In this step, your Green Team will identify the most relevant and realistic sustainability actions for your organization, set SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound) goals, and outline the strategies that you will use to reach your goals. The Team will also identify the actions you will need employees to take to achieve your goals, and assess the barriers you may run into along the way so you can plan how to deal with them.
All organizations have unique issues to consider when developing and implementing sustainability initiatives. Some examples include tenancy and company operations. If you are one of many tenants renting office space in a large building, the feasible initiatives for your organization will be different than if you own a building. The core operation of your organization is also important. A professional services firm will focus on different initiatives than a courier business with a fleet of vehicles. It’s important that specific goals and actions be tailored to your organization’s needs and circumstances.
Once your Green Team selects its areas of focus, it will need to establish specific goals. This involves two basic steps: determining a baseline and establishing SMART goals. For example, if you choose to reduce paper, you should figure out how much paper you currently use by averaging the number of reams you go through over a period of time. This is the baseline. Then, decide on a goal and translate it into a numeric target. You should also have a deadline attached to the goal to keep your organization focused. Keeping with the paper example, if your organization consumes an average of 100 reams of paper per month, your goal may be to reduce that number by 20% by the next quarter.
By the end of this step, you will have documented the details of your program in a scope statement. Use the scope statement, along with the vision charter, as a guide moving forward to ensure that your program remains on track.
Setting Goals and Strategies: Task by Task
- Identify functions and departments of the organization that use resources.
This will help you determine where to focus your efforts moving forward. Does your organization have a fleet of vehicles? Do you have a large IT network that uses a lot of energy? Do your employees travel a lot? Are your office lights always on, even overnight? The table below lists high level resource categories for your reference, and the ”Specific Strategies for Greening Your Workplace” section of this guide identifies detailed actions for your consideration.
- Gather resource usage data.
As best possible, you should try to understand how much of each resource your organization is using. This will help you establish appropriate goals and build a foundation for tracking your progress along the way. Refer to the table below as a guide to determining how to track each resource, and where to find the information you will need for assessment.
- Select areas of focus.
Based on the information you’ve gathered so far, and using the information in ”Specific Strategies for Greening Your Workplace”, narrow your focus to the areas that will be the most feasible and impactful for your organization to pursue. Document these areas of focus in your program scope statement. The list below shows the components you should include your scope statement.
- Identify barriers, policies and operational attributes within your selected focus areas.
It’s imperative that you understand the barriers, policies and operational requirements that your organization faces on a day-to-day basis when considering what strategies you will implement. No matter what actions you choose to include in your strategy, you will eventually be asking the organization and individual employees to change. “Change” may come in the form of a one-time policy enactment, such as offering bus passes to all employees, or as a daily behavior change such as turning off the lights at the end of the day. Leading behavior change research and tactics recommend barriers assessments as one of the first steps to a sustainability program. These best practices also warn against making assumptions about the reasons people act the way they do. For example, your employees may not turn their computers off at night because they were told not to do so by the IT manager; not because they forget. The list below lists examples of tactics you can use to complete this task. Just as you would complete a market assessment before launching a new product, you should make sure you understand the environment surrounding your employees before launching a sustainability program. Document your findings in the program scope statement.
- Identify actions.
Use the ”Specific Strategies for Greening Your Workplace” section of this guide to identify detailed actions for your consideration. Document the selected actions in the program scope statement.
- Establish numeric targets and timelines, and determine how you will track progress.
Set SMART goals that will 1) save a non-negligible amount of your target resource(s), 2) have identified barrier(s) that are currently impeding the desired behavior, and 3) have barriers that can be realistically addressed by the program. It’s also important to establish a timeline along with each goal (20% reduction in paper by 2013). Use the SMART Goal Setting Worksheet as a guide through this process.
- Get leadership approval.
By working through your Green Team’s leadership liaison, present and gain feedback (and eventually approval) on the program target areas, goals, and action strategies by presenting the program scope statement. Make sure you are prepared to present each of the steps you have taken along the way, and are able to communicate how your approach related to the vision charter.
Tools and Considerations
- Refer to the charter.
The charter document you created should be an ongoing tool for each step along the way. While setting your goals and selecting strategies, it’s crucial to remember what you’re trying to accomplish in the first place. Without referring back to the charter document, you risk getting off-track and setting goals that are irrelevant or out of the scope of expectations set by leadership.
- Conduct an employee survey.
Ask employees what they would like to accomplish as part of the effort, and gather information about what day-to-day decisions and barriers they face related to sustainability. Asking for input not only establishes buy-in, it helps you identify what you’re dealing with and may even give you some ideas you haven’t come up with yet.
- Begin with the end in mind.
Change is easier when you can visualize the destination. Envision where you want your organization to be once the project is complete, and work backwards from there. Using the charter document will give you a good place to start.
- Be serious about understanding the barriers your employees face.
Don’t underestimate the importance of understanding what is really going within the areas you’ve decided to focus on. As stated above, at some point you are likely going to ask your employees to make changes, and it’s imperative that you don’t make assumptions about their existing actions and attitudes. Consider getting a copy of Fostering Sustainable Behavior, and referring to the accompanying website www.CBSM.com, as a resource to help you work through this part of the process.
- Refer to "Specific Strategies for Greening Your Workplace" and the SMART Goal Setting Worksheet as you set your goals and select actions.
The ”Specific Strategies for Greening Your Workplace” includes information about actions you can take to achieve your goals, and the SMART Goal Setting Worksheet includes a worksheet that you can use as a facilitation tool.
- Use the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager as a tool for establishing your metrics.
The ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager is an interactive tool that allows you to track and assess energy and water consumption across your entire portfolio of buildings in a secure online environment. Note that California’s Assembly Bill 1103 requires non-residential building owners to input energy consumption and other data into the system. For more information about AB 1103, visit the California Energy Commission website.
