sustainability toolkit part one: environmental governance...

Sustainability Toolkit Part One: Environmental Governance, Management, and Leadership Guide for Canadian Co-operatives

© 2010, Canadian Co-operative Association




About the Author and Acknowledgements

Coro Strandberg is the Principal of Strandberg Consulting, which provides sustainability and

corporate social responsibility consulting services to firms, and helps organizations turn

sustainability challenges into market opportunities. She specializes in using market levers such as

socially responsible investment, financial vehicles, supply chain management, and corporate

governance to catalyze sustainable growth and development. Known for her exceptional networking

skills, Coro connects people and ideas to create solutions for a sustainable world. Her clients have

included retail, transportation and finance firms, environmental organizations, governments, and the

2010 Olympic Games.

Coro has worked in the sustainability field for over 20 years. She was a Director of Vancity Credit

Union for 12 years where, as Chair of the Board, she helped position the credit union as an

international leader in corporate social responsibility. Coro founded the Vancity Community

Foundation and co-founded the Victoria Values-Based Business Network. She was also instrumental

in creating the Sustainability Purchasing Network, which provides training and advisory services to

organizations seeking to integrate environmental, social, and ethical perspectives into their buying

decisions. Coro is an active public speaker and an associate with Canadian Business for Social

Responsibility. In 2009 Coro was appointed to the University of British Columbia President’s

Advisory Council—Sustainability External Advisory Board.

Coro Strandberg wishes to thank The Co-operators, Vancity Credit Union, Assiniboine Credit

Union, and Northern Savings Credit Union for their leadership and innovation in sustainability.

Many of their lessons and efforts in the sustainability journey have informed this toolkit through the

author’s experience in working with them over the years.

The Canadian Co-operative Association would like to thank the Co-operative Housing Federation of

Canada and the Co-operatives Secretariat for their financial support in funding the development of

the Environmental Casebook Profiles and the two environmental guides in the Sustainability Toolkit:

Environmental Governance, Management, and Leadership Guide for Canadian Co-operatives and

Operational Framework to Improve Environmental Performance for Canadian Co-operatives.



TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1

1. COMMITMENT ...................................................................................................................... 2

2. STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT ................................................................................................. 6

2.1 ENGAGE BOARD AND STAFF ........................................................................................... 6

2.2 RESEARCH AND BENCHMARK ......................................................................................... 7

2.2.1 Assess Your Baseline ........................................................................................... 7

2.2.2 Conduct a Best Practice Scan .............................................................................. 7

2.2.3 Identify Stakeholder Priorities ............................................................................. 8

2.2.4 Assess Your Environmental Impact, Risk, and Opportunity Areas ..................... 8

i) Assess your environmental impacts .................................................................. 9

ii) Assess your environmental risks and opportunities ........................................ 9

2.2.5 Complete a Gap and Opportunity Analysis ........................................................ 10

2.3 ESTABLISH PRIORITIES .................................................................................................. 11

2.4 SET GOALS AND TARGETS ............................................................................................. 13

3. GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK ........................................................... 14

3.1 ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE ................................................................................... 13

3.2 SUSTAINABLE HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT ........................................................ 16

3.3 MANAGEMENT INFRASTRUCTURE ................................................................................. 17

3.4 SUSTAINABLE DECISION-MAKING ................................................................................. 18

4. LEADERSHIP ......................................................................................................................... 20

4.1 STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT ....................................................................................... 20

4.2 COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT .......................................................................................... 20

4.3 PARTNERSHIPS AND ADVOCACY ................................................................................... 21

CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................ 22

APPENDIX: RESOURCES ............................................................................................................ 23


© 2010, Canadian Co-operative Association 1

SUSTAINABILITY TOOLKIT

PART ONE: ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE, MANAGEMENT,

AND LEADERSHIP GUIDE FOR CANADIAN CO-OPERATIVES INTRODUCTION

Canadian co-operatives are leading contributors to the quality of life in Canadian communities. This

assurance is enshrined in the international co-operative principles, which include commitments to

community and the environment vested within the 7th

Principle, Concern for Community:

“Co-operatives work for the sustainable development of their communities through policies

approved by their members.”

The purpose of this Guide is to provide a roadmap, or framework, for co-operatives1 seeking to bring

this principle to life by developing or enhancing their environmental commitment and contributing

positively to environmental conditions. It focuses on the governance, management, and leadership

systems and processes that co-operatives can deploy to improve their overall environmental

performance and contribute to sustainable communities.

The Guide is organized into four sections, or steps, in the development of an environmental

governance, management, and leadership framework. Co-ops can adopt the order that best suits their

purposes and can skip those steps that are already in place. The steps are:

1. Commitment

2. Strategy Development

3. Governance and Management Framework

4. Leadership

Co-operatives are encouraged to work through these steps to develop an overarching framework and

accountability system to advance along the path of continuous environmental performance

improvement, and for those that choose, to assume a leadership role in their communities or sectors.

Sustainable Development The term “Sustainable Development” was defined by the Brundtland Commission, in 1987, as meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Sustainable development, sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) are often used interchangeably. In the business context, it has come to mean the integration of social and environmental factors into an organization’s governance, operations, strategy, management, and day-to-day decisions.

1 Although both guides in the Sustainability Toolkit refer to co-operatives throughout, it is intended that this term

encompass all types of co-operatives including credit unions.



This Guide takes the view that co-operatives can benefit from managing their environmental

performance much as they would other aspects of business performance. Co-operatives that do so

will reap the benefits of cost savings, operational efficiencies, improved staff recruitment, retention

and motivation, enhanced reputation and brand management, strategic innovation, competitive

advantage, and community leadership. This Guide is also premised upon a perspective that, as

organizations designed not for profit but for service, co-operatives are uniquely positioned in their

markets as being visionary catalysts for sustainable businesses and sustainable communities.

