Seventh Environmental Management Leadership Symposium

Responsibilities in Sustainable Industries

J. Morelli L. Greenwood K. Lockwood C. Portillo

ROCHESTERINSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

Where should responsibility reside?

• Business organizations are consumers as well as producers

• Sustainability-related consumption and production is influenced by where within the organization responsibility resides

• Essential to understand how to most effectively allocate responsibility among the organization’s functional units

Description of the Study• 7,400 professionals surveyed

– 20 functional areas• 523 respondents

• 45 questions– Derived from 220 action items in ISO26000

• 16 related to sustainable production, consumption, and communication

• Survey premise: Organization declares its commitment to social responsibility & sustainability; what level of responsibility will you hold?

Ensuring that the organization offers consumers socially and environmentally beneficial products

Self-Indicated

Few

Perceived by Others

Marketing

Operations/Production

Environmental, Health and Safety

Providing consumers with accurate information about environmental and social factors related to products and services

Self-Indicated

Marketing/Sales – 29%

Perceived by Others

Marketing

Communications/Public Relations

Legal

Sustainable Consumption

Ensuring that the organization will provide products and services that, will be safe for users and the environment

Self-Indicated

Environmental, Health & Safety – 92%

Perceived by Others

Operations/Production

Health & Safety:

Instructing consumers in the proper use of products and conveying appropriate safety information

Self-Indicated

Environmental, Health & Safety – 89%

Perceived by Others

Marketing

Legal

Health & Safety

Operations/Production

Protecting Consumers’ Health and Safety

Ensuring the organization will not engage in any deceptive, misleading, fraudulent or unfair practices, including omission of critical information

Self-IndicatedFinance and Accounting – 80%

Human Resources – 50%

Environmental - 48

Operations/Productions – 48%

Perceived by Others

Human Resources

Environmental

Operations/Productions

Implementing programs and practices for sustainable material, energy and environmental resources

Self-Indicated

Environmental, Health & Safety-70%

Perceived by OthersOperations/Production

Facilities

Environmental

Health & Safety

Purchasing

Fair Marketing Sustainable Resource Use

Considers environmentally and socially responsible performance when evaluating and selecting suppliers and contractors.

Self-Indicated

Purchasing-60%

Perceived by Others

Purchasing

Identifies potential adverse impacts on ecosystems and biodiversity; and implement planning, design and operating practices to eliminate or minimize them

Self-Indicated

Environmental, Health & Safety-64%

Perceived by Others

Operations/Production

Environmental

Facilities

Health & Safety

Climate Change and Mitigation

Considers market mechanisms, such as carbon emissions trading, to internalize the cost of environmental burdens resulting from the organizations’ activities, products and services.

Self-Indicated

Environmental, Health & Safety-48%

Perceived by Others

Operations/Production

Environmental

Incorporates the protection of natural habitat, wetlands, forest, wildlife corridors, protected areas and agricultural lands into land development projects.

Self-Indicated

Environmental, Health & Safety-49%

Perceived by Others

Environmental

Operations/Production

Climate Change and Mitigation

Ensuring that the organization measures, records, reports and publically discloses the amounts and types of toxic and hazardous materials used and released, and makes known the associated risks to human health and the environment.

Self-IndicatedEnvironmental, Health and Safety –

84%

Perceived by OthersEnvironmental, Health and Safety

Implementing measures to minimize waste, prevent pollution and properly manage that which is unavoidable

Self-IndicatedEnvironmental, Health & Safety –

86%

Operations/Production-61%

Perceived by OthersOperations/Production

Environmental

Facilities

Health & Safety

Prevention of Pollution

Giving preference to local suppliers of products and services and contributing to local supplier development where possible and practicable

Self-Indicated

Purchasing-89%

Perceived by Others

Purchasing

Ensuring the organization participates in raising the environmental and social responsibility awareness of those with which it has relationships

Self-Indicated

Environmental-58%

Perceived by Others

Human Resources

Purchasing

Environmental

Operations/Production

Community Involvement & Development Promoting SR in Sphere of Influence

Ensuring that the organization does not partner with those who engage in human rights or environmental abuses.

Self-Indicated

Environmental, Health & Safety-42%

Perceived by Others

Human Resources

Purchasing

Legal

Op/Prod:

Ensuring the organization is governed in a manner that balances the needs of the organization and its stakeholders, including immediate needs and those of future generations

Self-Indicated

Operations-67%

Environmental, Health & Safety-54%

C-Level-89%

All Functional Areas-44%/80%

Perceived by Others

Operations

Human Resources

Environmental

Health & Safety

Human Rights Due Diligence Organizational Governance

Conclusions

• Opportunities for collaboration– Environmental, Health & Safety and Operations– Environmental, Health & Safety and Purchasing

Conclusions

• Evidence that organizations are engaged in some sustainable production activity

• No significant commitment to socially responsible products– Offer environmentally/socially beneficial products– Accurate consumer information on environmental

and social factors for products

Conclusions

• Future research:– Executive level– Target more response in particular

functional areas

• http://media.rit.edu/faculty/jxmctp/NTP/Game_Iteration3.html

Conclusions

• . • http://media.rit.edu/faculty/jxmctp/N

TP/Game_Iteration3.html•

Conclusions

• . • http://media.rit.edu/faculty/jxmctp/N

TP/Game_Iteration3.html•

Questions?

Thank you for your kind attention.