An introduction to PROBE For Sustainable Business

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1 Although sustainability is a growing issue, it is not well understood. As the subject is prioritised by business, governments and civil society, the need to clarify how to do it, how to measure and report on it and how to assure sustainability information become key issues. David Bent, Forum for the Future The human race has reached a level of sophistication in our daily lives that our ancestors would have scarcely believed. However our sophisticated lifestyle is rapidly depleting nature s store of resources, and damaging the environment we inhabit. Many individuals and organisations are facing up to the challenge of making their contribution to reversing the destructive trends. They are asking: What can we do that will move us from being part of the problem to being part of the solution while simultaneously becoming more effective, efficient and financially successful? PROBE is one of the world s leading business assessment and best practice benchmarking tools, used in 41 countries to promote and support the pursuit of Excellence. Thousands of organisations across all sectors have benefited from PROBE s insights and contributed to its unique knowledge base, supported by facilitators and agencies committed to the spread of good business practices that deliver improved performance. With encouragement and input from existing PROBE licensees, the latest version focuses on today s most pressing issue: Sustainable. The word business is here interpreted in its broadest sense, encompassing all sectors, all corporate organisations, from commercially focused companies to public institutions and services, from sole traders to multi national This PROBE tool is proving very helpful to the business efforts to deepen its corporations. understanding of sustainability-related issues and how they can be addressed. The newest tool in the suite, PROBE for Sustainable, is The benefits of the process make the based on sound science and on a systems thinking approach to effort well worthwhile. sustainability not an approach that is limited to a particular Sue Bramley, Continuous Improvement environmental, social or economic perspective. It is designed for use Manager, Silentnight Beds (UK) by any business that wishes to review its readiness for and progress towards the goal of sustainability. It engages colleagues in this crucial and urgent issue, drawing on their knowledge and skills to pinpoint improvement opportunities, stimulating and focusing actions that will make the business more sustainable. It helps the business to become part of the solution for society at large, in a way that will simultaneously improve the bottom line for the business itself as it improves its competence in this rapidly changing arena. 1

2 Sustainability is the capacity and fitness for continuance into the long-term future. A sustainable business does well by doing good. It pursues its own long term business goals while avoiding doing environmental and social damage, and also focuses on identifying new opportunities that will be beneficial to humanity. The business recognises that its own long term prosperity is inextricably linked with the long term maintenance of the planet as a habitable environment for human beings and other living things. PROBE s great strength is that it transforms the best available business models into a practical benchmarking process that can help busy people to take stock of how well their business is doing, and how improvements could be achieved, quickly, effectively and thoroughly. PROBE for Sustainable brings together the proven PROBE methodology with a rigorously researched framework that encapsulates sustainability as a set of powerful and readily understood principles The Natural Step Framework. This is a methodology for business planning designed to deal with the most complex challenge of all sustainability. It enables businesses to create optimal strategies for dealing with their present day situation, by incorporating a perspective of a sustainable future. This results in investments and activities that move the business toward sustainability while also maximising short term financial success and long term flexibility. The TNS Framework has helped many businesses and communities around the world, across the private and public sectors, to proactively embrace sustainability as a strategic opportunity rather than an unknown liability. PROBE for Sustainable has been developed in collaboration with The Natural Step, providing this new PROBE tool with the soundest possible 1 foundations in a systems view of sustainability, built around a robust scientific consensus. 4 Vision and context continuity stakeholder 2 Leadership and mobilisation THE PROBE EXPERIENCE Through PROBE, an experienced facilitator assists a representative team to assess their organisation s status with respect to sustainability. The scope includes the behaviours of customers, suppliers and partners how are we influencing them and supporting their efforts? The team assesses a wide range of day-to-day business practices, and reviews performance against current legislation and national/international guidance, and against best known practice. Products, services and business processes Sustainable business practices contribute not only to environmental and social sustainability, they also make sound business sense. They create a platform for business longevity and for success in the short- and long-term. 3 2

