THE UN GLOBAL COMPACT
MODULE 4
FROM PRINCIPLE TO PRACTICE
Session 2: The GC Toolkit – Environmental
Principles
UNGC Module 4 – Session 2
1
The GC Toolkit - Environmental Principles
Introduction and Overview
The GC Tools have the following essential functions:
– Provide a methodology for collecting and organising information
– Improve knowledge and understanding of:
• the dynamics of the system
• the drivers of behaviour
• the reasons for failure
– Provide a description of accepted levels of performance and/or
prompts the setting of performance targets
– Identify proven means for modifying behaviour to reach these
performance targets
– Provide the means for monitoring and reporting on progress in
improving performance
Some managers intuitively ‘see’ the challenge and the correct
solution without the conscious help of tools
UNGC Module 4 – Session 2
2
The GC Toolkit - Environmental Principles
Introduction and Overview
Different types of Environmental Sustainability Tools
– Environmental Management Tools
– Environmental Assessment Tools
– Environmental Monitoring and Auditing Tools
– Environmental Reporting and Communication Tools
Note: the next few slides provide some examples of specific tools for each of these
broad general types. Each of these types of tools is then linked to the UNGC
Performance Model introduced in the previous Module.
A comprehensive Framework for Action is provided in Appendix 1 of the Manuals,
showing the inter-relationship between the various tools, the GC principles, the
training modules and the Performance Model.
UNGC Module 4 – Session 2
3
The GC Toolkit - Environmental Principles
Introduction and Overview
The response of a hypothetical company: What tools and when?
Decision to manage environmental risks by implementing EMS
Strategy of Cleaner Production (CPOA)
This leads to one or more of the following:
- Environmental auditing
- Pollution and waste audits
- Supply chain audits and assessments
- Ecological foot-printing
Environmental performance indicators may then be developed, which in turn may
require more detailed assessments including for example:
–
–
–
–
–
–
Environmental impact assessment
Eco-efficiency
Life-cycle assessment
Industrial ecology
Total cost assessments
Environmental technology assessment.
Results could then be communicated by reporting.
UNGC Module 4 – Session 2
4
The GC Toolkit - Environmental Principles
Introduction and Overview
Different types of Environmental Sustainability Tools
– Environmental Management Tools
– Environmental Assessment Tools
– Environmental Monitoring and Auditing Tools
– Environmental Reporting and Communication Tools
Environmental Management Tools
Environmental Management Systems – e.g. ISO 14001 or EMAS
Environmental Management Strategies:
Cleaner Production, Sustainable Consumption and Eco-efficiency
Life-cycle management
Design for the Environment/ Eco-design
Product stewardship
Product-services systems
Industrial ecology
UNEP APELL
UNGC Module 4 – Session 2
5
From Principle to Practice
Relating environmental management tools to the GC Performance Model
GC TOOLS
GC TOOLS
Environmental
Management System
(E.g. ISO14000)
Environmental
Management System
Internal Communication
(as part of an EMS)
Environmental
Management Tools (E.g.
Product Stewardship,
Product-Services
Systems)
UNGC Module 4 – Session 2
Environmental
Management
Strategies (e.g.
Cleaner Production,
Life Cycle
Management, Design
for Environment)
Environmental
Management
System
Environmental
Management Tools
(E.g. Life-Cycle
Management)
6
The GC Toolkit - Environmental Principles
Introduction and Overview
Different types of Environmental Sustainability Tools
– Environmental Management Tools
– Environmental Assessment Tools
– Environmental Monitoring and Auditing Tools
– Environmental Reporting and Communication Tools
Environmental Assessment Tools
Environmental Impact Assessment
Environmental Risk Assessment
Cleaner Production Opportunity Assessment
Environmental Technology Assessment
Life-Cycle Assessment
Total Cost Assessment
UNGC Module 4 – Session 2
7
From Principle to Practice
Relating environmental assessment tools to the GC Performance Model
GC TOOLS
GC TOOLS
Environmental
Assessment Tools
Environmental
Assessment Tools
(E.g. Risk Assessment,
CPOA, LCA, TCA)
(E.g. Risk Assessment,
EnTA)
Environmental Risk
Assessment
UNGC Module 4 – Session 2
Environmental
Assessment Tools (e.g.
