Environmental Sustainability in the Workplace: Policies and Procedures

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DEVELOP WORKPLACE POLICY AND PROCEDURES FOR SUSTAINABILITY
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Contents
ASSESSMENT TASK 1.................................................................................................................4
QUESTION 1 Name the Australian Government’s central piece of environmental legislation
and explain its purpose..............................................................................................................4
QUESTION 2.............................................................................................................................4
a) Explain the appropriate process for developing a policy and procedure...........................4
b) Who are the types of people that should be consulted with during policy development?..4
c) What strategies can you implement for monitoring and reviewing policies?......................5
QUESTION 3 Explain how you would approach each of the following barriers and challenges
when implementing policies and procedures.............................................................................5
a) An employee does not believe the new system will be a benefit to the workplace. They
are too stuck in their old ways and are resistant to change...................................................5
b) The new policy and procedure is too complicated to follow, so employees avoid using it.5
c) Most of the policies and procedures have not been updated for some time because
management does not want to allocate resources for the updates........................................5
QUESTION 4 The managers of The Best Bite Café have just replaced the existing lights to
energy saving bulbs. They decided to implement the change to save on energy use and do
their part within the community in promoting sustainable practices and helping the
environment...............................................................................................................................6
a) Over the next quarter, they would like to see how the change in light bulbs impacts their
usage and overall costs on the business. Explain how they could monitor costs and
encourage staff usage over the next quarter..........................................................................6
b) Before implementing a new energy saving policy, the managers must identify the
responsibilities of everyone involved. This will help keep people accountable. Outline the
roles and responsibilities for management and employees involved in the policy:................6
c) Over the next quarter, the café received their bill. Review the usage against the same
quarter in the previous year and calculate the total usage.....................................................6
d) The cafe managers are so proud of the strong results they have attained on their energy
use and staff engagement after the last quarter and would like to share their achievements
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with the broader community. What are some ways the centre could promote their
sustainable practices?............................................................................................................7
ASSESSMENT TASK 2.................................................................................................................8
QUESTION 1.............................................................................................................................8
a) List one piece of legislation, one regulation and one code of practice that relate to
environmental issues in this workplace. Explain the compliance requirements of each........8
b) Explain how this information can be used to develop a sustainability policy.....................8
QUESTION 2.............................................................................................................................8
a) Read the Pompoms Hotel Waste management policy. Review the policy identifying
areas where Pompoms Hotel can improve their practices.....................................................8
b) Describe the general procedure for seeking approval to change current policies. This
process includes various steps for requesting permission to change current policies:..........8
c) List five (5) stakeholders you could seek input from when setting objectives and targets.
For each example provide the type of information they may offer.........................................8
QUESTION 3 List three (3) approaches you could apply in the workplace to assess
compliance with sustainability practices....................................................................................9
QUESTION 4 Describe how you could measure and document current resource usage for the
following at Pompoms Hotel......................................................................................................9
QUESTION 5 Describe the approach you would take as manager to communicate the
changes, including assigned responsibilities, proposed outcomes, and activities to both your
team and senior management.................................................................................................10
QUESTION 6 Describe how you would support your side during this project.........................10
QUESTION 7...........................................................................................................................10
a) Describe how you would monitor the new waste management procedures and how you
would report the progress to management and staff............................................................10
b) List at least five (5) pieces of crucial information you would include in your evaluation
tool........................................................................................................................................11
QUESTION 8 List three (3) strategies you could implement to evaluate the overall project.. .11
ASSESSMENT TASK 3...............................................................................................................12
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Part A: Conduct a sustainability assessment...........................................................................12
Part B: Develop a Sustainability Policy....................................................................................12
Part C: Policy Review and Consultation..................................................................................13
References:..............................................................................................................................15
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ASSESSMENT TASK 1
QUESTION 1 Name the Australian Government’s central piece of environmental
legislation and explain its purpose.
Australian Government's central piece of environmental legislation is a bona fide body which
works on the maintenance of laws for the security and protection of the ecological communities
and cultures. It works for the betterment and enhancement of the existing environmental
situations for supporting a green environment. This makes the environment more eco-friendly
(Janda, et al., 2016).
One of the Australian Government's pieces of environmental legislation is “Environmental
Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC)”.
Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act came into existence in the year
1999 which directly aims to conserve the biodiversity of Australia. It works not only on the
national level but also on the international standard for the conservation of different species. Its
functioning is done by controlling the migration of the wildlife and species across the continent
which includes the handling process of all the species of birds and animals and different types
of vegetations which provides for all kinds of plants. All these are ultimately depending upon the
environmental condition of that particular area. It handles the vegetation and species that affects
the environment in all positive and negative regards. It provides a systematic ecological
approach of assessment that gives the whole present scenario about the different species and
their impact on the environment. So by this, the conservation process can be controlled. It also
deals with approval of the plans and proposals which are direct leads to environmental
development. It is automatically directed towards the sustainable development of the
ecosystem. In this, all the species and vegetation share their food and shelter for their individual
and environmental growth (Lindsay, 2016).