For co-operatives wishing to delve further into the topic, a list of resources can be found in the

Appendix.

Part two of the Sustainability Toolkit, Operational Framework to Improve Environmental

Performance for Canadian Co-operatives, provides further details regarding how to operationalize

environmental performance systems, including buildings, energy and climate change, materials and

waste management, purchasing, food, transportation, water, air quality, and marketing.

The Canadian Co-operative Association (CCA) has published profiles of the environmental efforts

of nine Canadian co-operatives in an Environmental Casebook. This Guide references their practices

and approaches in order to illustrate various points along the environmental governance,

management, and leadership journey.

1. COMMITMENT

A key first step to developing or enhancing an environmental program is to formalize or renew your

co-operative’s environmental commitment. There are many different methods for developing an

environmental commitment statement, and differing philosophies and perspectives a co-operative

can adopt. There is no one right way. Regardless of your method, you will want to ensure that your

environmental commitment is clearly articulated, approved by management, and adopted by the

board of directors. Once adopted, it is important to communicate your commitment to staff,

members, the community, and other stakeholders. This signals your organization’s environmental

philosophy and sets in motion the process of stakeholder accountability for your environmental

performance. Once a commitment has been adopted, action is expected to follow!

A critical success factor is to adopt and communicate an environmental commitment.

You will want to adapt your environmental commitment statement to your organization’s culture.

For example, co-operatives can refer to their commitments in a number of ways: environmental

commitment; environmental vision; environmental principles; environmental charter; environmental

framework; or environmental policy.

In addition to options regarding terminology, there are options as to what an environmental

commitment might entail. Possibilities include:

• A definition of the environment, sustainability, or sustainable development;

• A vision of a healthy environment;



• The scope of the policy (to whom and what the policy applies, including governance,

management, operations—design, manufacturing, procurement, marketing, distribution,

maintenance, reuse, disposal, and product stewardship—and areas of influence—members,

customers, co-operative system, etc.); and

• Principles and aspirations:

o providing an intergenerational and long-term philosophy (e.g. need to operate in

consideration of future generations);

o listing environmental impact areas (e.g. land, water, air, and all living organisms

including humans);

o including the role of healthy ecosystems to support human communities and economies;

o including the interdependencies of environmental, social, and economic systems (e.g.

there is an interconnection between environmental, social, and economic sustainability);

o taking responsibility for the direct environmental impacts of your operations;

o using your influence with stakeholders to be a catalyst for environmental sustainability;

o leveraging your resources and expertise to improve the environment;

o creating solutions to environmental issues;

o improving environmental conditions; and

o using the opportunity to benefit your members.

Environmental Philosophies

The following are some environmental philosophies that your co-operative could consider in developing your commitment statement. Precautionary Principle: In instances where science has not yet determined whether a new product or process will cause harm to the public or the environment, it should be prohibited or restricted in its use until it is known to be safe. The burden of proof that it is not harmful falls on the proponent of its use. Cradle-to-Cradle: A design framework in which a product is turned into something else at the end of its life so waste and environmental impacts are limited. Life-Cycle Analysis: An approach that assesses the environmental impacts of a product or service throughout its lifespan (cradle-to-grave), from extraction or harvesting, to sourcing and manufacturing, distribution, use and disposal. (See the CCA Sustainability Toolkit Part Two: Operational Framework to Improve Environmental Performance for Canadian Co-operatives for further details.)

Your environmental commitment could be focused on your operations: the sustainability of your

community or sector and healthy ecosystems overall. In addition to articulating your environmental

philosophy and scope, you may wish to develop an overarching environmental aspiration in the areas

of being an environmental leader; advocating for environmental progress; reducing your negative

environmental impacts; making a positive environmental impact; and embedding your

environmental commitment throughout your operations, into your business decisions and everything

you do. You may wish to include references to working through partnerships to achieve your

environmental aims, and finally, a commitment to manage, measure, and report your environmental

performance.



Vancity Credit Union and Mountain Equipment Co-op have adopted a set of commitments that

include the environment. The Co-operators has adopted a sustainability policy that includes

environmental sustainability.

Basic questions. Your answers will influence your strategy and brand.

• Is your focus to reduce your direct environmental impacts?

• Is your focus to reduce your direct and indirect environmental footprint?

• Is your focus to embed your environmental ethic into everything you do?

• Is your focus to be a catalyst for environmental sustainability?

• Is your focus to be an environmental leader in your industry or sector?

• How can your environmental efforts provide strategic advantage to your business?

Some organizations link their business objectives to their environmental policy, communicating the

philosophy that by improving their environmental performance their competitive advantage and

social license to operate will be enhanced. By linking economic and environmental sustainability

aspects, co-operatives can communicate the business value of their environmental investments. This

can help to overcome, or fend off, internal or external resistance that may exist or arise.

A critical success factor is to understand the business case or rationale for an environmental program or strategy.

Some environmental commitments or policies are short, visionary, and motivational; others are

longer, detailed, and very formal. Your approach will depend on your organization’s culture and pre-

existing policy framework. It should at least reference your commitment to compliance with

environmental legislation and regulations, and reducing your direct negative environmental impacts.

For organizations seeking a leadership role, you will wish to more actively name your desire to be a

catalyst for environmental sustainability and to use your products and services, supply chain, public

voice, and relationships to foster environmental solutions and improve environmental conditions.

It can be helpful to research environmental policies or commitment statements of other co-

operatives, your competitors, and organizations outside of your sector. Contact your local co-

operative or industry association for tips and advice.