Supply Chain
Assessment, Life-Cycle
Assessment)
8
The GC Toolkit - Environmental Principles
Introduction and Overview
Different types of Environmental Sustainability Tools
– Environmental Assessment Tools
– Environmental Management Tools
– Environmental Monitoring and Auditing Tools
– Environmental Reporting and Communication Tools
Monitoring and Auditing Tools
Environmental Performance Indicators
Environmental Auditing
Pollution and Waste Audits
Supply chain audits and assessments
UNGC Module 4 – Session 2
9
From Principle to Practice
Relating monitoring and auditing tools to the GC Performance Model
GC TOOLS
GC TOOLS
Environmental
Monitoring Tools
Environmental
Auditing & Monitoring
Tools
(e.g. KPIs)
Environmental
Monitoring & Auditing
Tools
UNGC Module 4 – Session 2
Environmental
Auditing & Monitoring
Tools (e.g. Supply
Chain Audits)
10
The GC Toolkit - Environmental Principles
Introduction and Overview
Different types of Environmental Sustainability Tools
– Environmental Assessment Tools
– Environmental Management Tools
– Environmental Monitoring and Auditing Tools
– Environmental Reporting and Communication Tools
Reporting and Communication Tools
Corporate Environmental / Sustainability Reports
Stakeholder engagement activities
Developing partnerships for progress
Environmental labelling programmes
Ecological footprints
UNGC Module 4 – Session 2
11
From Principle to Practice
Relating reporting and communication tools to the GC Performance Model
GC TOOLS
Communication Tools
(e.g. Stakeholder
engagement)
Communication Tools
(E.g. Stakeholder
engagement)
GC TOOLS
Communication Tools
(E.g. Stakeholder
engagement)
Communication Tools
(e.g. Eco-labelling)
Environmental Reporting &
Communication Tools
(E.g. Sustainability Reporting)
UNGC Module 4 – Session 2
12
The GC Toolkit - Environmental Principles
Environmental Management Tools
Environmental Management Systems
An EMS is the part of the overall management system that includes
organizational structure, planning activities, responsibilities,
practices, procedures, processes and resources for developing,
implementing, achieving, reviewing and maintaining the
environmental policy. Key examples include ISO 14001 and EMAS.
EMS are used to:
– Help companies to identify and prioritise their key environmental impacts
in a structured and systematic manner
– Provide a framework for setting clear objectives and targets for managing
these impacts
– Ensure that structured processes and procedures are in place for measuring
and monitoring performance
The type of EMS depends on the nature, size and complexity of the
company’s activities, products and services
UNGC Module 4 – Session 2
13
The GC Toolkit - Environmental Principles
Environmental Management Tools
ISO 14001 Environmental Management System
Plan
Act
Continual
Improvement
Do
Check
UNGC Module 4 – Session 2
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The GC Toolkit - Environmental Principles
Environmental Management Tools
ISO 14001 Environmental Management System
Plan
•
•
•
•
Act
Identify aspects and impacts, hazards and risks
Document legislation and other requirements
Set objectives and measurable targets
Policy and management programme
Continual
Improvement
Do
Check
UNGC Module 4 – Session 2
15
The GC Toolkit - Environmental Principles
Environmental Management Tools
ISO 14001 Environmental Management System
Plan
Act
Continual
Improvement
Do
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Structure and responsibility
Training, awareness and competence
Communication
EMS documentation
Document control
Operational control
Emergency preparedness & response
Check
UNGC Module 4 – Session 2
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The GC Toolkit - Environmental Principles
Environmental Management Tools
ISO 14001 Environmental Management System
Plan
Continual
Improvement
Act
Do
Check
•
•

•
UNGC Module 4 – Session 2
Monitoring, measuring and auditing performance
Maintaining records
Schedule, plan and conduct system audits
Non-conformance and corrective action
17
The GC Toolkit - Environmental Principles
Environmental Management Tools
ISO 14001 Environmental Management System
Plan
Act



Implement corrective actions
Track improvement
Management review
Continual
Improvement
Do
Check
UNGC Module 4 – Session 2
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The GC Toolkit - Environmental Principles
Environmental Management Tools
Training and Internal Communication – part of an EMS
Ongoing employee and management training and internal
communication at all levels is critical for ensuring that there is
sufficient commitment and understanding to integrating principles of
environmental responsibility into the business, and to ensuring that
there is a required change in attitudes and business behaviour
Training and communication should be undertaken on issues such as:
–
–
–
–
–
Awareness of the company’s environmental impacts and aspects
Technical understanding on how to manage these impacts and aspects
Knowledge of current and potential environmental liabilities
Skills to effectively implement management systems and programmes
Building and maintaining motivation to address environmental
concerns
UNGC Module 4 – Session 2
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The GC Toolkit - Environmental Principles
Environmental Management Tools
Conserving raw
materials, water and
energy
Eliminating toxic
raw materials
Reducing the
quantity and toxicity
of all emissions
Reducing wastes at
source
UNGC Module 4 – Session 2
Cleaner Production
A preventive environmental approach, aimed at
increasing resource efficiency and reducing the
generation of pollution and waste at source, rather than
addressing and mitigating the symptoms.
