Developing Workplace Policy and Procedures for Sustainability - Starbuck - Assignment Example

Develop Workplace Policy and Procedures for Sustainability Name Professor Institution Course Date Develop Workplace Policy and Procedures for Sustainability Executive Summary Sustainability has been one the most analyzed topics in the 21st century due to its significance to the economic and social health of the company and the general society. As a result of this importance, some of the leading companies in the world have developed a sustainability policy in the quest of creating a good relation with community. Starbuck is one of such companies which have formulated a sustainability policy to enable it have a competitive advantage in the market. However, due to changes in the market, companies ought to review their policy to keep up with the pace in the marketing environment. Therefore, in this report, this paper will analyze, review and update Starbuck sustainability policy and apply the elements of competency. However, to put the report into context, the paper will define sustainability, the triple bottom line and discuss the benefits of becoming sustainable for the organization, the employees and the customer. The report will also update the existing policy by developing a sustainability vision and mission, a strategy for each area of the triple bottom line and SMART goals. The report will attach the updated sustainability policy in the appendix. Table of Contents Develop Workplace Policy and Procedures for Sustainability 2 Executive Summary 2 Table of Contents 3 1.0 Introduction 4 2.0 Overview of sustainability 5 3.0 Mission and vision statement and SMART Objectives 7 4.0 How becoming a sustainable organization aligns with the overall strategic plan of the organization.  8 5.0 Action plan 9 6.0 How to promote the sustainability policy and expected outcomes to key stakeholders 11 7.0 How the organization will communicate with the sustainability committee 11 8.0 Developed Procedures supporting the policy 12 9.0 How the Organization Will Develop and Communicate Procedures to Help Implement workplace sustainability policy 12 10.0 The range of methods that are used to monitor and review workplace sustainability 13 11.0 A survey used to monitor and review the success of the sustainability policy 13 12.0 Recommendations 14 13.0 Conclusion 15 14.0 References 15 13.0 Appendices 17 Appending 1: Current Starbucks Sustainability policy 17 Appendix 2: Reviewed or updated Starbucks sustainability policy 21 Appendix 3: procedure 2 supporting the policy 23 Appendix 4: A survey used to monitor and review the success of the sustainability policy 24 1.0 Introduction The idea of sustainability emerged back in the early 1970s (Edwards, 2005, p. 5). Currently, several companies who have since embraced sustainability as a way of creating a good rapport with the community they operate in and as a form of competitive advantage. Edwards (2005, p.6) claims that in general, businesses or institutions which claim they work towards sustainability normally intend to combine values of environmental responsibility, economic viability and social equity. Starbuck is one the multinational companies which had adopted a robust sustainability policy which has improved the reputation of the company over the years. However, due to competition and ever changing marketing environment, Starbuck’s sustainability policy needs constant update review to maintain its competitive advantage. Therefore, this report will analyze, review and update Starbuck sustainability policy and apply the elements of competency. 2.0 Overview of sustainability The term ‘sustainability’ holds numerous meanings. From the perspective of ecology, sustainability is defined as the ability of the biological system to endure, remain productive indefinitely. In business perspectives, sustainability is defined as capability of a business to maintain its fundamental nature for a long time by means of its own endeavors (Ramirez, 2012, p.59). Sustainability is an objective of the sustainable development. Therefore, from the sustainable development point of view, sustainability can be defined as development which fulfill the present needs, but without compromising the capability of the future generation to satisfy their needs (Jones, Hillier & Comfort 2014, p.6). Sustainability builds and upholds the circumstances where organization and human can survive in a productive way, that enable satisfying the economic, social and other factor of current and future generations (Ramirez, 2012, p.59). As attention to sustainability gathers momentum, there are several approaches which have been used to conceptualize and analyze sustainability. Several authors have used the triple bottom line to conceptualize the topic. Triple-bottom line is defined as a type of sustainability practice which dictates that the corporate managers tabularize the bottom-line revenues not just in economic basis, but also on the basis of firm impact in the social sphere, and regarding the environment (Cadden & Lueder 2012). Experts classify two concepts to the idea of triple-bottom line. One is that the three columns of the responsibility ought to be separated and results be reported separately. Two is that the company should get sustainable results from the three areas. The three areas in this context are people, climate and profit. These three areas can be explained on the basis of economic social sustainability, economic sustainability and environmental sustainability. Cadden & Lueder (2012) argued