In addition to an environmental commitment statement or policy, or as an element of it, your co-op

may also benefit from an explicit environmental vision that describes how you see events unfolding

over 10 or 20 years if you are successful. Your environmental vision could be a short and

inspirational description of what your organization intends to achieve at some future point; it could

be forward thinking and aspirational, often allowing for out-of-the-box creative thinking. An

environmental vision frees the heart and soul to dream of an end-state liberated from the pressures

and constraints of the present. It can help set the stage for a visionary environmental program. This

approach is not for every organization, however. Typically, organizations have pre-existing

missions, visions and values, and prefer to incorporate their environmental aspirations into their

current framework. This is fine, too. The rule of thumb is to use whatever works for your



organization. As an example, The Co-operators has incorporated a reference to sustainability within

its overall vision: “We will be a catalyst for a sustainable society.”

In recognition of the fact that environmental sustainability is one component of an overarching

sustainability or corporate social responsibility (CSR) approach, co-operatives may wish to ensure

their environmental commitment is linked to their sustainability or CSR framework. As

demonstrated by the four sustainability concepts below, social, environmental, and economic

sustainability are incorporated into an integrated and interdependent system. These are represented

as a Venn diagram of interlocking circles; a three-legged stool; nested relationships; and the

“braiding” of factors. Social, environmental, and economic factors are sometimes referred to as the

“triple bottom line” of CSR.

For those co-ops seeking an integrated model, a few additional steps are proposed. In addition to

developing an environmental commitment statement or policy, co-operatives with CSR or broader

sustainability ambitions may wish to ensure the following actions are also taken:

• Incorporate your environmental commitment into an overarching sustainability (triple bottom

line) policy or commitment; and

• Integrate your environmental ethic into your co-operative’s mission, vision, and values.

It is sufficient to simply focus your efforts on the development and implementation of an

environmental policy or commitment statement. However, the degree to which your environmental

commitment contributes to, and helps to shape, your co-op’s mission, vision, and values can foster

greater buy-in, engagement, and innovation from stakeholders.



Organic Meadow Co-operative Inc. incorporates

environmental commitment into its Mission Statement Organic Meadow Co-operative Inc. was formed to provide an opportunity for organic farmers to collectively store, process and market organically grown products. We are committed to ensure fair, consistent financial returns to farmers while maintaining quality at every stage from soil to table. We are dedicated to encouraging ecologically sound, diverse, self-reliant farm units where production efficiency is achieved in harmony with the surrounding environment…...We will work to build unity among farmers based on the principles of co-operation, and will affirm their right to self determination and the maintenance of a strong rural heritage. Organic Meadow will strive to decrease the distance both physically and psychologically between farmers and customers. Our dealings with members, employees and customers will be carried on in an atmosphere of openness, honesty and trust.

Developing your commitment statement in collaboration with your co-op’s key stakeholders is a

further means by which you can encourage buy-in and engagement. Stakeholders could include your

board of directors, staff, members, customers, communities, environmental organizations, co-

operative sector representatives, and others who have a strong interest in your organization’s success

and/or the local environment. There are myriad methods for consultation and collaboration,

including focus groups, surveys, telephone interviews, task forces, roundtables, town hall meetings,

etc. By consulting internal and external stakeholders you can develop a more robust commitment

statement, build goodwill, generate excitement and motivation, and possibly identify partners who

can help you achieve your goals.

2. STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT

Once your environmental commitment or policy has been adopted, the next step is to begin the

process of developing an environmental strategy or action plan. The breadth and depth of your

environmental strategy will be greatly influenced by the scope of your environmental policy. Some

policies may be focused narrowly on preventing pollution, recycling, and reducing resource use for

example, while others may include a more catalytic role in terms of engaging suppliers, employees,

members, clients or customers, the industry, and the broader community or public on overall

environmental footprint reduction. In either case, the following measures will be important in

developing your environmental strategy or action plan. The order in which the measures are

presented need not be strictly adhered to. Co-operatives should choose the approach that makes the

most sense for their organization. The order of the measure below is a hypothetical critical path that

could be tailored to accommodate unique circumstances.

2.1 ENGAGE BOARD AND STAFF

It is expected that your board and staff will have already been engaged in your environmental

initiative through the process of developing your environmental commitment. However, the strategy

or action-planning phase is a critical next juncture for engaging your internal stakeholders. A few

initial tasks could include providing environmental training for board or staff members, perhaps in a



webinar or day-long format, and agreeing on the business case and rationale for implementing an

environmental initiative. Key business benefits can include:

• Opportunity for cost savings and operational efficiencies;

• Improved ability to recruit, retain, and motivate staff;

• Increased innovation;

• Improved brand and reputation; and

• Enhanced risk management.

(See the link to Business Case for Sustainability in the Appendix.).

This would be a good time to recruit a steering committee of staff and possibly other stakeholders

such as directors and co-op members to guide your strategic or action plan process.

2.2 RESEARCH AND BENCHMARK

After you have pulled your steering or planning committee together, the next step is to conduct

research to identify your areas of strength and weakness, and complete a gap and opportunity

analysis. The size, resource base, and environmental commitment of your co-operative will have a

bearing on the extent of your environmental plan or strategy. You may select from the following

menu of activities those research projects that will best help to build out your environmental plan in

a manner consistent with the unique characteristics of your co-operative.

2.2.1 Assess Your Baseline

A critical first step is to conduct a baseline assessment of your co-op’s environmental impacts. The

companion guide, CCA Sustainability Toolkit Part Two: Operational Framework to Improve

Environmental Performance for Canadian Co-operatives, provides details on how to go about this

(see especially Section 1.3: Conducting an Environmental Assessment). Most typically, co-ops will

prioritize their environmental footprint in the following impact areas (each is reviewed in detail in

the companion guide):

• Energy

• Water

• Waste

• Materials

• Air quality

• Buildings

• Transportation

2.2.2 Conduct a Best Practice Scan

When designing your sustainability initiative it can be helpful to see what others have done,

particularly leading organizations. This is usually referred to as a best practice scan. Look into the

environmental efforts of others in your community or sector. Typically this can be accomplished

through desk research via internet searches and reviewing environmental or sustainability reports.