“Cleaner Production is the continuous application
of an integrated preventive environmental
strategy to processes, products and services so as
to increase efficiency and reduce risks to humans
and the environment.”
UNEP
20
The GC Toolkit - Environmental Principles
Environmental Management Tools
Cleaner Production (CP) Strategy
For production processes, CP includes
–
More efficient use of raw materials, water and energy
–
–
Elimination of toxic or dangerous process input materials
Minimising the volume and toxicity of all emissions and waste
For products, CP focuses on
–
–
Reducing impacts through the product’s life cycle
Adapting design, raw material input, manufacturing, use, and disposal
For services, CP implies
–
Preventive environmental strategy in the design and delivery of services
UNGC Module 4 – Session 2
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The GC Toolkit - Environmental Principles
Environmental Management Tools
Promoting CP through good management practices
1. Establish senior management commitment for CP
• Define, communicate and monitor progress against performance targets
2. Appoint waste minimisation ‘champion’ to
• Review the true cost of waste
• Motivate the workforce to reduce waste – appropriate incentives
3. Implement visible monitoring and reporting on
• Volumes of waste generated/materials used
• The cost of waste collection and disposal, and resource use
• The total cost of waste and resource use
4. Inform company suppliers of CP commitment, and provide assistance
5. Share expertise through a waste minimisation club
UNGC Module 4 – Session 2
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The GC Toolkit - Environmental Principles
Environmental Management Tools
Implementing a Cleaner Production Management Programme
– Step 1: Planning & Organisation
– Step 2: Preliminary Assessment
– Step 3: Detailed Assessment
– Step 4: Feasibility Analysis
– Step 5: Implementation
– Step 6: Monitor Progress
UNGC Module 4 – Session 2
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The GC Toolkit - Environmental Principles
Environmental Management Tools
Implementing a CP Management Programme
UNGC Module 4 – Session 2
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The GC Toolkit - Environmental Principles
Environmental Management Tools
Eco-efficiency
A management strategy that seeks to
produce more value with less input of
energy and material, and with reduced
emissions
Key opportunity areas for business:
Eco-efficiency measures
• Reducing the material and energy
intensity of goods and services
• Increasing the service intensity of goods
and services
• Reducing toxic dispersion
- Re-engineering processes
• Enhancing material recyclability
- Redesigning products
- Re-valorising by-products
• Maximising sustainable use of renewable
resources
- Rethinking markets
• Increasing material/product durability
• Increasing service intensity
UNGC Module 4 – Session 2
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The GC Toolkit - Environmental Principles
Environmental Management Tools
Implementing CP and Eco-efficiency: A Structured approach
STEP 1
Assign formal responsibility
for cleaner production / eco-efficiency
STEP 2
Identify opportunities by
undertaking a CP
opportunity assessment
STEP 7
Review the
progress
STEP 6
Implement the
action plan
STEP 5
Produce an
action plan
UNGC Module 4 – Session 2
STEP 3
Analyse the
information
STEP 4
Consider the various options
available
26
The GC Toolkit - Environmental Principles
Environmental Management Tools
Sustainable Production and Consumption
What is Sustainable Consumption?:
“…the use of services and products which respond to basic needs and bring a better quality of
life while minimizing the use of natural resources and toxic materials as well as the emissions
of waste and pollutants over the life cycle of the service or product so as to not jeopardize the
needs of future generations.”
UN CSD, 1995
Includes interventions that influence consumption patterns (e.g, product
stewardship, product labelling and information and product design)
“Consumers are increasingly interested in the world that lies behind the products. They want
to know how and where and by whom the products have been produced.”
Klaus Toepfer, UNEP Executive Director
UNGC Module 4 – Session 2
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The GC Toolkit - Environmental Principles
Environmental Management Tools
Business Response to Sustainable Production and Consumption
An extension of the eco-efficiency approach to include:
•
Technological and social innovations to improve quality of life (ESTs, Productservices systems, Green Procurement Strategies, etc.)
•
Provide and inform consumer choice (Eco-labelling, Green Advertising, etc.)
•
Improved market conditions through appropriate legislation and regulation (Extended
Producer Responsibility, etc.)
•
Attention to the need to reduce resource consumption in production and products
(Eco-design & Design for Environment, Eco-efficiency, CP, ESTs, Product-services
systems)
•
To improve the effectiveness and quality of product use (Eco-design, etc.)
