Strategic Sustainability Scan (SSS)

Key elements of the methodology
Companies are expected to make well-considered decisions that will ensure the most sustainable results. This can be useful to the company as well; the final goal and result is after all continuity in the long term. BECO developed a practical method for helping companies make the correct decisions. The Strategic Sustainability Scan is a practical tool for starting to practice sustainability in a concrete manner. In order to translate the abstract concept of sustainability into concrete action steps more insight is necessary into the specific aspects that are relevant for the particular company.

Based on the key elements in the area of People, Planet & Profit (known as the Triple P) the Strategic Sustainability Scan (SSS) provides an insight of how an organisation performs in the area of sustainability. Furthermore, the SSS provides an insight into how the stakeholders perceive the performance of the organisation and what they expect of the organisation in the future. To what extent the organisation meets the interests of its stakeholders is of importance in his case.

Reasons and examples for choosing SSS to measure your sustainability performance:

Insight in a short period of time
The SSS can be implemented in a short period of time. Per operational process (for example, sales, production, marketing, etc.) the responsible manager with the guidance of an advisor goes over a specified list of questions. The questions relate to issues of people, planet and profit, which are relevant for the operational process. In a brief period of time an insight is gained into the performance of the company in the area of sustainability, measured against the ‘best practices’ in the sector.

Sector specific method
Since each sector has its own problems – and therefore its own ‘best practices’ – it is vital that the scan be sector-specific. Specific SSS have been developed for various industries, such as chemicals, metal, transport, recreation, tourism, food processing, plastics, waste processing, services and water works.

Internationally-recognized guidelines
The SSS methodology in general and the Triple P in specific are based on internationally recognized guidelines, standards, such as the EFQM model for quality, Global Reporting Initiative and the Social Accountability 8000 guidelines for the social and environmental aspects, and the ISO 14001 for the environment. The SSS methodology also fits in with the AccountAbility 1000 guidelines.

The SSS is divided into three parts:

• Carrying out a sustainability scan (Triple P measurement)
• Stakeholders consultation and analysis
• Establishing a sustainability agenda

1. Carrying out a sustainability scan (Triple P measurement)

The company or organisation is screened on all aspects related to sustainable performance, in other words, the contribution to economic development, protecting the environment and social progress. This is based on questionnaires. The SSS not only examines the production process – as done in an environmental scan – but covers all company operations. Company operations are subdivided into 7 basic modules: strategy, processes, purchase, sale, human resources, finance and communication. In some sectors an industry-specific or organisation-specific modules are added. The responsible manager per module is interviewed by going through the questionnaire. The scan not only looks at the activities that are carried out or the measures undertaken, but also whether there is structural focus, whether a policy was developed, objectives are set, and whether results are measured. The answers on the questions determine the scores for the 3 Ps per module. At the end of the screening the organisation attains a picture of its own sustainable performances, a sort of ‘mirror image’. This ‘mirror image’ can help the company see in a single glance which operational activities need more attention to become sustainable.

This particular company had already devoted attention to sustainability in all aspects of business operations. At first glance it appears that Communication, Sales and Finance have the better chances for improvement. In order to attain further insight into the scores and thereby the improvement chances per module, the performance levels are also reflected in detail per module using a ‘mirror image’.

This ‘mirror image’ indicates that the company has already established sustainability criteria for the performance of its suppliers, but has yet to establish standards for selecting products. Improvements can also be implemented in the area of communication of the purchasing department and purchasing process. The company acquires a detailed picture in all modules of where there might still be opportunities for improving sustainability performance.

2. Stakeholder analysis

The major stakeholders are determined in consultation with the organisation. These are interested parties connected with the organisation, such as employees, environmental groups, the bank, customers/clients, suppliers or authorities. BECO contacts the company’s most relevant stakeholders. The three questions below are at the forefront:

1. Which topics do stakeholders consider important with relation to the activities of the company (what are the interests of the concerned stakeholder)?
2. How do stakeholders presently value the performance of the company with regard to these topics?
3. What do stakeholders expect of the company in the future (desired performance of the topics)?

This method enables us to confront the performance of the company according to the measurement of the Triple P with the stakeholders’ views of the company’s performance. To get an insight into the vision of the stakeholders, a ‘mirror image’ is used for every stakeholder (see figure below). This ‘mirror image’ places the following factors next to each other: the score of the organisation (a measurement of the Triple P), the assessment of company performance by stakeholders, and the interest attached by the stakeholder to various aspects. It enables us to see the aspects in the organisation’s score that are of interest or relevance for the concerned stakeholder.

In this particular example of a company, the bank thinks that sales and marketing should devote more attention to sustainability. The bank thinks that on this topic the company performs very well (maximum score). However, screening the company shows that in practice it does not perform well on this topic. Therefore, the company should be devoting more attention to this topic.

3. Establishing a sustainability agenda

Based on the sustainability scan of the company and an analysis of the stakeholders, priorities for improving the organisation are established. This is done in consultation with the concerned managers. In this case we explicitly take into account the financial and economic consequences. The confrontation between the actual performance of the organisation and the perception of the performance by stakeholders constitutes an important input for discussion with the management. The discussion concerns risks and opportunities related to operating in a sustainable manner. Together with the organisation a start is made for formulating a vision of sustainability on which the organisation can base its sustainability strategy and ambitions for the coming years. The final result of the SSS is the determination of a strategic sustainability agenda. The following step is then to fill in the overall sustainability agenda with action plans for each company unit.

4. Reference Beco

Beco has carried out the Sustainability Strategic Scan for more than 150 satisfied clients, from small companies to large multinationals, research institutes, municipalities and government. Here you find some examples:

Nedstaal BV Dow Chemical Terneuzen ENCI IneosSilicas Ovako SABIC Thermphos Van Gansewinkel Zinifex Budel

Broomchemie Eastman Chemical GE Plastics Ola PQ Europe Sekisui S Lec Uzimet Rijswijk Yare Sluiskil B.V.

If you are interested in the Sustainability Strategic Scan please contact Beco via info@duurzaamondernemen.nl or directly by phone via +31 10 298 52 20.