Discuss about the Implementation of sustainability policy.
The sustainability policy is a company statement that outlines the business commitment and strategies that help in attaining the company objectives. Therefore, the capability of a company meeting the essential human needs is presented without compromising the future ability. During the implementation process, the company management has got the mandate of focusing on the various active methods. Also, the administration will have to assess the various risks associated with the policies in place and the strategies to counter the barriers. Communication channels, storage means, and feedback presentation criteria have to be presented too to the management and the stakeholders at large.
The communication of the policies is to be done both to the employees, management and the stakeholders. Various initiatives are employed in channeling the systems. Therefore, the administration has to be clear about the sustainable policies. Clarity will help in making those who believe that the policies aim at self-interest, to change their thoughts to corporate nature. The communication should be aimed at recognizing the achievements of the company (Chapin et al. 2010). Due to the introduction of new policies, the management should be addressed in a holistic approach from the team that is responsible for channeling the information. The employees too should be patient in evaluating the output of the policies after it has been implemented. Also, there must be various rules and procedures for implementing and assessing the sustainable strategies.
After the initiation of the policy implementation, close examination in matters of the achievements has to be evaluated carefully. The policy needs constant review and monitoring how it helps in achieving the organizational objectives. The evaluation in regards to the national environmental policies has to be taken into consideration to review and update on the progress. Various flaws to the management in implementing the plans should be re-energized through meetings and close examination by the team responsible (McCool and Stankey, 2004). Every individual within the organization has to be given a room of being heard when it comes to matters of the policy. Free communication will help every department in achieving the possible goals that the policy aims. The various drafts that are implemented help in monitoring on what has been completed and what is pending. Also, the close examination helps in improving the policies from their current state to the level of achieving the desired goals (Dovers, 2005).
In implementing the policies, one has to come up with a useful criterion of tracking the progress and the achievements gained. The data has to be fed into the available machines through given software. The information technology team has got the responsibility of monitoring the progress closely and reporting either faults or progress in regards to the new policy. Every department will have to be accountable for any mistakes that will make the team not to acquire its objectives. The chain of command needs to be short to help the management in communicating the errors without wasting time. Also, the sustainability policy should be invented in a way that one can track them effectively and report to the relevant authority for necessary modifications. The management has to come up with a program that is responsible for close checking the faults (Moore, 2005). The records have to be kept well for the future use by the company management. Backups are to be introduced to the implementation team to help in improving the safety of the data given to the administration.
During the implementation process, all the relevant data has to be communicated to authorities who will be monitoring the process carefully. The various personnel and the stakeholders have to be thoroughly updated on how the policies and their evaluation. There should be a routine of either monthly or quarterly meetings because the procedure is new to the organization. Various methods like using charts, graphs, and numerical means to help them to understand how it works and what has been achieved (Banister, 2008). The diagrams will be drawn to indicate where the organization has come from since it started using the new policies. Predictions on what should be expected should also be tabulated and analyzed in charts and graphs for the employees and management to work on. During the graphical presentation of the data, one has to show how far the organization has come from clearly and the remaining journey to achieve the required goals. Because it is a new policy in the company, all files must be presented with a lot of clarity to indicate how success is to be achieved in the long run (Dalal, 2003).
Monitoring the implementation process has to be carefully managed and controlled by the management. Two types of the monitoring have to be dealt with, that is, compliance and performance monitoring. With compliance monitoring, it has a lot to do with the state rules and regulations, for instance, the state records Act which must conform to the set standards and regulations. The performance monitoring is all about how the policy has performed in regards to the available records. Therefore, the clerks of the relevant departments have got the mandate of keeping effective and efficient information for future use by the management (Perrini and Tencati, 2006). During the monitoring process, various modifications ought to be taken in conformity to the set standards to comply with the state rules. Also, the records kept are modified in compliance with the policy requirements. The policies must be clear, concise and compelling for any individual to understand what they mean to the organization.
Implementation barriers are some of the hiccups that delay the process. Some restrictions will have to be encountered during the implementation of the policies some of them includes the following. There will be lack of training skills and information which will have to demand additional costs. Also, the top level management may lack the criteria and even the skills in managing the new policies (Gao and Zhang, 2006). This is because the sustainable strategies are new to the management and thorough training has to be taken by the stakeholders. The management requires significant inputs for the effective implementation. The resources necessary includes both financial and time that is very scarce in many organizations. Finally, being a new policy to the management, it may lack the required legislation in regards to the state requirements.
In countering the barriers, the following strategies have to be invented for the organization to realize performance. The following are some of the procedures; the management has to dwell on the long-term policies as opposed to the short term. Also, different communication criteria will have to be spelled out to reach every individual within the organization. The company will have to be ready to take risks which will help them achieve more, the policy being new its outcomes are unclear therefore the management has to be prepared for any consequences. Improvements of the skills to the administration and the employees have to be taken regularly (Norton et al. 2014).
Constant training and data presentation have to be put in place for the management personnel to be equipped with the knowledge and skills of handling the challenges that may occur. The sustainable policy has to be regularly updated for any changes that may arise during the implementation process for effective and efficient objective realization (Lafferty, 2006). Therefore, the constant review has to be periodically conducted throughout implementation up to the full accomplishment of the company goals and objectives.
References
Chapin III, F. S., Carpenter, S. R., Kofinas, G. P., Folke, C., Abel, N., Clark, W. C., ... & Berkes, F. (2010). Ecosystem stewardship: sustainability strategies for a rapidly changing planet. Trends in ecology & evolution, 25(4), 241-249.
McCool, S. F., & Stankey, G. H. (2004). Indicators of sustainability: challenges and opportunities at the interface of science and policy. Environmental management, 33(3), 294-305.
Dovers, S. (2005). Environment and sustainability policy. The Federation Press.
Moore, J. (2005). Barriers and pathways to creating sustainability education programs: policy, rhetoric and reality. Environmental Education Research, 11(5), 537-555.
Banister, D. (2008). Barriers to the implementation of urban sustainability. International Journal of Environment and Pollution, 10(1), 65-83.
Perrini, F., & Tencati, A. (2006). Sustainability and stakeholder management: the need for new corporate performance evaluation and reporting systems. Business Strategy and the Environment, 15(5), 296-308.
Gao, S. S., & Zhang, J. J. (2006). Stakeholder engagement, social auditing and corporate sustainability. Business process management journal, 12(6), 722-740.
Dalal-Clayton, D. B. (2003). Modified EIA and indicators of sustainability: first steps towards sustainability analysis. Environmental Planning Group, International Institute for Environment and Development.
Lafferty, W. M. (Ed.). (2006). Governance for sustainable development: the challenge of adapting form to function. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Norton, T. A., Zacher, H., & Ashkanasy, N. M. (2014). Organisational sustainability policies and employee green behaviour: The mediating role of work climate perceptions. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 38, 49-54.