•
Reducing end-of-life waste (e.g. through recycling) (Product Stewardship, etc.)
UNGC Module 4 – Session 2
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The GC Toolkit - Environmental Principles
Environmental Management Tools
Production Chain Schematic - Examples of strategies to improve
Resource Productivity in Production and Consumption
• Cleaner processing
and energy technology
UNGC Module 4 – Session 2
• Cleaner processing and energy
technology
• More emphasis on material
with a favourable life course
• Less material per unit
• Larger share of materials
from recycling industry
• Better moduling of
components
• Cleaner processing
and energy technology
29
The GC Toolkit - Environmental Principles
Environmental Management Tools
Production Chain Schematic - Examples of strategies to improve
Resource Productivity in Production and Consumption ….
• Cleaner and more
effective transport
• Possibly spread
Production
• Re-use of transport
packaging
UNGC Module 4 – Session 2
• Rationalize link between goods or
services and consumer
(computer shopping)
• Better utilization of energy
• More re-use and recycling
• A large share of the total
consumption should refer to service
• More “sharing”
• More systematic
Recycling
• New materials
• technology
30
The GC Toolkit - Environmental Principles
Environmental Management Tools
Life Cycle Thinking for Sustainable Production & Consumption
Return to the
environment
Consumption/
Use
Obsolescence Society’s Need
for Products and
Services
Re-Use
Manufacturing
Recycling
Exploration
… implies that everyone in
the whole chain of a
product’s life cycle, from
cradle to grave, has a
responsibility and a role to
play, taking into account all
the relevant external
effects.”
Klaus Toepfer
Refining
UNGC Module 4 – Session 2
Extraction
31
The GC Toolkit - Environmental Principles
Environmental Management Tools
Design For The Environment (DFE)
Examining a product’s entire projected lifecycle and identifying
measures that can be taken to minimise the environmental impact of the
product at its design stage
DFE strategies considers design measures to reduce the environmental
impact in each stage of its life cycle
• Raw materials: design measures relating e.g. to resource conservation
• Manufacturing: providing for eco-efficiency in the production phase
• Product use: making provision in product-use phase e.g. for energy and water
efficiency, reduced material use, and increased durability
• End-of-life: key design considerations include design for disassembly, design for
durability, product re-use, and design for recycling
UNGC Module 4 – Session 2
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The GC Toolkit - Environmental Principles
Environmental Management Tools
Eco-Design
Eco-Design considers the relation between a product and the environment.
Common propositions:
– Environmental impacts from products have continued to rise relative to
production processes
– A life-cycle perspective on the environmental impacts of a product captures the
whole production-consumption chain
– Of the (life-cycle) impacts from products, 60% to 80% are determined at the
design stage
– A focus on products is a better way to engage business interest and action
because it focuses on the products' market vulnerability
UNGC Module 4 – Session 2
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The GC Toolkit - Environmental Principles
Environmental Management Tools
Cradle-to-Cradle Design – A New Paradigm
Current Industrial System: a one-way manufacturing flow
= a "cradle to grave" lifecycle
Eco-efficiency: minimizing waste, pollution, and natural resource depletionseeks to make the current, destructive system sustainable
Not a strategy for long-term change
True change: Designing industrial processes so they do not generate toxic
pollution and "waste" in the first place
“Long-term prosperity depends not on the efficiency of a fundamentally destructive
system, but on the effectiveness of processes designed to be healthy and renewable in
the first place” - William McDonough
UNGC Module 4 – Session 2
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The GC Toolkit - Environmental Principles
Environmental Management Tools
Cradle-to-Cradle Design – “Environmentally Intelligent”
New paradigm modeling human industry on nature’s processes in terms of which
WASTE = FOOD
Materials are viewed as nutrients circulating in healthy, safe metabolisms:
1) Nature's biological metabolism should be protected and enriched
all waste = food for biological system (biodegradable)
2) Technical metabolism enhanced through circulation of mineral and synthetic materials
All waste = food for another industrial system
Cradle-to-Cradle by William McDonough & Michael Bragnaurt
http://www.mbdc.com
UNGC Module 4 – Session 2
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The GC Toolkit - Environmental Principles
Environmental Management Tools
Cradle-to-Cradle Design – Benefits
•
Design for life-time customers – products leased again & again to
customer base
•
Risk management – risks to environmental and human health are
reduced by eliminating the concept of waste & selecting materials that
are safe to both human and natural systems
•
Cost reduction – dramatically reduce legal & material costs
•
Product differentiation – products that offer customers excellence by all
measurements
“Cradle-to-Cradle designs have positive effects extending beyond the client
company to its suppliers, customers, communities, and the natural world ”
William McDonough
UNGC Module 4 – Session 2
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The GC Toolkit - Environmental Principles
Environmental Management Tools
Product-Services Systems
• Developing a marketable mix of products and services that are jointly
capable of fulfilling a client's need - with less environmental impact
• A new concept for businesses to improve their sustainability
performance
• Analyse the needs of consumers that are fulfilled with products and
services, and use this as basis for innovation
• A shift in focus from selling products to selling the utility provided by
the product
UNGC Module 4 – Session 2
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The GC Toolkit - Environmental Principles
Environmental Management Tools
Product Stewardship
A product-centred approach to environmental management, where
manufacturers – either voluntarily or under pressure from government –
take responsibility for the entire life-cycle impacts of a product and its
packaging
Benefits:
- Green marketing opportunities
- Avoids regulation
- Achieves environmental goals
UNGC Module 4 – Session 2
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The GC Toolkit - Environmental Principles
Environmental Management Tools
Product Stewardship
The objective of product stewardship is to encourage manufacturers to redesign
products with fewer toxins, to make them more durable, reusable, and
recyclable, and using recycled materials.