Your research scope might include other businesses, co-ops, and organizations in your community,

including your local government, your competitors, others in your industry or sector, and companies

that have received national recognition for their leading environmental programs (see lists in

Corporate Knights Best 50 Corporate Citizens, Jantzi-McLean’s CSR Report, and McLean’s Top 30

Green Employers).

The Co-operators has conducted two scans of sustainability practices at leading insurance and non-

insurance companies and co-operatives since 2007; it uses this information to inform its

sustainability strategy.

After reviewing about three or four websites or sustainability or environmental reports of best

practice organizations, you will have a good understanding of what constitutes leading and lagging

environmental practices. Many trade and sector associations have identified the environment and

sustainability as key industry issues, and have taken steps to identify and share best practices in these

areas. CCA’s Environmental Casebook is an example of this. In addition, you may wish to check

what resources your other industry associations have compiled. In some sectors, such as banking, the

sector has established a set of environmental guidelines or principles that you could follow (see

United Nations Environment Program Finance Initiative Principles).

2.2.3 Identify Stakeholder Priorities

It is worthwhile to understand the interests and concerns of your stakeholders. A stakeholder is a

person, group, or organization that has an interest in your organization. Priority co-op stakeholders

typically include staff, board, employees, members, customers or clients, and the community. Other

stakeholders might include suppliers, government, media, academics, other co-operatives, non-

governmental organizations (NGOs), First Nations and Aboriginal groups, trade unions, general

public, etc. Getting ideas from stakeholders can start the creative wheels turning in your organization

and help the process of innovation take root.

Methods to solicit ideas could include “green ideas” feedback emails, quick polls, focus groups,

questionnaires, and brainstorming sessions. If your co-op seeks to engage its members or other

stakeholders more substantively, you could consider launching a task force of members or

stakeholders to help develop the strategy, holding a community or membership meeting to gather

input, or conducting a member survey at your annual general meeting.

2.2.4 Assess Your Environmental Impact, Risk, and Opportunity Areas

The process of assessing your environmental impact, risk, and opportunity areas is an important step

in developing your environmental game plan. However, good business practice suggests this should

be an ongoing activity that is built into your overall risk management program, thus informing your

environmental and business strategy on a regular basis. You may wish to consider some of the steps

below to get a comprehensive picture of your organization’s environmental position and prospects.



i) Assess your environmental impacts

Much of this work will have been completed in the baseline assessment phase referred to earlier (and

further elaborated upon in the companion guide, CCA Sustainability Toolkit Part Two: Operational

Framework to Improve Environmental Performance for Canadian Co-operatives). However, by

revisiting your impacts, you may perceive some upstream and downstream effects of your operations

that your environmental strategy could take into account.

An example of upstream effects is purchasing. Regardless of whether you are a retail co-op that sells

consumer goods or a childcare co-op that provides child care services, you are sourcing goods and

services in the market. The type of purchase, including the nature of the product or service and the

management practices of your supplier, can have an impact on environmental conditions in your

community and around the world (i.e. the transport of the good or service to your place of

operation). Another upstream impact is how your employees get to work. Do they drive single-

occupancy vehicles, take the bus, cycle, carpool, or walk?

You will also have environmental impacts downstream of your operations. These could include the

transportation impacts of your customers (members) in getting to your place of operation, the

packaging you use, the environmental impacts generated in the use of your product or service, and

any disposal, reuse, or recycling considerations. When brainstorming your impacts look both

upstream and downstream of your physical plant.

ii) Assess your environmental risks and opportunities

The process of risk assessment and management may or may not be an established business process

within your organization. More and more organizations are implementing enterprise risk

management programs to help them identify and manage their strategic, operational, reputational,

regulatory, financial, emerging, and other sorts of risk. Whether or not you have such a system in

place, you will want to ensure you have identified your co-op’s key environmental risks when

putting your environmental strategy together.

Consider the following questions:

• Are there environmental trends or issues that will impact your co-operative?

• Does your co-op generate environmental impacts that might come under increased regulation

or under customer scrutiny?

• What is the nature and degree of your exposure to those risks?

• What is your tolerance or threshold for the exposure or threat of the environmental issue?

• Can you manage this risk in a way that generates a competitive advantage for your co-op?

Depending on the nature of your industry or sector, some of the following environmental risks might

apply (taken from a publication on environmental risk produced by The Economist; see Appendix).

• Rising energy and fuel prices

• Damage to reputation and brand

• Failure to meet reporting obligations



• Failure to comply with environmental regulation

• Accessibility of raw materials due to growing resource scarcity

• Impact on biodiversity

• Impact of climate change over the long term

• Impact of extreme weather events including business disruption in the supply chain

• Suppliers’ or partners’ environmental performance

• Food security

• Soil erosion

• Industrial pollution

• Water pollution

• Water scarcity

• Use of toxic / hazardous substances

• Transportation of hazardous chemicals or waste

• Impact of operations on local communities

• Emissions from factories, warehouses, and other facilities

• Emissions from transportation

• Environmental health of the workplace

• Environmental reputation

• Changing customer preferences

• Changing employee expectations

You may need to conduct research into the environmental risks and impacts of how you manage

your co-operative, and of your products and services as this information is a new area of interest and

concern in environmental management. However, once you have determined your main

environmental risks, you will want to decide which risks you will bear, transfer (e.g. via an insurance

policy), or manage. If you choose the latter, this will become a potential component of your

environmental plan or strategy, and ultimately your management system.

Other options that you may wish to consider for your strategy in light of your co-op’s environmental

risks include: the opportunity to develop new products or services to address or account for

environmental problems; the opportunity to uncover new business ventures arising from changing

public perception of environmental issues; training employees on environmental risk issues; and

setting environmental standards and controls for your suppliers and future business partnerships.