3 PROBE s track record demonstrates a remarkable ability to bridge sectoral divides, making generic best practice principles and cross sectoral learning accessible to every type of organisation in many and varied settings. The spirit of mutual learning and support is reflected in the development of PROBE for Sustainable, a collaborative effort led by Comparison International and involving a powerful blend of development partners. PROBE for Sustainable synthesises ideas from a number of sources into a straightforward yet sophisticated vision of sustainability. Members Collaborative Partners Associate Members PROBE for Sustainable DEVELOPMENT COLLABORATORS Birmingham City University (UK) b:ssec (UK) Carbon Trust (UK) Centre for International Public Policy Studies (Japan) Chicago Manufacturing Center (USA) Durham County Council (UK) Forum for the Future (UK) Fujitsu (Japan) Global to Local (UK) Harvard School (USA) Home Grown Cereals Authority (UK) Interserve (UK) London School (UK) QMI Solutions (Australia) Sustainable Procurement Stakeholder Group (UK) The Natural Step (Sweden and international) TNEI (UK) Academic Members Licensed Members The PROBE Network is a worldwide alliance of people and organisations who share a commitment to the promotion and support of Excellence. They have in common that they are involved with some aspects of the development and/or deployment of the PROBE best practice benchmarking tools, and/or the use of data generated through these tools for policy, research and educational purposes. The PROBE Network 3

4 Example questions PROBE for Sustainable invites an in house team to assess a comprehensive range of aspects of their business practices, performance and status relating to sustainability. For each question, the team must arrive at consensus expressed as a score on a scale of 1 to 5. Several example questions are shown below. The assessment process includes exploration of key issues of Visions and Context with the Senior Management Team; and a set of key quantitative facts and figures which act as a reality check to the Team s shared perceptions of the business progress towards sustainability. An example Leadership question - these questions cover aspects including vision and focus, performance measurement and the business' ability to mobilise its capabilities to make change happen effectively both internally and among customers, suppliers and others whom it can influence. To what extent: Focus on sustainability o are top management serious about sustainability? o is the business case for sustainability clearly recognised? o is sustainability embedded in the vision? o is the approach based on more than the basics in environmental and social responsibility? o is sustainability pervasive throughout the organisation and all of its activities? o is sustainability championed within the business? A key characteristic of a sustainable business is that shortterm business success is never seen as being more important than the constant focus on meeting the system conditions for sustainability. Sustainability is on our agenda but will not automatically take higher priority than other considerations There is no constant drive for sustainability within our organisation. We see sustainability issues as opportunities as well as threats and have begun to weave them into our business strategies and plans. We are fully and enthusiastically engaged with all aspects to develop in-depth understanding of sustainability and of how we can contribute positively. There is an acknowledged champion at senior level responsible for sustainability with clear policies, strategies, targets and goals for all aspects of sustainability: social, economic and environmental. Sustainability is central to our vision and strategy and is pervasive throughout our operation. The business case for sustainability is clearly understood and communicated. Employees know they will be supported in business decisions that put sustainability above short-term results. As a consequence, the business goes far beyond the basics of sustainability. We have repositioned ourselves from being part of the problem to being part of the solution. NOTES: SCORE: 4

5 An example Sustainable business processes question - PROBE assesses the extent to which sustainability considerations are embedded into all of the business' core operating processes, and into its management and support processes. Product & service design for sustainability When services and products are designed and developed (or updated), how is sustainability built-in to the design? Is sustainability a central consideration in decisions about design features, materials, methods, locations, packaging, logistics, choice of suppliers, delivery methods, end-of-life disposal, recycling or reuse and all other aspects that are influenced by product/service design? Do designs incorporate flexible platforms as stepping stones to future enhancement of sustainability in ways that are not yet achievable? A sustainable business constantly drives its development towards sustainable services and products, sometimes recognising that it will take more than one technology iteration to get there. Sustainability is a minor consideration in product and service design and development. Sustainability is an increasingly important aspect of design and development of products and services. Sustainability is generally seen as most attractive when it can also contribute to product/service differentiation and premium pricing. Sustainable design features are seen as inherently desirable. All aspects of design and development incorporate sustainability as a central driver. Where sustainability can t yet be achieved, the design process tries to create flexible platforms that will enable sustainability in future products and services. NOTES: SCORE: An example facts and figures question - these questions include quantitative data about consumption, emissions, waste and social/economic impact. They also establish the extent to which the business currently gathers data relevant to sustainability, and how quickly performance is improving... Energy consumption (rate of change) How much has the business annual energy consumption changed since 1990 levels (or since start up or commencement of records)? What has the rate of growth or reduction been in overall terms regardless of business growth, expansion or downsizing? These energy reduction targets relate to base year The UK Energy White Paper 2007 and the European Environment Agency have set energy saving targets for 20% reduction by 2020, against a 1990 baseline; and the UK organisation the Carbon Trust estimate that 10-20% can be saved through efficiency measures. Best practice within organisations could achieve 40-60% energy reductions and above. No change, or an increase. Lack of progress may or may not be due to business expansion -20% -40% to -60% NOTES: SCORE: 5