that social sustainability considers the balance on the lives of people and their way of life. In the world where a few managers are minting million dollars annually, while several people are getting pennies cannot continue forever. With imbalances growing between the rich and the poor, the society is likely to collapse leading to chances of revolution. It means the society might not allow the company to operate there unless it finds a way to solve the social problems facing the society. On the other hand, environmental sustainability starts from the confirmation that the natural resources particularly water we drink, air we breathe and the fuel for our engines are limited (Cadden & Lueder 2012). Management and environmental experts claim that, if these factors deteriorate considerably, the future generation will not have the capacity to enjoy similar nature of life as the current or past generation did. Therefore, conservation and development of the resources become greatly significant to substitute the current ones. Since companies are users of these resources, they must also participate in their conservation and development of new ones to continue operating sustainably. In addition, Cadden and Lueder (2012) pointed out that economic sustainability considers a long-term financial investment instead of volatile, short-range revenues, regardless of how high. triple-bottom-line theory argues that big companies hold a responsibility of creating business plans which enable stable and expanded action. As a virtue, sustainability means assessing business plans which might not result to immediate riches and also avoid business which can lead to calamitous losses. Advocates of sustainability argue of the three key pillars on the premise of supporting social equality, promoting the economy which they operate in and which benefits everyone, and safeguarding the environment (Ramirez, 2012, p.61). This holistic and rich strategy is certainly relevant with regard to discussions concerning the developing countries; several people who prefer sustainability contends that equity and social justice must be at the center of their top agendas, holding equal measures as the environmental issues. Jeffer, Bosse & Phillips (2010, p.59) contend that the claims are that developing countries cannot just follow the Western state of developments because they need to put up with scarce resources such as peak minerals, peak oil and inadequate fresh water and climate change. 3.0 Mission and vision statement and SMART Objectives Starbuck is one of the multinational companies which actively participate in the sustainability practices. Starbucks (2016) claimed that since the company depends of the agricultural products it holds planet as one of the significant factors of the business and tries to decrease the environmental effects through various measures. Through its sustainability mission, vision statements and objective statements, the company has shown commitment towards providing solutions to social, economic and environmental challenges facing humanity. The current sustainability mission for Starbuck is; “Shared Planet is the company’s commitment conduct business in methods which are good for the planet and people” (Starbucks 2016). The company’s mission is complimented with the vision statement which stated that the company’s vision is to be the most effective coffee company, formulating sustainable solutions for a safer and better environment. However, due to changes in competition, the paper has updated the vision, mission and Smart objective to improve competitive advantage of Starbucks as shown in attached policy document (appendix 2). Starbucks applies environmental sustainability to efficiently decrease its operational effects on the environment. Some of the strategies it considers to this effect include coffee source waste recycling, and usage of water, electricity and paper among others (Starbucks, 2016). For instance, the company often provides coffee beans and clean waters to the farmers and advises them to curb climate change (Starbucks 2016). In addition, Starbucks promotes use of reusable cups in their service, eliminates the waste associated with product packaging and supports waste recycling. Starbucks (2016) posited that the corporation also participates in energy and water conservation. Starbuck uses green products which have low pollution rates and even save resource. The company also employs social sustainability in its quest to balance between profits and social welfare. Starbuck has policy measures where it assists coffee farmers to enhance their social welfare like living conditions and conservation of the environment in region which grow coffee (Starbucks 2016). The management has researched about numerous problems coffee farmers face. The research has been made possible because the company has created a policy of closely working with suppliers. It was the outcome of these researches that prompted the company to formulate sustainability policy to help mitigate social, environmental and economic challenges of both suppliers and general farmers. The company sustainability endeavors have had even positive impacts on customers and general society. The attached is the current sustainability policy of Starbucks Corporation (see appendix). 4.0 How becoming a sustainable organization aligns with the overall strategic plan of the organization.  