Tools of Product Stewardship include:
–
–
–
–
–
–
Take-back programs
Leasing
Life-cycle management
Shared responsibility
Extended producer responsibility
Manufacturer responsibility
UNGC Module 4 – Session 2
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The GC Toolkit - Environmental Principles
Environmental Management Tools
Product Stewardship
Step 1: Evaluate a product from the life-cycle perspective
Step 2: Choose one of the stages that seems to
cause major environmental problems and think
about alternative ways of performing that stage
UNGC Module 4 – Session 2
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The GC Toolkit - Environmental Principles
Environmental Management Tools
Industrial ecology
An interdisciplinary framework aimed at developing industrial systems that mimic
natural ecosystems, typically achieved through the symbiotic co-location of industries so
that waste from one industry can serve as a raw material input into another.
The diagrams above show the application of industrial ecology thinking in the context of a brewery. The figure on
the left shows the typical process flow diagram, resulting in waste to landfill. The diagram on the right shows how
this waste can be an important natural resource for other processes. Taken from www.zeri.org
UNGC Module 4 – Session 2
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The GC Toolkit - Environmental Principles
Environmental Management Tools
Industrial ecology
Industrial ecology encompasses a variety of related areas of research
and practice, including:
•
Material and energy flow studies ("industrial metabolism")
•
Dematerialization and decarbonization
•
Technological change and the environment
•
Life-cycle planning, design and assessment
•
Design for the environment ("eco-design")
•
Extended producer responsibility ("product stewardship")
•
Eco-industrial parks ("industrial symbiosis")
•
Product-oriented environmental policy
•
Eco-efficiency
UNGC Module 4 – Session 2
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The GC Toolkit - Environmental Principles
Environmental Management Tools
UNEP APELL is:
– A modular, flexible methodological tool for preventing accidents
– Failing this, to minimise their impacts
– Explained in the APELL Handbook (1988) (www.uneptie.org/apell)
– Directly supported by the International Council of Chemical Associations
(ICCA) and numerous other partners
– Achieved by assisting decision-makers and technical personnel to:
• Increase community awareness
• Prepare co-ordinated response plans involving industry, government, and the local
community
– Also adapted for specific applications:
• APELL For Port Areas (1996)
• TransAPELL, Guidance for Dangerous Goods Transport: Emergency Planning in
a Local Community (2000)
• APELL for Mining (2001)
UNGC Module 4 – Session 2
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The GC Toolkit - Environmental Principles
Environmental Management Tools
The Benefits of APELL are:
– In reducing the likelihood of accidents and reducing their impacts
– In helping to build relationships between a company and the community of benefit over the long term
– In assisting community awareness and understanding of the operation
and its management - should generate the confidence, trust and support
which companies need whether or not they experience an accident
UNGC Module 4 – Session 2
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The GC Toolkit - Environmental Principles
Environmental Assessment Tools
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
A planning tool aimed at identifying and minimising the
environmental impacts associated with proposed projects
Key elements in an EIA:
– Scoping
– Screening
– Identifying and evaluating alternatives
– Mitigating measures, dealing with uncertainty
– Issuing environmental statements: report EIA findings
UNGC Module 4 – Session 2
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The GC Toolkit - Environmental Principles
Environmental Assessment Tools
Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs)
Aim to:
•
Predict environmental impacts at an early stage in project planning and design
•
Find ways and means to reduce adverse impacts
•
Shape projects to suit the local environment
•
Present the predictions and options to decision-makers
Benefits:
•
Reduced cost and time of project implementation and design
•
Avoided treatment/clean-up costs
•
Avoided impacts of laws and regulations.
