How to Change the World. Clare Feeney

How to Change the World

rel="nofollow" href="#fb3_img_img_5611cb9a-ced7-5a15-8bc9-8a3eab03ca8d.png" alt="images"/>comply with the conditions of project approvals

comply with environmental legislation and regulations

minimize environmental risk

avoid and minimize adverse environmental effects of works

monitor activities and effects

take action to mitigate or remedy any adverse environmental effects; and, if necessary, to change the way they do things to prevent any recurrence

continually improve their environmental performance.

Also in the support package was an interactive toolbox of:

a leaflet summarizing the package

a background document explaining the environmental management plan framework and the reasons for setting it up, as well as the objectives and scope of a plan

an electronic plan template with all the headings set out and some helpful information already provided

printed workbooks containing background information and examples to help contractors fill out the template for their organization

a set of environmental control procedures (also known as environmental management procedures or standard work practices or operating procedures) and other resources prepared for the contractors to use and adapt for their plans and their site management and monitoring processes

a self-paced interactive online learning program, supported by classroom-based training

ongoing support from staff of the utility.

The first plans were uniformly excellent – a result that could not have been achieved cost-effectively in any other way.

Regular site inspections then made sure the contractors were supported in following and, if necessary, reviewing their plans.

An interesting finding from the process was that having such plans was invaluable when these contractors were bidding for other work, especially council or government projects: it gave them good non-price attributes and a great track record.

Benefits all round

Other benefits of contractors developing and implementing their environmental management plans included providing:

for both the utility and the contractor:

a clear understanding of how the utility and the contractors would act as one team to comply with legal requirements, avoid environmental impacts and achieve best practice in environmental performance

an accepted agreement on environmental best practice before works start;

for contractors:

reduced risk of budget overruns due to unanticipated environmental problems

a head start in terms of non-price attributes when competing for other contracts;

for the utility:

confidence that its contractors had planned and identified how to complete works in an environmentally responsible manner

a tool to more accurately measure the time and effort taken to address environmental issues and practices; and

for other stakeholders and the wider community:

confidence that the utility’s works were not only timely and cost-effective, but also planned and carried out in accordance with sound environmental practice.

All in all, the environmental management plan program resulted in a step-change in industry capacity and capability. It provided contractors large and small with new and enhanced skills that offer both business and environmental benefits that will continue to grow over time.

Michael Lindgreen was the project sponsor. Now with Andrew Stewart Limited, he says that ‘to achieve the corporate goal of a consistent level of environmental best practice we recognised that we needed to do things differently. We wanted to challenge the industry norm of simply prescribing our environmental requirements and standards and then expecting contractors to meet them. Instead, we opted to go down the path of engagement and partnership to build industry capacity and change behaviours over time.’

He is convinced it was this ‘one-team’ approach that produced their industry-leading environmental management support package – a toolkit developed specifically for contractors to understand environmental risk, risk management strategies and how to develop and implement effective documented management systems.

Support was crucial, says Michael. ‘Following the implementation of the system and the requirement for all contractors to develop environmental management plans, we further supported our contractors through tool-box talks, industry presentations, a “help-line” email address and free staff advice when required. The final, and perhaps the most important step, of “bringing the plans to life” through effective implementation was further supported through on the ground monitoring, advice and education.’

With a concerted effort and, importantly, buy-in from all levels – from senior management to the digger driver – Michael says the organization saw ‘the quantifiable number of environmental incidents drop significantly, while the intangibles of improved industry reputation, contractor buy-in, client – contractor relationships and demonstrated industry best practice increased dramatically.’

Key word highlighter: Go through the case study and highlight elements that are in the 7-step model and Jay Wilson’s Charlotte-Mecklenburg program. What other elements, issues and opportunities can you see? Jot your findings down on Action Sheet 3.2.

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