Starbucks as a sustainable organization align with the company’s strategic plans in many ways. One of the strategic objectives of the company is to have a good reputation among its customers, suppliers and the general society. Jones, Hillier and Comfort (2014, p.7) found out that sustainability practices create a good reputation for the company. Companies which conserve the environment are believed to be serious about mitigation of climate which has been a challenge to humanity. Furthermore, a company which provides employment to many locals is often believed that they understand the social problem of employment and are committed to solve it. Company which adopts sustainability uses such strategy to attain competitive advantage. Sustainability can be used to attract customers, employees and suppliers. Linnenluecke and Griffiths (2010) contended that customers now get attracted to companies which pay their employees well, conserve the environment and participate in various social activities of the society. Starbuck uses sustainability to retain employees. Research has also found has also found out that employees want to associate with companies which practices sustainable development (Sloan, Legrand & Chen 2009, p. 67). 5.0 Action plan The report recommends 10 years action plan of the sustainability policy as shown in figure 1. Tactical action plan Sustainability plan resources Funds, office, personnel and computer. Major communication channels Internal memo, email, mobile phones, company website Network of experts CEO, environmental expert, marketing managers and operations managers Performance measurement Tick status if 95 percent of the objective is attained Activities Action Steps timeline Cost Status Formulate Mission, Vision for Sustainability develop staff team to contribute ideas towards formulating sustainability policy Consult with personnel and members of the about the need for this program. Four months $1350 Formulation Goals and Objectives Create a logic framework to explain sustainability objectives. Six months $1230 Research to potential stakeholders Three months $3000 Formulate Program Cost Design funding for the sustainability policy Four months $1000 Offer internship Offer internship opportunity to 20 students Every year Reduce greenhouse Use renewable energy to reduce emission by 55% by 1 June 2022 1-6 years $35000 Building Dams Contribute 10% towards building of dams in coffee growing areas. One year $40000 Figure 1: Action plan 6.0 How to promote the sustainability policy and expected outcomes to key stakeholders Promotion of sustainability policy needs to be done for stakeholder prior to execution to ensure they understand the anticipated results and benefits (Fortress Learning 2016). Starbucks promote their policy by organizing meetings with representatives of the community and farmers. During the meeting education is conducted on the same. Opoku and Fortune (2014, p. 125) opined that in this way, this may reduce the conflict which could arise during implementation. Starbucks also promote their sustainability policy by publishing on popular newspapers, magazines and agricultural journals to get the opinions of the famers and general society. However, the company must use some motivating language to reduce skepticism about the policy. This always modifies of the policy before implementation. 7.0 How the organization will communicate with the sustainability committee Edwards (2005, p.78) argued that communication is a very important factor for a company in articulating roles, target and milestones of the action to the committee. In this sustainability policy plan, the various major communications strategies will be used to communicate with the committee including internal memo, email, newsletters, mobile phones, company website and meetings. Most of people now have now have Smartphone which they can use to communicate through phone calls and can use to access emails, website and with one another (Fortress Learning 2016). In all these communication strategies are considered professional within organization settings. Regular meetings can also be used to effective communicate the milestone to the committee. 8.0 Developed Procedures supporting the policy The company may have developed the policy but without properly crafted procedure it may not achieve its intended objective. Therefore, the report has created 2 procedures on how Starbucks can implement its updated sustainability policy. Procedure 1 is outlined here where procedure 2 is attached at the appendices section (appendix 3). Procedure 1 follows the steps below. Consultation to the CEO Forum. Communication (email) every staffs and top management. Information forum to be conducted by sustainability formulation and implementation committee. Conducting forums to present the proposal to the major stakeholders. 9.0 How the Organization Will Develop and Communicate Procedures to Help Implement workplace sustainability policy Even though Starbucks may have the sustainable plan, it does not imply that they have developed the necessary procedure for implement it. Developing procedure is necessary for implementing the policy is greatly required. While the board creates the policy and determines the direction the company takes, the procedure is created by the selected employees who belong to sustainability committee (Fortress Learning 2016). These stakeholders develop the procedure while demonstrating how the specific undertakings which are critical for such direction can be attained. On the communication perspective, the company can use various methods to articulate the new policy to staffs including meetings, posters and announcements. Fortress Learning (2016) argued that for external stakeholders, the company can use website, newsletters and formal reports among other to explain how they intend to implement the sustainability policy. 