UNGC Module 4 – Session 2
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The GC Toolkit - Environmental Principles
Environmental Assessment Tools
Environmental Risk Assessment (ERA)
Typically consisting of Human Health Risk Assessment and Ecological
Risk Assessment, ERAs:
– Describe a hazard (e.g. a chemical pollutant detrimental to human health
or habitat loss impacting on biodiversity)
– Describe the potential for exposure to the hazard
– Estimate the risk, or likelihood of a negative effect, based on the hazard
and exposures
– Consider uncertainties which may be inherent in arriving at the risk
estimate
UNGC Module 4 – Session 2
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The GC Toolkit - Environmental Principles
Environmental Assessment Tools
Environmental Risk Assessment
A process which helps answer the following:
•
What can go wrong? (risk perception)
•
What is the likelihood and severity of any adverse occurrence? (risk
assessment)
•
What can be done to manage any significant adverse occurrence and who
should be involved? (risk management and risk communication).
UNGC Module 4 – Session 2
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The GC Toolkit - Environmental Principles
Environmental Assessment Tools
Environmental Technology Assessment
• A description of the technology, its goal, and the likely affected
stakeholders
• An assessment of the environmental pressure and impacts of using the
technology
• An evaluation of the environmental risks and their significance
• A comparative assessment of alternative technologies
• Recommendations on technology choices.
UNGC Module 4 – Session 2
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The GC Toolkit - Environmental Principles
Environmental Assessment Tools
EnTA for Identification and Selection of ESTs
– Aim to identify environmental, human health & safety impacts of a new
technology investment
– Require a dynamic, evolving process of assessment, transfer, uptake and
verification of ESTs = EnTA
– EnTA is a systematic procedure to assess technology options at the preinvestment stage, with a focus on:
• relative environmental performances
• implications for sustainable development
• likely cultural and socio-economic consequences
– EnTA helps all stakeholders reach a consensus on the technology intervention
that is expected to be the most:
• Environmentally sound
• Socially acceptable
• Economically viable
UNGC Module 4 – Session 2
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The GC Toolkit - Environmental Principles
Environmental Assessment Tools
Key characteristics of an EnTA
– Technology focused
– Focused at enterprise level rather than national policy level
– Designed to ensure consideration of alternative technology interventions
– Simplifying, flexible, largely qualitative and often subjective
– Designed to involve, and reflect the interests of, multiple stakeholders
– Scoping tool - to be used at the “idea stage”, rather than after development of
a formal/full proposal when it is more appropriate to undertake an EIA
– A proactive environmental management tool
– Multidisciplinary in approach
– Comprehensive and integrated – with respect to the full life cycle and broad
implications of the technology system
– Identifies if more sophisticated assessment tools should be used
– Voluntary – it is not considered to be a regulatory tool
UNGC Module 4 – Session 2
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The GC Toolkit - Environmental Principles
Environmental Assessment Tools
Overview of an EnTA
D.I.C.E.
– Describe - the proposed technology intervention, any
alternatives, their requirements, and the operating
environment
– Identify - the pressures the technology places on the
environment
– Characterise - the environmental impacts these pressures may
cause
– Evaluate - the overall consequences of the impacts, in light of
local conditions
UNGC Module 4 – Session 2
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The GC Toolkit - Environmental Principles
Environmental Assessment Tools
EnTA Preparation
Step 1: Technology Description
Step 2: Identify Environmental Pressures
Step 3: Preliminary Judgement of Impacts
Step 4: Comparison of Options
Step 5: Consensus and Recommendations
Completing the EnTA
UNGC Module 4 – Session 2
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The GC Toolkit - Environmental Principles
Environmental Assessment Tools
EnTA – Identify Environmental Pressures
UNGC Module 4 – Session 2
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The GC Toolkit - Environmental Principles
Environmental Assessment Tools
EnTA – Preliminary Judgement of Impacts
UNGC Module 4 – Session 2
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The GC Toolkit - Environmental Principles
Environmental Assessment Tools
EnTA – Performance Data
•
MaESTRO - http://www.unep.org.jp/index/ietc/index.html
•
Technical publications
•
Academic Journals
•
Expert information
(Note: A full list of reference details is provided in
Module 4: Session 3 of the Delegates’ Manual)
UNGC Module 4 – Session 2
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The GC Toolkit - Environmental Principles
Environmental Assessment Tools
Cleaner Production Opportunity Assessment
A systematic approach to identifying opportunities for
implementing cleaner production/eco-efficiency measures in a
company
Identify opportunities relating for example to:
1.