Your priority environmental risks will feed into your process for setting environmental performance

targets. If your options are not entirely clear to you, your co-op may benefit from scenario planning

to further assess the potential impacts of environmental risks on your business.

2.2.5 Complete a Gap and Opportunity Analysis

Now that you have assessed your environmental baseline, best practice, stakeholder priorities, and

impacts, risk and opportunities, you are in a position to pull this information together into a

benchmarking exercise or gap and opportunity analysis. In this phase you will want to compile your

research into a matrix, which will allow you to identify your co-operative’s strengths and

weaknesses relative to where you are today (your baseline) so you may compare them with best

practice, stakeholder interests, and your key environmental impacts, risks and opportunities. Once



you have completed this analysis, you will want to share it with others to verify its accuracy,

relevance, and completeness. If your co-op is like most organizations, you will likely have generated

a laundry list of gaps to fill and opportunities to leverage. The next step is where the rubber hits the

road: setting your environmental priorities.

Conducting a Gap and Opportunity Analysis This assessment will help you prepare for the next step. Areas of strength can be built upon as opportunities; areas of weaknesses can be prioritized in your environmental plan or strategy.

• Review CCA Sustainability Toolkit Part Two: Operational Framework to Improve Environmental Performance for Canadian Co-operatives, check off which practices are in place at your co-op, and prepare a summary of practices that are not in place.

• List the environmental governance and management practices you identified in your best practice review and prepare a summary of practices that are missing at your co-op.

• List the issues and items your stakeholders consider important and note areas where your co-operative has strengths and weaknesses.

• List the environmental risks you have flagged as important to your co-operative and summarize your approach to managing the environmental risks, noting where you do not have any risk management practices in place.

2.3 ESTABLISH PRIORITIES

There are many means by which an organization can determine its environmental priorities. The

most basic is some form of voting or show of hands for where to start. This can be a very useful

approach for achieving early wins, and engaging and motivating staff and others. It can even result

in cost-savings (e.g. reduced paper consumption), which can help fund other projects. However, this

is not as strategic an approach to priority setting as would be preferred for a sustained program.

One way to turn the results from your research and benchmarking exercise into a set of strategic

priorities—and ultimately an environmental plan or strategy—is to connect your list of gaps and

opportunities to your environmental commitment and vision. With your commitment and vision in

hand, consider which of your opportunity areas will help you fulfil your commitment and move you

toward your vision. In a spreadsheet, you could list in one column where your co-op is on a given

environmental measure and in another column where you would be if your organization was

environmentally sustainable in fulfilling your commitment and achieving your vision. You will

likely have some of the following categories.

• Buildings

• Waste

• Water

• Energy and climate change

• Paper

• Electronic document management

• Meetings

• Food



• Cleaning

• Transportation

• Purchasing

• Products and services

• Community involvement

• Staff and member or client engagement

• Public engagement

• Leadership

• Advocacy

• Brand, marketing and communications

• Management system

• Reporting

• Training

For co-operatives just starting out, and even those that have established environmental programs, the

list of opportunities to pursue can be overwhelming. Below are a few rules of thumb to keep in mind

when deciding where to spend time and invest resources.

• Can this initiative align with other existing business priorities (e.g. a building, fleet, product,

brand, or website upgrade)?

• Is this a top priority for one of your key stakeholder groups?

• Is there a champion in your organization who has the energy and capacity to lead this

initiative?

• Does this address a key risk or impact area?

• Are there opportunities for cost savings?

• To what degree do you wish to be an industry or sector leader in this area, or is it possible /

desirable to manage this environmental aspect minimally in basic compliance with

environmental regulations or norms?

• Where can you have the biggest impact / make the biggest difference?

• Will you lose out to your competitors if you do not address this environmental issue?

• Do you have the opportunity to gain competitive or business advantage?

• Is this an efficient investment to move you toward your commitment / vision?

• Can you do this on our own, or do you need outside actors (e.g. governments or others in

your industry or supply chain)?

Consider adopting an ABC program: Above and Beyond Compliance.

As you determine your priorities, it is good to have a mix of longer term strategic initiatives, some

early wins, and projects that require cross-departmental coordination and delivery in order to engage

the whole organization in the implementation and sharing of responsibility.

Your organization’s leadership orientation or aspiration is a critical determinant of your strategic

priorities. Having conducted the scan of where you are today and where your threats and

opportunities lie (in light of your commitment and vision, and given limited resources), you will now

need to identify the best prospect for leading, being a fast follower, satisfying some minimal



standard, or lagging in your environmental performance. The areas in which you wish to lead will be

those where you will want to invest your resources for the longer term.

However, for the first few years you may wish to focus on getting your house in order. Typically,

organizations prefer to establish a basic framework to measure and reduce their direct environmental

impacts before becoming a catalyst for change within society. In order to be credible, you need to

walk your talk before engaging others in what they can do for the environment.

2.4 SET GOALS AND TARGETS

The companion guide (CCA Sustainability Toolkit Part Two: Operational Framework to Improve

Environmental Performance for Canadian Co-operatives) provides details on setting goals and

targets for your environmental strategy (see Section 1: Management Systems). A key consideration

at this point is to develop quantifiable measures by which you can assess your co-op’s performance

against its goals and targets. Some of your priorities and goals will lend themselves to targets and

others may not. Either way, at this point in the process you should determine the measurement

methodology by which you will assess progress. These are often referred to as performance

indicators or key performance indicators (KPIs). Small organizations may have only a handful of

KPIs, such as their annual greenhouse gas emissions, the percent of waste that is recycled, or the

number of green products they have available. Larger organizations will have many more. What is

important to understand is that your co-op should determine your one-to-three year goals and have

quantifiable measures in place to monitor and track your performance. (See Sustainability Solutions

Group and Vancity Credit Union as examples of two co-operatives that have developed key

performance indicators to track their progress.)

