May 28, 2008 by
Brian Butler
| Filed under: Impact of the Wal-Mart Sustainability Scorecard [1],Overview
The Wal-Mart Sustainability Scorecard is but one of many metrics/scorecards/calculators used in regard to sustainable practices. The findings of this workshop were that there were conflicting interests at play that make the use of the scorecard challenging. Additionally, there was a consensus view that the scorecard could effect the supply chain in both directions (“up [...]
Read more >
by
Brian Butler
| Filed under: Overview,The EM as an Industrial Ecologist [1]
Environmental managers are evolving to become sustainability managers. Their analytic perspective needs to move from a risk/hazard mentality to resilience/sustainability mentality. Current Strategies for Resilience Business • Contingency Planning • Supply Chain Diversity • Supply Chain Ownership Environmental • Source Reduction • Personal Protection • Remediation What is needed is capability to change, adapt, and [...]
Read more >
by
Brian Butler
| Filed under: Overview,Sustainability Labeling and Consumer Education [1,2]
There is a need to inform consumers on sustainability of products to enable them to make informed purchasing decisions, and subsequently there is much need for identifying and effectively assessing methods to inform consumers. This workshop produced a few consensus thoughts on sustainability labeling & consumer education; such as on the topic of what makes [...]
Read more >
by
Brian Butler
and
John Morelli
| Filed under: In the industry and in the workplace [1, 2, 3],Overview
There was consensus that environmental managers in the workplace are change agents who lead the workplace beyond compliance and ultimately towards sustainability. Definition: A Change agent is a person whose presence or thought processes cause a change from the traditional way of handling or thinking about a problem. Business Dictionary. Dictionary of Business Terms. Copyright [...]
Read more >
by
Brian Butler
| Filed under: Overview,What Should Be Measured and Why? [1,3]
For this workshop, the underlying assumption was that as a society we need to measure the environmental performance of every company, due in part to the concept that we cannot manage what we cannot measure properly. There were multiple examples of “what to measure” discussed during this workshop; for example, outcomes vs. drivers, absolute vs. [...]
Read more >
by
Brian Butler
| Filed under: Life-Cycle-Analysis (LCA) [1], [4],Overview
At the conclusion of this workshop, there was a general feeling that environmental managers must be aware of several key issues with regard to Life Cycle Analysis; these were: exactly what LCA tools are available, how these tools can be applied, how to guide others with regard to the application of these tools, and how [...]
Read more >
by
Brian Butler
| Filed under: From Eco-Efficiency to Eco-Effectiveness [1,2],Overview
Consensus was reached during this workshop that Eco-Efficiency is simply not enough, with regard to “proper” environmental performance. Essentially, the main agreement throughout the course of the workshops was that a move toward a new paradigm was needed; a paradigm in which Eco-effectiveness is more sought after than is Eco-efficiency. The summary statement for this [...]
Read more >
by
Brian Butler
and
John Morelli
| Filed under: Overview,The Goal of the Environmental Manager [1, 2, 3, 4]
During this workshop the hypothesis was posed that environmental sustainability is the ultimate goal of the environmental manager. There were varying opinions on this and no consensus. However there was consensus regarding the belief that the profession should have a unifying goal. What that goal is or should be was not determined during the brief [...]
Read more >
by
Brian Butler
| Filed under: In the host community [1, 4],Overview
The general findings at the conclusion of the symposium workshops included the idea that CSR is a necessary pre-cursor to Corporate Citizenship. There was a consensus of opinon that sustainability creates a moral and ethical imperative in relation to the host community. Also discussed was the notion that in addition to the needs of future [...]
Read more >
by
Brian Butler
| Filed under: Environmental Valuation and Accounting [1],Overview
Accounting and economic valuation may be separate although related issues. The tools and insights of economics can be used at an organizational level to enhance insights into what organizational options might be, but some of the tools need to be developed and explored in more detail. We would encourage the development of bridging tools that [...]
Read more >