Changing raw material and energy inputs
2.
Organisation and management practices
3.
Changing equipment and process technologies
4.
Re-using and recycling wastes (internally and externally)
5.
Introducing changes to the product and packaging
UNGC Module 4 – Session 2
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The GC Toolkit - Environmental Principles
Environmental Assessment Tools
Example of CP worksheet
Solid
waste item
Total
Major
source
_
Approx.
Amount
Back to
market
(tonnes/yr)
(tonnes/yr)
*
*
Not back
to Market
Hazardous
Yes/no/
don’t know
*
_
Current
expend
iture
Reduction
target
_
_
(tonnes/yr)
UNGC Module 4 – Session 2
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The GC Toolkit - Environmental Principles
Environmental Assessment Tools
Example of CP opportunity checklist
Activities-related questions
Yes
No
Don’t
know
Lighting
Are you using daylight in administration buildings and
production sites?
Do you normally switch lamps off after work?
Do you have energy-saving bulbs or fluorescent tubes and
avoid conventional light bulbs?
Running office equipment
Do you know the energy consumed by office equipment such
as computers, printers, refrigerators and transformers?
Do you normally switch off office equipment after work?
Ventilation and air conditioning
Does your company avoid unnecessary air conditioning?
Does your company use a heat exchanger to maximise
ventilation?
UNGC Module 4 – Session 2
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The GC Toolkit - Environmental Principles
Environmental Assessment Tools
Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA)
A systematic approach to measuring resource consumption and
environmental releases throughout a product’s life cycle, from
extraction through to disposal, with the aim of aiding decision-making
when comparing the relative environmental merits of two or more
product or service categories
Key stages in LCAs:
- Identify and quantify environmental loads
- Assess and evaluate the potential environmental impacts of these loads
- Assess options for reducing environmental impacts
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Life-Cycle Assessment
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Total Cost Assessment
Developed in 1991 by the Tellus Institute as a tool for integrating
business and environmental objectives, TCA seeks to capture costs
and savings that are generally ignored by traditional approaches.
It goes beyond traditional accounting by examining changes in
direct, indirect, contingent and less-quantifiable costs and savings
over the longer term
The 5 major TCA Principles:
1.
Accounting for costs rather than outlays
2.
Accounting for hidden costs
3.
Accounting for overhead and indirect costs to individual services
4.
Accounting for past and future costs
5.
Accounting for costs according to activities or paths
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Environmental Monitoring and Auditing Tools
Environmental Auditing
A systematic, documented verification process of objectively obtaining and
evaluating audit evidence to determine whether specified environmental
activities, events, conditions, management systems, or information about
these matters, confirm with audit criteria, and communicating the results of
this process.
Environmental audits may assess compliance against with e.g.
– Environmental laws and standards
– A company’s environmental management system (eg ISO 14001)
– A company’s environmental/sustainability report
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Supply Chain Audits and Assessments
An assessment by corporate purchasers of the environmental and social
performance of their suppliers. This is a valuable means for the larger, more
visible, companies to transmit pressure for change down the supply chain.
Companies committed to sustainability should examine supply chains as:
– Most of the innovations they may wish to implement internally will
depend heavily on the quality (and sustainability) of what is coming in
through their supply chain.
– Management for sustainability implies a focus on long-term risk
reduction, and in achieving this one’s dependence on other companies’
values and performance is critical.
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Environmental Performance Indicators – targets in an EMS
Quantified information presented as aggregated data to provides decisionmakers and interested parties with an indication of performance trends. An
important objective of such indicators is to provide a summary set of statistics
to assess how performance is progressing towards stated targets and to assist
decision-making.
Environmental performance indicators can be presented as:
– Absolute measures (e.g. total energy use): important to indicate an
organisation’s overall direct impact on the environment
– Relative/normalised measures (e.g. energy use per unit of output); to
highlight the organisation’s efficiency, and for comparative purposes
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Ecological footprint
“A graphic approach for conceptualising the environmental impact of
a particular individual, organisation, product, service or political
region, and for understanding how this relates to the overall carrying
capacity of the planet.”
Ecological footprint analysis provides an informative area-based
indicator of sustainability
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Reporting and Communications Tools
Corporate Environmental / Sustainability Reporting
– Increasing community, regulatory and financial pressure on companies to
report on their environmental performance
– Such reporting should respond to the interests of key stakeholders and should
report on issues that are material to core business
– The process of reporting should feed into development of company strategy,
and provide a stimulus for continuous commitment and improvement
– The report should provide evidence that the company understands its key
environmental impacts and should demonstrate its commitment to addressing
these in an effective manner
– Provision should be included for external verification / assurance
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Some Key Questions:
– Why report?