10.0 The range of methods that are used to monitor and review workplace sustainability Sustainability policy is always on consistent situation in a constant state of implementation. The process requires being monitored and reviewed frequently to make sure it is attaining its set goals (Sloan, Legrand & Chen 2009). The monitoring and review can be done using risk assessment matrix and checking on the records. Risk assessment matrix group various potential risk which may arise from sustainability policy. The management can therefore use this tool to control the potential risk that could occur. Records can also be used to monitor the trends and issues that need remedial action. 11.0 A survey used to monitor and review the success of the sustainability policy The survey is highly recommended for effective implementation of the sustainability policy. Survey helps the sustainability committee to listen to the opinion of the employees and the management about the new sustainability policy (Opoku & Fortune 2014, p.125). The answer enables the committee to identify areas of concerns to monitor and review. For this survey, implementation can be done through seeking feedback from the Starbuck employees and management. Starbucks Survey has been done using Surveymonkey (www.surveymonkey.com) platform as shown in appendix 4 below. After survey is done and areas of concern identified and reviewed, the implementation does not stop there as the company needs to monitor trends (Fortress Learning 2016). The company needs to keep records and use it to monitor trends of the policy. In case of deviations, review of the budgets and the part of the policy can be reviewed to align it with the goals. 12.0 Recommendations Starbucks has been known to practice sustainability over the years. However, the current policy is not enough and hence this report provides recommendations on how the company can improve its sustainability practice. Employees’ involvement Employees are the face of the company because they promote the operations of the company. As such, the company must involve them to show that the company has good relations with the society. Allocating more funds Coffee farmers still get pennies while the middle men get million from sale of coffee. Therefore, Starbucks ought to locate more funds to elevate the lives of coffee farmers and motivate them. Training people the society on sustainability Issues such as climate change are not only contributed by the company, but also suppliers and customer. Therefore, to inculcate the culture of sustainability, the company must also train the society to take responsibility and contribute towards the mitigation of climate change. 13.0 Conclusion The report has found out that sustainability has been widely used by companies, government agencies and other institutions. Starbucks is one of the multinational which had adopted a sustainability policy to guide its practice responsible management. Starbucks sustainability policy cuts across three concepts which form triple-bottom line approach, including social sustainability, economic sustainability and environmental sustainability. To be precise Starbucks has been using recyclable cups and packaging to conserve the environment. Also, the company has been trying to improve the lives of farmers through giving competitive prices. Starbuck aligns sustainability to its strategic objective due to significance. Sustainability has been found to promote good reputation and competitive advantage. 14.0 References Cadden, D.T & Lueder, S.L 2012, Small Business Management in the 21st Century, Flat World Knowledge Edwards, A.R 2005, The Sustainability Revolution, New Society Publishers Jones, P, Hillier, D & Comfort , D 2014, ‘Sustainability in the global hotel industry’, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol. 26, no.1, pp.5 – 17 Jeffer, H.S, Bosse, D.A & Phillips, R. A 2010, ‘Managing for stakeholders, stakeholder utility functions, and competitive advantage’, Strategic Management Journal, 31, 58-74. Fortress Learning 2016, BSBSUS501A Develop Workplace Policy and Procedures for Sustainability viewed 27 September 2016, http://students.fortresslearning.com.au/bsbsus501a-develop-workplace-policy-and-procedures-for-sustainability/ Institute of Community Directors 2016, Environmental Sustainability Procedures, viewed 27 September 2016, https://www.communitydirectors.com.au/index.jsp Linnenluecke, M. K & Griffiths, A. 2010, ‘Corporate sustainability and organizational culture’, Journal of World Business, vol.45, no.4, pp.357-366. Opoku, A & Fortune, C2014, Implementation of Sustainable Practices in UK Construction Organizations: Drivers and Challenges, The International Journal of Sustainability Policy and Practice, vo.8, no.1, pp.121-132 Sloan, P, Legrand, W, & Chen, J. 2009, Sustainability in the hospitality industry (1sted.), Oxford, Elsevier Inc Starbucks, 2016, Environment: Pioneering sustainable solutions, viewed 27 September 2016, http://www.starbucks.com/responsibility/environment 13.0 Appendices Appending 1: Current Starbucks Sustainability policy The 2015 Global Responsibility Report marks the end of a chapter for Starbucks, and a new beginning. Mission statement: “Shared Planet is the company’s commitment conduct business in methods which are good for the planet and people”. Vision: “to be the most effective coffee company, formulating sustainable