6 An example question examining the business position in relation to one of the TNS System Conditions for Sustainability The four System Conditions provide a robust scientific definition of sustainability against which the business' activities can be assessed. Substitute scarce elements with others that are more abundant Every business buys materials, supplies and services and consumes them in the course of their operations and activities. Some are well aware that materials they buy and consume or process have detrimental effects downstream ; others are inadvertently contributing to negative effects. How much does your business know about the materials, equipment, supplies and services it uses, and the total picture of the elements contained in these products and materials and of where they end up as a result of the business activities? es that are not directly engaged in manufacturing can still influence this aspect significantly through their purchasing decisions. In many cases, detrimental effects arise from indirect activities such as cleaning and maintenance, as well as from more obvious direct activities such as manufacturing and service delivery. Extraction (from the earth) and use of scarce elements (such as lead, mercury, cadmium, silver, arsenic, nickel and zinc) leads to rapid increases in concentrations in nature (whereas materials like aluminium, titanium, iron and magnesium are abundant in nature). The scarcer the element, and the more dissipative (wasteful, spreading) its use, the more rigorous and expensive safe-guarding measures are needed to guarantee that the element s concentration will not increase in natural systems. What more could your business do to contribute to the urgent need to stop using and dissipating scarce elements by replacing them with others that are more abundant? The business has a limited understanding of the consequences of its activities in terms of the extraction and use of elements which are scarce in nature. No actions to reduce our impact are yet in place. The issue is fully understood. Baseline mapping completed, continuous monitoring in place. Use of any scarce elements has been measurably reduced. The use of scarce elements in any aspects of our business activities has either been virtually eliminated or they are part of a closed-loop recycling regime. Systems are in place to avoid buying or developing products including scarce elements. SCORE: A sustainable business is no longer dependent on the use of scarce elements. 6

7 Have we created the foundations for business longevity? 4 Are we going beyond not doing harm? What is our real intent for this business? And where 1 does sustainability fit in this context? Vision How capable and are we of context 2 translating Leadership our intent continuity and into stakeholder mobilisation practice? Are we operating Products, services in a manner that and business processes makes sound business sense? 3 Are we operating within the constraints of the planet? 7

8 Make a difference through PROBE for Sustainable PROBE for Sustainable was launched during Autumn 2009 and is rolling out internationally through established Members of The PROBE Network, and through agencies, consultancies, universities and associates who are joining the Network for this purpose. The Natural Step's members and associates in many countries are contributing to the growing momentum. Expressions of interest are invited from: o agencies/organisations that might wish to deploy PROBE for Sustainable (as a licensee ) in their work o businesses and organisations that might wish to benefit from using this new tool, as part of their commitment to becoming and remaining a Sustainable o universities and other learning providers that may wish to incorporate PROBE for Sustainable into their teaching, research and support services Regional Development Agency Consultancy Chamber of Commerce Sector Body/Trade Association Modernisation Unit Membership Organisation Are you a University Support Agency Industry Forum NGO Improvement Programme/Network Supply Chain Development Team To find out more, or to get involved, contact: Europe: Michael Jones michaelj@comparisonintl.com North America: Neil Cambridge neil.cambridge@comparisonna.com Australia: Mandy Allen mandy@comparisonintl.com Worldwide: Gerry Oates gerryo@comparisonintl.com