QUESTION 2
a) Explain the appropriate process for developing a policy and procedure.
For developing any new policy or procedure in regards to the environment protection, there is a
requirement of firstly doing the survey and analysis of whatever already exists. There is a
requirement of snag rectification in the system so that accordingly new policies and procedures
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can be planned. After the snag detection, there is a requirement of checking the availability of
resources that will help in fulfilling the flaws. Also, check its practical application part and the
impact of external factors on those policies. Then accordingly new policy formation is done
which cover up the flaws. Its continuous audit and improvement are done if required.
b) Who are the types of people that should be consulted with during policy
development?
During any new policy development, there is a requirement of consulting with different peoples
which will help in the effective performance of the policy. Different types of peoples with whom
we may need to concern for these are:
1. Overall head of the organisation as he will finalise the decision.
2. Different Department Heads which are directly affected by these policy formations
(Thyberg, & Tonjes, 2016).
3. Analysis head which will do the survey and check its practical impact on the system.
c) What strategies can you implement for monitoring and reviewing policies?
For the reviewing of new policies, there is a requirement of formation of strategies which will
assess the impact and its growth rate on the system on which it is implemented. There is a
requirement of continuous audit and inspection of these systems that will give its progress
report of how much effect the policies are acting on the network. Also, there is a requirement of
collecting the best evidence that shows the actual impact of the policy on the network.
Continuous monitoring is needed to be done to check its counterfactual performance.
QUESTION 3 Explain how you would approach each of the following barriers and
challenges when implementing policies and procedures.
a) An employee does not believe the new system will be a benefit to the workplace. They
are too stuck in their old ways and are resistant to change.
For overcoming this type of barrier, there is a requirement of creating awareness about the
positive impact of the policies implemented on the system to those who are not having the belief
on the new policies and procedure. If an employee doesn't believe the latest techniques and are
stuck in its old ways, then there is a requirement of telling the advantages of the implementation
of to the employee. Need to discuss the opportunity of learning and growth of an individual,
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benefits of communication, collaboration and sharing, and self as well as overall organisation
development (Baum, et al., 2016).
b) The new policy and procedure is too complicated to follow, so employees avoid using
it
In the starting, the latest techniques and systems always create the problem in the practical
working so because of this reason, the employees are trying to avoid this, but for overcoming
this barrier, there is a requirement of removing the hesitation and the hypothesis about its
impact form the employee mind. Providing suitable training accordingly that helps in adaption
with the new policy. Also, there is a need for providing awareness about the benefits of the
systems so that they get familiar and can make out more form it (Park & Tucker, 2017).
c) Most of the policies and procedures have not been updated for some time because
management does not want to allocate resources for the updates.
With such deeds, the management body is trying to hide the facilities of an employee for a short
duration and the employees are not able to get their advantages and facilities. For overcoming
this, there is a requirement of creating awareness about all the new policies and the employee
should be active enough to access this (Wan, et al., 2017). At any instant, if the management
body is hiding such things, then the employee should claim for it to get proper access. HR
should also take the initiative to work for the betterment for all the employees. Not only for those
who are at a higher level but for all grade employees.
QUESTION 4 The managers of The Best Bite Café have just replaced the existing lights to
energy saving bulbs. They decided to implement the change to save on energy use and
do their part within the community in promoting sustainable practices and helping the
environment.
a) Over the next quarter, they would like to see how the change in light bulbs impacts
their usage and overall costs on the business. Explain how they could monitor costs and
encourage staff usage over the next quarter.
Over the next quarter, the change in the bulbs impacts business performance. With the
difference in the lamp used in the company, the energy saving will be more (nearly 40%). This
saved energy can be used in doing some useful works. With this, the investment cost for the
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power is also saved which can be used again for the organisation development. These are also
eco-friendly.
b) Before implementing a new energy saving policy, the managers must identify the
responsibilities of everyone involved. This will help keep people accountable. Outline the
roles and responsibilities for management and employees involved in the policy:
▪ Management: The role of the management in this regard is to plan in such a manner to
achieve more energy. They also select a good quality bulb for effective performance. They
should also provide the advertisement via posters and other means to aware the people
regarding energy saving and is a useful impact (Guest, 2017).
▪ Employees: Need to analyse the energy saving, and with this understanding, an individual
must perform its duty of switching off the light when not required. Try to reduce the utilisation of
that equipment which consumes more electricity.
c) Over the next quarter, the café received their bill. Review the usage against the same
quarter in the previous year and calculate the total usage.
On looking to the data provided, the conclusion received is that the organisation after
implementation of energy saving light bulbs saved a lot of energy. The same energy is used in
doing some other useful works, and the investment cost also saves leads to an increase in the
profit of the organisation. Total 2383 kilowatts of energy is consumed and in comparison to the
previous year total of 852 KW of energy is saved.
d) The cafe managers are so proud of the strong results they have attained on their
energy use and staff engagement after the last quarter and would like to share their
achievements with the wider community. What are some ways the centre could promote
their sustainable practices?