solutions for a safer and better environment” In 2008, Starbucks was fighting for its survival. The financial crisis triggered a global recession, and sales slowed for the first time in the company’s history. Tough decisions were made, stores were closed, and jobs eliminated. Commentators wondered aloud if Starbucks best days were behind us. But in the midst of that crucible, Starbucks did not back away from our commitment to responsibility. Instead we announced a set of ambitious goals – committing that by 2015 we would improve ethical sourcing in coffee and throughout our supply chain, serve our communities and engage young people, and decrease the environmental footprint from our store operations. Looking back, we can see the global impact that we have made in the seven years since we first put that stake in the ground. We nearly doubled our investment in alternative loan programs to $21.3 million from $12.5 million in 2008. We expanded our ethical sourcing program, and are on the cusp of helping make coffee the world’s first ethically sourced commodity. In 2008, nearly three-quarters of Starbucks coffee was certified or verified by a third-party as ethically sourced, and Starbucks had one Farmer Support Center. In 2015, 99% of our coffee met that criteria and we expanded our outreach to farmers around the world with seven new Farmer Support Centers in Latin America, Asia and Africa. We broke ground on our first global agronomy center to develop sustainable farming practices to share with farming communities around the world. In the areas of environmental performance, we have implemented rigorous green building as a standard practice in new construction projects and renovations. In 2008, we had one LEED® certified store, and today, we have more than 800, including the LEED® Platinum Starbucks® Reserve Roastery and Tasting Room in Seattle. We increased our purchases of renewable energy from 20% in 2008 to 100% in 2015, and exceeded an ambitious water conservation goal, reducing consumption more than 26% over 2008 – from 24 gallons of water per square foot of retail space to fewer than 18 gallons. While some environmental targets have been more difficult to achieve than expected, we have learned from these challenges and are working to find innovative environmental solutions. We also have learned in the power of investing in communities and young people to make meaningful change. We elevated our partners’ global efforts, by creating our annual Global Month of Service, with 1,163 partner-led projects in April 2015 alone. Moreover, partners and customers have contributed more than 3 million hours of community service over the past seven years. From 2010-2012, we consistently achieved our goal of engaging more than 50,000 young people to innovate and take action in their communities and have since pivoted our focus to create pathways to employment for young people who face systemic barriers to opportunity. We also found new opportunities. When we saw the need for employment for post 9/11-military service members and their families, we launched a new veteran’s hiring initiative. When we saw our partners (employees) struggling to earn their college degrees, we created the Starbucks College Achievement Plan with Arizona State University to offer full tuition reimbursement to eligible partners. And when we saw young people disconnected to jobs and school, we created the 100,000 Opportunities Hiring Initiative, leading a coalition of companies to offer meaningful jobs to thousands of opportunity youth. Recycling and Reducing Waste We are working to shrink our environmental footprint and meet the expectations of our customers by reducing the waste associated with our business, increasing recycling and promoting reusable cups. Our success is linked to the success of the farmers and suppliers who grow and produce our products. Helping people thrive helps ensure the long-term sustainability of the premium products we provide. Whether it’s arabica coffee, tea, cocoa or manufactured goods, we’re committed to offering ethically purchased and responsibly produced sustainable products of the highest quality Source: (Starbucks 2016) Appendix 2: Reviewed or updated Starbucks sustainability policy Sustainability Policy Showpony Advertising Policy Number: Approved: Vision (Seek to understand the future implications of our actions by focusing on the economic, social and environmental impacts of our business) Mission (Starbucks is dedicated to creating a positive influence through effective environment performance) People To offer internship opportunity to 20 students in our company every year. To offer % 5 bonus to the leading suppliers starting 1st January 2018. To provide scholarship fully-funded scholarship to 5 bright children every year. To offer 6 hour community service such as cleaning and planting tree four times a year. Planet To change all our packaging to recyclable material by 2018 To provide recycle machine to all our suppliers by 2020. To reduce greenhouse gas emission by 55% by 1 June 2022. To increase use of renewable energy by 80 percent by 2020. Profit To venture in low cost coffee production in quest of targeting economy consumers. To establish contribute 10% towards building of dams in coffee growing areas from 1 June 2017. The review date: 27/09/2016 AUTHORISATION Howard Schultz 05/10/2016 Appendix 3: procedure 2 supporting the policy Source: (Institute of Community Directors 2016) Appendix 4: A survey used to monitor and review the success of the sustainability policy Read More