As with any strategy or plan, the next step is to assign budget and human resources, a detailed time

line, and set of actions steps—this is a basic of good planning with which any co-operative will be

familiar.

This then constitutes your environmental strategy or plan. While you can keep it as a stand-alone

document, you are advised to incorporate it into your overall business plan or corporate strategy.

Depending on the degree of detail included in your co-op’s business plan or strategy, some or all of

your environmental goals, targets, and measures could be incorporated into the plan. It is possible

that your business plan requires you to develop a high-order KPI or performance measure to be

tracked by your executive and board of directors. If this is the case, choose to report on one of your

goals that will be representative of your overall progress; or find a means to incorporate your

environmental goals into other areas of the business plan, such as fleet management, marketing,

product development, or facilities.

Once management and the board of directors have adopted your environmental strategy or plan, the

focus will be on implementation and integration, described in the next section.



The Use of Consultants in Developing Your Strategy Some organizations hire outside consultants to assist with vision and strategy development. A few consulting models you may wish to consider include: 1. Hire experts to help you measure your environmental footprint. 2. Hire strategic planners to assist you and your co-op to develop your vision statement and three-year

strategic priorities. 3. Hire sustainability coaches or advisors who can provide mentoring services to help build your co-op’s

internal environmental management capacity. 4. Hire researchers to conduct best practice research and industry scans. 5. Hire sustainability trainers to educate your co-operative’s board, management, and staff on key

sustainability issues and trends that affect your co-op and its sector.

3. GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK

Most boards of directors will have been involved at a number of points in the development of the

environmental strategy up to this point: in flagging the environment as an organizational priority, in

approving the environmental commitment, and in approving the environmental strategy or plan.

Some boards of directors might even have established an environmental steering committee or task

force to advance most of the effort to this phase. Regardless of the degree of board involvement to

date, it is very important that directors and management put their heads together to consider an ideal

environmental governance and management framework going forward once the strategy has been

approved.

The companion guide (CCA Sustainability Toolkit Part Two: Operational Framework to Improve

Environmental Performance for Canadian Co-operatives) provides the nuts and bolts of an

environmental management system (see Section 1: Management Systems) and will not be reviewed

here. (See also Federated Co-operative Limited’s profile in CCA’s Environmental Casebook for an

approach to an Environmental Management System for its Forest Products Division.)

This section focuses on key governance and business processes that require an environmental lens,

guidance, or tools to ensure successful implementation of your environmental commitment and

strategy. It looks at the role of the board, the management infrastructure, human resource

management (including the role of green teams and environmental champions), and tools and

processes for integrating sustainability into your budgeting and operating decisions.

3.1 ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE

This Guide takes the view that the board of directors should provide oversight for the co-operative’s

overall sustainability program, including its social and environmental priorities, as much as its

business or service priorities. However, given that the focus of the Guide is on how a co-operative

manages its environmental performance, this governance section looks at environmental governance.



(There are detailed guidelines on the role of the board in CSR governance available in the

Appendix.)

Given that the board will have, to this point, adopted and communicated the co-operative’s

environmental commitment (and possibly incorporated the organization’s environmental ethic into

the co-op’s mission, vision, and values) and included environmental goals within the business plan

or strategy, the balance of the environmental governance mandate pertains to oversight, risk

management, board composition and expertise, and disclosure (adapted from CSR Governance

Guidelines listed in the Appendix.)

A key responsibility for any board of directors is to provide oversight for the organization’s

environmental performance. Given that the environmental plan is included within the business plan,

there will be regular reporting from management on overall progress. Some boards of directors

establish committees of the board to conduct this due diligence and oversight role. Other boards

integrate an environmental mandate within the audit, risk management, human resources, or strategic

planning committees. Different approaches exist; there is no one right way. However, if you are

planning to establish a committee for a board of directors, the terms of reference are likely to include

the following components:

• Review, recommend, and monitor compliance with environmental policies and management

systems;

• Review, recommend, and monitor progress of environmental strategies and plans;

• Monitor and provide recommendations on environmental trends, risks, and opportunities;

• Review and monitor stakeholder relations; and

• Provide input into the scope of the environmental report, recommending the report to the

board of directors.

Mountain Equipment Co-op and The Co-operators both have a sustainability committee of the board

of directors; Vancity has a community leadership committee.

In the area of risk management, the board of directors—possibly through an existing committee or

an environmental committee—will provide oversight for a sound environmental risk management

plan. As well, boards of directors are responsible for director recruitment, nominations, and director

education, and will want to ensure that processes are in place to foster values-alignment and

environmental awareness at the board level, as well as to orient new directors on environmental

commitments, issues, and plans. Further, the board may wish to include environmental factors in its

annual evaluation program.

For organizations with a CSR, sustainability or environmental report (see CCA Sustainability

Toolkit Part Two: Operational Framework to Improve Environmental Performance for Canadian

Co-operatives, Section 1, for a discussion of environmental reporting), typically the board of

directors, or responsible committee, provides input into the scope and coverage of the environmental

report and ultimately approves the report for public release. This approach follows the standard

protocol for the approval and release of the co-operative’s annual report and financial statements.

Indeed, some organizations include their environmental or sustainability results in their annual report

to members. It is good practice for the chair of the board (along with the general manager or CEO) to



include a statement in the environmental or sustainability report, as is often the practice with annual

reports. (See The Co-operators 2009 Sustainability Report as an example.)

Some boards, wishing to walk their talk, may want to review their own operating practices to

determine how they can reduce the environmental footprint of their governance activities. Consider,

for example, the possibility of paperless board meetings, reduced air travel, organic meals, etc.

