Photo Credit: iStockphoto.This educational-blog provides information to help you answer, "Does Your Business provide Education for your employees regarding Resource Efficiency and Sustainability?", used towards earning your 3rd Whoisgreen Star.
What is It?
Education is the key to acquiring knowledge & understanding. Integration and success occurs in a collaborative environment.
Green Education focuses on acquiring skills and knowledge needed to lead businesses into a World Going-Green. As the world gets bigger, more competitive, and relies on diminishing natural resources, business leaders shall become more reliant upon the benefits of efficiency, renewables, and comparative intensity metrics. Education can be formal qualifications, or acquired through membership networks that provide open source information that help businesses initiate sustainability.
In particular, Resource Efficiency refers to the the degree of utilization of materials and processes required to make "Stuff". If you have ever wondered where your “Stuff” comes from, then you may have thought about the effects of supply chains on local cultures and environments. Education provides the information that we all need to make the right decisions. Knowledge about where raw materials come from, how they are put together to make a product and where discarded stuff ends up provides ideas to improve business processes to save and conserve.
What Can I Do?
Identify the people in your organization that have the passion to learn about Resource Efficiency and Sustainability. Ensure that at least one senior manager having financial responsibilities for the business is included in this group. Make a list of the groups and organizations within your local area to network and begin acquiring information on how to increase your companies sustainability knowledge.
The founder of Whoisgreen (David Burns) attributes his ongoing understanding and thirst for innovation to his NSC Membership with the Rocky Mountain Institute, and the many inspirational people that form part of this organization.
How Do I Start?
1. Identify existing sustainability and recycling skills within your organization.
2. Create a team to develop an understanding of sustainability and how the business's performance can be optimised.
3. Advise your senior management and staff of new information acquired and invite your procurement team feel free to ask you for questions.
4. Undertake annual internal audits, and consider mentoring from external business friends.
5. Visit iconic annual exhibitions such as “Greenbuild” to see and speak with other businesses.
6. Focus on Reduce - Repair - Reuse - Recycle - Recover.
7. Consider formal education of key personnel, if required.
