management, 27(2), pp.173-191.
McPherson, S., Anid, N.M., Ashton, W.S., Hurtado-Martín, M., Khalili, N. and Panero, M.,
2016. Pathways to Cleaner Production in the Americas II: Application of a competency
model to experiential learning for sustainability education. Journal of cleaner production,
135, pp.907-918.
Raineri, N. and Paillé, P., 2016. Linking corporate policy and supervisory support with
environmental citizenship behaviors: The role of employee environmental beliefs and
commitment. Journal of Business Ethics, 137(1), pp.129-148.
Saifulina, N. and Carballo‐Penela, A., 2017. Promoting sustainable development at an
organizational level: An analysis of the drivers of workplace environmentally friendly
behaviour of employees. Sustainable Development, 25(4), pp.299-310.
Yu, M.C., Mai, Q., Tsai, S.B. and Dai, Y., 2018. An empirical study on the organizational
trust, employee-organization relationship and innovative behavior from the integrated
perspective of social exchange and organizational sustainability. Sustainability, 10(3), p.864.