Motivation
– To whom to report?
Market
– What to report?
Message
– How to report?
Medium
– What process to use?
Method
Materiality
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The GRI Sustainability Reporting Guidelines
Environmental Performance Criteria
• Energy - total use / move to renewables
• Materials - total material use / specific issues
• Water - total water use
• Emissions, effluents and waste
• Transport - distance and method
• Suppliers - supply chain management
• Product & services - impact with use
• Land-use / biodiversity
• Compliance
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The GRI Sustainability Reporting Guidelines
Reporting “in accordance with..”
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Report on numbered elements of Sections 1-3 in Part C
–
Include GRI Content Index
–
Respond to core indicators in Section 5 of Part C
–
Ensure consistency with the reporting principles
–
Include statement signed by Board or CEO
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The Global Compact Principles and the GRI Criteria
GRI Core Indicators: Report Content
Global Compact Principles
Category
Principle 7
A precautionary approach
Governance Structure and Management Systems
Overarching Policies and Management Systems
Indicator #
3.13
EN1
Environmental Indicators: Materials
EN2
EN3
Environmental Indicators: Energy
Environmental Indicators: Water
EN4
EN5
Environment
Principle 8
Environmental
responsibility
Environmental Indicators: Emissions, Effluents, and
Waste
Environmental Indicators: Products and Services
Environmental Indicators: Compliance
Vision and Strategy
Principle 9
Environmentally friendly
technologies
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Environmental Indicators: Energy (additional
indicator, by example)
Explanation of whether and how the precautionary approach or principle is addressed by the
organisation.
Total materials use other than water, by type
Percentage of materials used that are wastes (processed or unprocessed) from sources external to
the reporting organisation.
Direct energy use segmented by primary source.
Indirect energy use.
See GRI Energy Protocol
Total water use.
See GRI Water Protocol
EN8
Location and size of land owned, leased, or managed in biodiversity-rich habitats.
Description of the major impacts on biodiversity associated with activities and/or products and
services in terrestrial, fresh waster and marine environments.
Greenhouse gas emissions.
EN9
Use and emissions of ozone-depleting substances.
EN10
NOx, SOx, and other significant air emissions by type.
EN11
Total amount of waste by type and destination.
EN12
Significant discharges to water by type.
EN13
Significant spills of chemicals, oils, and fuels in terms of total number and total volume.
EN14
Significant environmental impacts of principal products and services.
Percentage of the weight of products sold that is reclaimable at the end of the products’ useful life
and percentage that is actually reclaimed.
Incidents of and fines for non-compliance with all applicable international
declarations/conventions/treaties, and national, sub-national, regional, and local regulations
associated with environmental issues.
Statement of the organisation’s vision and strategy regarding its contribution to sustainable
development.
EN6
Environmental Indicators: Biodiversity
Indicator
EN7
EN15
EN16
1.1
EN17
Initiatives to use renewable energy sources and to increase energy efficiency.
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Stakeholder engagement activities
A well planned stakeholder dialogue:
– Helps to scope and prioritise issues
– Allows for greater understanding between stakeholders and their
respective needs and constraints
– Ensures direct engagement of different groups and helps forge alliances,
collaborative partnerships and shared principles
– Enables people to both recognize and take responsibility
– Encourages synergy and new ideas
– Manages disagreement and conflict
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Stakeholder engagement activities
A stakeholder is any individual or group who is affected by, or can
influence, the activities of another group. Stakeholder engagement refers
to the process of interaction between an organisation and its stakeholders,
beyond the one-way communication of data.
A company’s stakeholders typically include (for example):
– Employees and trade union organisations
– Shareholders and financial analysts
– Neighbouring communities and civil society bodies
– Customers and suppliers
– Business peers
– Regulators
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Environmental Labelling Programmes
e.g. Eco-Labels
Why Label?
– Allows consumers to make informed decisions about what they are buying
– Shows commitment to reduced environmental impact
– Third party verification gives credibility
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Types of environmental labels
– TYPE I: Voluntary label verified by independent body, awarded to
products fulfilling criteria corresponding to the best environmental
performance within each particular product group.
– TYPE II: Self-declared labels used by manufacturers to indicate the
environmental aspects of a product or service. The label may take the form
of statements, symbols or graphics on product or packaging labels, product
literature, advertising or similar.
– TYPE III: Label licensed by independent organisations, serving as a report
card and providing information on the possible environmental impact of a
product, leaving it to the consumer to decide which product is best. Also
known as an Environmental Product Declaration.
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Environmental Labelling Programmes
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