Boards set the tone at the top, and those that model sustainable behaviour to their members and staff

can reduce cynicism and spur engagement and motivation.

A final—but most critical—role for the board of directors pertains to the senior leadership of the co-

operative. Boards of directors are responsible for hiring the CEO or general manager, and for

establishing executive compensation. These are critical leverage points for integrating an

environmental ethic throughout the organization. Whether your environmental objectives are

included within your Balanced Scorecard (see 3.4 Sustainable Decision-Making, below), or are part

of a number of performance-related bonusable items, if you wish to engage senior leadership and

staff in embedding environmental considerations throughout the co-op, it is essential that

environmental factors be incorporated into the performance compensation of the CEO and senior

leaders.

A critical success factor is a performance incentive system that rewards environmental effort.

3.2 SUSTAINABLE HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Next to your board governance system, your human resources management system is key to

achieving environmental performance goals. (The following is adapted from A Checklist on CSR and

Human Resource Management, provided in the Appendix.) As mentioned, incorporating your

environmental objectives into your co-op’s performance compensation system will bring greater

results. Those co-operatives that only motivate and reward traditional financial results will not

achieve the environmental goals they have set for themselves. However, pay and bonuses are not the

only tools available to human resources.

For co-ops seeking to integrate environmental considerations throughout their organizations, it will

be important to incorporate your environmental ethic into your recruitment program, or your

employer recruitment brand, in order to ensure you are recruiting values-aligned employees. New

recruits will need to be oriented to your environmental commitment and goals. To better understand

the environmental priority and strategy, employees may need training on environmental trends, risks,

and issues for your industry and sector.

Many co-operatives have employee codes of conduct to guide the way business is carried out. Codes

basically translate your co-op’s principles and values into statements of appropriate behaviour. You

may wish to revise your code to include your environmental commitment. Often employees need to

hear from the board and senior management that they have permission to experiment with ways and

means of integrating environmental considerations into their day-to-day business. The code of

conduct can be one way to communicate this invitation.



Your co-operative may also need to review its job descriptions to determine whether there is an

opportunity to incorporate environmental mandates into key jobs, or all jobs. Most jobs are impacted

by environment and sustainability trends these days, so few positions are without an environmental

dimension. Co-ops with defined organizational competencies, which drive deliverables and

compensation, may benefit from integrating environment and sustainability factors into them.

Performance plans, team goals, formal and informal reward systems, annual performance reviews,

and exit interviews, can all be refreshed at this point to incorporate your co-op’s environmental

commitment.

Many organizations survey their employees annually to assess employee engagement and alignment.

This is an opportunity to also determine the degree to which your employees perceive that the co-op

acts in alignment with its environmental policy or commitment. Research has shown that employers

with robust CSR and environmental programs are likelier to have greater engaged employees—

leading to enhanced employee morale and higher employee productivity. It is worth the time

invested to engage your employees in your environmental program and in monitoring employee

perceptions on environmental integration within your co-op. The Co-operators survey its staff and

other stakeholders annually to assess their perceptions of its sustainability progress.

A critical success factor is employee buy-in and engagement.

Finally, but significantly, co-operatives on the path to fulfilling their environmental commitment

have a big opportunity to engage employees in achieving their environmental aspirations. It is often

the case that a co-op’s environmental efforts are first championed by employees on the shop floor.

Co-operatives by their nature are philosophically aligned to employee engagement and participation.

Encouraging, seeding, and supporting employee green teams are some of the means to motivate

employees, and allow employee innovation and passion to flourish.

For successful grassroots engagement, senior leaders must provide active and visible support. It

helps to ensure that the green team (there may be more than one) has a mandate, terms of reference,

and possibly some budget. Usually the team is interdepartmental and representative of various

business functions. Teams can also function at the branch or departmental level. They can be

conduits for communication from the grassroots to the leadership and vice versa.

3.3 MANAGEMENT INFRASTRUCTURE

There is a debate in the sustainability literature regarding how best to organize the management

infrastructure in order to foster employee buy-in and ensure progress towards an organization’s

environmental / sustainability goals. Some prefer to distribute sustainability responsibility across the

organization rather than centralize it with any one individual or department. Others believe it is

important to elevate sustainability to the executive or leadership level in order to signal

organizational commitment, and to increase executive buy-in and mobilize interdepartmental support

and engagement. Regardless, there are a few key features for most organizations initiating or

enhancing a sustainability program:

• An executive sponsor;

• A person with responsibility for coordinating implementation of the strategy; and



• An interdepartmental committee with responsibility for rolling out the strategy and

monitoring its progress.

A critical success factor is a dedicated staff person.

The committee, typically chaired by a person with designated responsibility, provides status reports

and recommendations to the executive on a regular basis. In addition, the sustainability lead often

provides regular progress reports to the board of directors or board committee.

The Co-operators has an interdepartmental Sustainability Steering Committee and Mountain

Equipment Co-op stores have sustainability coordinators responsible for implementing

environmental initiatives.

3.4 SUSTAINABLE DECISION-MAKING

Co-operatives that commit to integrating their environmental ethic into “the way we do business

around here” will want to revisit the decision-making tools, systems, and approaches at the heart of

their business or service in order to incorporate an environmental lens. Central to this is the co-op’s

financial management system and the decision-making process pertaining to budgeting, investments,

and capital projects. Sustainable decision-making is defined as integrating social, environmental, and

economic issues to reach conclusions, taking a long-term view and a “whole costs and benefits”

approach. Sustainable financial management is the achievement of goals and use of resources over

the long term, with full consideration given to social, environmental, and economic outcomes; it is a

key driver of sustainable decision-making.