They promoted their sustainable practices through reducing the waste of electricity use, proper
audit, and assessment of the existing saving technique to check its working situation, snag
rectification and proper maintenance as per the requirement. With this, the organisation
performance for sustainable living improved a lot.
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ASSESSMENT TASK 2
QUESTION 1
a) List one piece of legislation, one regulation and one code of practice that relate to
environmental issues in this workplace. Explain the compliance requirements of each.
The legislation related to the environmental issue in the given workplace is Environmental
Protection Act 1997 which works with the joint ventures of business and industry for protecting
the environment from its pollution and its effect. It works with environment management
planning for their conservation. It basically deals with administering the minister for environment
and heritage for sustainable development. It will directly lead to organisation growth (Han, et.
at., 2018).
b) Explain how this information can be used to develop a sustainability policy.
All this information provided is regarding the environmental conservation and protection which
directly leads to the sustainable development of the organisation. The policies clearly defined
the balanced impact of industry and business on the environment so that it can't get affected
and the growth rate is maintained as well as developed. These policies are administering the
environment and heritage that lead to developing a sustainable policy.
QUESTION 2
a) Read the Pompoms Hotel Waste management policy. Review the policy identifying
areas where Pompoms Hotel can improve their practices.
Hotel waste management policy deals with maintaining the waste produced by the customers.
After reviewing the system, we get the information that there is a requirement of improving the
practices by doing the landfilling of the disposals, recycling the wastes which can be recycled,
preparing for recovery and reuse (including energy recovery), etc. This will support the Hotel
ineffective controlling of waste management (Buffa, et al., 2018).
b) Describe the general procedure for seeking approval to change current policies. This
process includes various steps for requesting approval to change current policies:
1. Prioritisation of policy development that is needed to be implementing.
2. Policy development and approval process which reveals the required changes in the
existing policies and for their modification, the approval s needed.
3. It includes substantive change, editorial change, and appendix change.
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c) List five (5) stakeholders you could seek input from when setting objectives and
targets. For each example provide the type of information they may provide.
When setting objectives and targets, the different stakeholder from which there is a requirement
of seeking input is discussed as follows:
Project Manager: It gives the requirement of resources that are needed to complete the project.
Team Manager: It manages the functioning and the flow of control of the organisation.
Sponsor: It provides financial support in the successful completion of the task.
Customer: the feedback according to which the modification is required.
Functional management: It handles the functioning process that leads to effective management.
QUESTION 3 List three (3) approaches you could apply in the workplace to assess
compliance with sustainability practices
The approaches for attaining sustainable practices are mentioned as follows:
1. Tracking facilities and resources for gathering more sustainability. It will give you the full
information and access control over different available resources present within the
organisation.
2. Engaging, educating and empowering employees for performing effectively in such an
environment. It is a necessary action to be taken by the management body for improving
their working performance of the organisation. By this, the employee is getting skilled
with the newly advancement working culture and can perform adequately for the
organisation development (Fennell & Markwell, 2015).
3. Greening core products and services for the practical achievement of sustainability. It
will help in attaining the sustainable growth of the organisation as it will provide a
suitable and friendly marketing platform where it can stand and can compete with the
competitive environment for a long duration.
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QUESTION 4 Describe how you could measure and document current resource usage for
the following at Pompoms Hotel.
Different resources have different roles in the organisation. Just like that, in any hotel, different
resources perform different roles that support the smooth functioning of the working
environment of the organisation. The usages of different currently available resources at
Pompom Hotel are as follows:
▪ Paper: The paper is used in the hotel for the generation of different bills, menu cards,
newspapers, etc.
▪ Energy such as electricity: it can be used in the generation of fans, lights, internet usage,
geezers and supplement facilities (MUO, 2016).
▪ Transportation: Lift, cab services, laundry facilities, etc.
▪ Wastage: Electricity as well as water wastage. Different types of papers in the form of
cardboard, sheets, etc. The organic waste that can be recycled can also be put in this category.
QUESTION 5 Describe the approach you would take as manager to communicate the
changes, including assigned responsibilities, proposed outcomes, and activities to both
your team and senior management.
The approach with which the manager will communicate the changes to obtain the proposed
outcomes will include the reduction of the wastage in the hotel. The waste management system
in the hotel decides and plans accordingly to work in this regards. Not only an individual but also
the team has an equal contribution to this. Mainly during the whole management assessment,
the flaws come into the notice and which has the major diverse effect is waste management.
Also, there is a need for motivating the employee in this regards as, without the active
participation of this, this aim should not be achieved properly. So there is a requirement of
controlling and handling these external factors so that effective management is maintained
within the organisation.
QUESTION 6 Describe how you would support your team during this project.
In this regards, there is a requirement for supporting the team for its effective performance. The
implementation of the waste management system will help a lot in this regards as by this the
generation of waste is managed and also be reduced up to a certain level that can help in the
effective performance of the organisation. The requirement is to be fulfilled which consist of
providing the required resources for better development. Properly review the work of your team
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