Sustainability Audit Matrix Understanding and Identifying
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Briefing Note Measurement provides a gauge for progress, a way to predict the outcomes of our acons and a means of idenfying shortcomings. Sustainable Northern Ireland has developed a tool to help assess how and where sustainability has been integrated by organisaons into their policies, pracces and operaons. The Sustainability Audit Matrix (SAM) was developed inially for district councils but has been adapted successfully for use by other bodies. Its purpose is to make sustainable development easier to understand and to enable officers to idenfy and describe the work that is already being undertaken within their organisaons. The Matrix measures progress towards sustainable development by looking for evidence of sustainable behaviour or the incorporaon of the principles of sustainability within key documents, departmental plans, acvies and, importantly, from discussions with key members of staff. The Benefits of the SAM The Matrix should be used to help organisaons carry out their business in a way that contributes to sustainable development. It offers a simple means of self-assessment and helps to: Develop a beer understanding of sustainable development among an organisaon’s management and staff; Contribute to the training of staff on what sustainable development looks like in pracce; Enable managers to recognise how their organisaon already contributes to sustainable development; Assess the stage that an organisaon has reached, and then idenfy priories for improvement; Design sustainable development strategies and acon plans that link to other plans, such as corporate business plans. Understanding and Idenfying Sustainable Development An example of SAM: integrang sustainability with organisaonal responsibilies Sustainable Northern Ireland Philip House, 123 York Street BELFAST BT15 1AB 028 9024 3884 www.sustainableni.org [email protected] Strategic Integraon Towards Sustainability (Policy) Commitment and Integraon Embedding at Corporate Level Embedding at Service Level Capacity Building Parcipaon and Community Planning Measurement and Review Communicaon Internal Cross-Cung Integraon Sustainable Procurement Energy Management Transport Waste Management Land and Property Management Environmental Management Corporate Management External Operaons Biodiversity Waste Management Leisure/Sports/Recreaon & Culture Sustainable Communies Environmental Health Economic Development Tourism Building Control Cleaner, Safer, Greener Sustainability Educaon Sustainability Audit Matrix © ”The measure of success is not whether you have a tough problem to deal with but whether it is the same problem you had last year.” John Foster Dulles
Transcript of Sustainability Audit Matrix Understanding and Identifying
Briefing Note
Measurement provides a gauge for progress, a way to predict the outcomes of our actions and a means of identifying shortcomings. Sustainable Northern Ireland has developed a tool to help assess how and where sustainability has been integrated by organisations into their policies, practices and operations. The Sustainability Audit Matrix (SAM) was developed initially for district councils but has been adapted successfully for use by other bodies. Its purpose is to make sustainable development easier to understand and to enable officers to identify and describe the work that is already being undertaken within their organisations. The Matrix measures progress towards sustainable development by looking for evidence of sustainable behaviour or the incorporation of the principles of sustainability within key documents, departmental plans, activities and, importantly, from discussions with key members of staff. The Benefits of the SAM The Matrix should be used to help organisations carry out their business in a way that contributes to sustainable development. It offers a simple means of self-assessment and helps to: Develop a better understanding of sustainable development
among an organisation’s management and staff; Contribute to the training of staff on what sustainable
development looks like in practice; Enable managers to recognise how their organisation already
contributes to sustainable development; Assess the stage that an organisation has reached, and then
identify priorities for improvement; Design sustainable development strategies and action plans that
link to other plans, such as corporate business plans.
Understanding and Identifying
Sustainable Development
An example of SAM: integrating sustainability
with organisational responsibilities
Sustainable Northern Ireland Philip House, 123 York Street
BELFAST BT15 1AB
028 9024 3884
www.sustainableni.org [email protected]
Strategic Integration Towards Sustainability (Policy) Commitment and Integration Embedding at Corporate Level
Embedding at Service Level Capacity Building
Participation and Community Planning Measurement and Review
Communication
Internal Cross-Cutting Integration Sustainable Procurement
Energy Management Transport
Waste Management Land and Property Management
Environmental Management Corporate Management
External Operations Biodiversity
Waste Management Leisure/Sports/Recreation & Culture
Sustainable Communities Environmental Health
Economic Development Tourism
Building Control Cleaner, Safer, Greener Sustainability Education
Sustainability Audit Matrix©
”The measure of success is not whether you have a tough problem to deal with but whether it is the same problem you had last year.”
John Foster Dulles
Ten Steps to the SAM
A sustainable society is distinguished by a system of governance that focuses on
mainstreaming and balancing social, economic and environmental progress. It
exercises sound management and the efficient use of natural resources. It has
democratic values and is prepared to invest in the health and well-being of its
people. It encourages sustainable economic growth and takes a holistic approach to solving environmental
problems.
Sustainability in organisational success
Climate change, depleting natural resources, low skills levels and employment inequalities are all challenging issues. Every organisation has an opportunity to help in tackling them by adopting a socially and environmentally
responsible approach to sustainability.
Progressive organisations around the world understand that their long term value is
enhanced by embedding sustainability values into their business strategy and by fully
disclosing their progress to their stakeholders.
Using the SAM, you can determine your
progress and use it for reporting and corporate improvement.
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EXAMPLE OF SAM Results Summary Chart
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Biodiversity Waste
Management
(External)
Leisure/Sports/
Recreation and
Culture
Sustainable
Communities
Environmental
Health
Economic
Development
Tourism Building Control Cleaner, Safer,
Greener
Sustainability
Education
EXAMPLE OF SAM Results External Integration Chart
Sustainable Northern Ireland is a Company limited by guarantee No NI038784.
Registered with NI Charity Commission NIC103426
1. An organisation takes the decision to run the SAM
2. Training is provided by Sustainable Northern Ireland
3. Planning for SAM; choosing the organisation’s SAM team
4. Undertaking the in-house SAM assessment
5. Validation of assessment results by Sustainable Northern Ireland
6. Finalising the SAM score
7. Development of the SAM Action Plan
8. Presenting the results of the SAM to the organisation
9. Signing off the SAM Action Plan
10. Over time, repeating the process from step 3