There are myriad models and theories of sustainable decision-making with no one method

predominating. A key challenge is that most environmental and social goods lack a monetary value

that can be readily quantified in a financial cost-benefit analysis. Many efforts are underway to

develop sustainability accounting protocols wherein the external and intangible costs and benefits of

an organization’s activities are integrated into its accounts (i.e. costs not borne by the organization

such as pollution, and benefits such as social amenities).

Organizations that use Balanced Scorecards (a strategic performance management framework that

assists organizations to manage and measure strategy delivery) as a means of driving financial and

non-financial performance could adapt them to incorporate their environmental objectives. Co-ops

could start by integrating their environmental commitment into their internal effectiveness or

member/customer perspectives. For example: Granny’s Poultry Co-operative (Manitoba) Limited’s

Balanced Scorecard incorporates environmental sustainability through its “involvement with the

community” indicator.

Some organizations use Structured Decision-Making models in which investments over a certain

dollar threshold (i.e. capital projects and large value procurement) are taken through a process that

builds in social, environmental, and stakeholder considerations. In this approach, the organization

typically convenes a meeting of people representing diverse interests to define the problem or

decision that needs to be taken; determines the environmental, financial, and social criteria or

objectives for the project or decision; specifies how the objectives would be measured; brainstorms



alternatives that could meet the objectives; identifies the consequences; and clarifies the trade-offs.

(See Institutionalizing Sustainability at BC Hydro in the Appendix.) The objectives or criteria would

be listed in a matrix, which would include the measures, the options, and the consequences or

outcomes of the different decisions. This consequence table would be the basis on which the group

discussed and resolved the most optimal outcome, often by ranking and weighting different

objectives. This would include minimizing potential adverse impacts and resolving, as far as

possible, conflicting or contradictory outcomes. In this way, environmental (and social) factors are

explicitly considered in the decision-making, and are also the variables that can result in generating

creative and innovative solutions.

Other organizations are experimenting with Sustainable Accounting models, which are very similar

to the foregoing approach. In these models, the impacts and opportunities of a given decision are

given monetary values, the value flow is discounted applying a Net Present Value test, and decisions

are taken on more objective financial value terms. However, representing the external and intangible

costs and benefits of an organization’s activities in monetary terms can be very difficult to do.

A similar approach is referred to as Life-Cycle Costing or life-cycle assessment. This approach is

used to evaluate the environmental and economic aspects, and potential impacts, of a product or

project throughout its entire value chain—from raw material extraction, transportation,

manufacturing, use, and disposal or end of life. The method calculates the true cost of the material

components of products or projects, their use, and ultimate disposal or recycling throughout their

lifetime, allowing for an efficiency comparison between similar projects.

Structured decision-making, sustainable accounting, or life-cycle costing are usually applied at the

business casing stage of a project or purchase—early on in the process to allow for unexpected and

more holistic outcomes.

When applying its environmental commitment to its financial investments and asset management,

the co-op will move into the territory of sustainable investing, sometimes referred to as Socially

Responsible Investing (SRI). Over the past few years, SRI has evolved to focus less on screening

out good or bad companies, and more on integrating environmental, social, and governance (ESG)

considerations into the investment decision-making process. This is a very technical and expert skill,

so if this is of interest to your co-operative you may wish to explore with your investment manager

ways and means to integrate ESG into your investments.

A co-op could also apply its environmental or sustainability commitment to decisions regarding

business partnerships, joint ventures, and those with whom it does business. (See CCA Sustainability

Toolkit Part Two: Operational Framework to Improve Environmental Performance for Canadian

Co-operatives, Section 5, for a discussion of green purchasing and how you might apply your

environmental commitment to supplier selection.) Some co-operatives adopt a set of sustainability

screens or principles that set out minimal or optimal sustainability or environmental expectations for

their business partners. The Co-op Bank, in the United Kingdom, is best known for its “Ethical

Stance,” which is a set of nine statements about with whom it will (and will not) do business in the

areas of ecological impact, international development, human rights, and animal welfare.



4. LEADERSHIP

Co-operatives wishing to be leaders and champions of environmental sustainability in their

communities and beyond can use their spheres of influence to catalyze broader sustainability. The

following are some suggestions for additional roles and leverage points that co-ops might consider.

4.1 STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT

Section 2, Strategy Development, in this Guide provides a definition and list of potential

stakeholders, and suggests ways that stakeholders can be involved in the design of the environmental

strategy or plan. However, leading co-ops can pursue other ways to engage stakeholders in

improving environmental conditions, such as through awareness-raising efforts, the co-op’s role, and

what they can do to reduce their environmental footprint. Commonly, organizations focus on their

staff, customers, members (in the case of co-ops), and the community or general public in awareness

and action efforts. Typically this is achieved through web or e-communication vehicles, such as e-

newsletters, dedicated websites, and intranet sites. Frequent topics include energy efficiency and

conservation, recycling, water use, sustainable transportation, responsible consumption, and healthy

lifestyles both at the office and at home.

Behaviour change is usually the goal, with calls to action often accompanied by incentives such as

product discounts, pledges, competitions and challenges, recognition articles, and awards. There is a

range of tools that can be deployed in these programs, including tips, guides, videos, newsletters,

event calendars, footprint calculators, online training, online discussions, in-branch or in-store

events, ask an expert columns, etc. Often, members and the broader community and general public,

lack basic information to know how to reduce their environmental footprint. Member and

community-serving co-ops can help bridge this gap with tools, tips, and links to resources and

government incentive programs. Some co-ops focus their engagement efforts on staff, member, and

community projects such as shred-it days, stream or community clean-ups, or commuter challenges

and bike to work weeks. The goal of these efforts is always raising awareness and motivating

behavioural change at work, at home, or in the community in order to reduce our collective

environmental impact.

The Co-operative Housing Federation has developed education and engagement programs for its

members and individual members of housing co-ops. Vancity Credit Union hosts a Change

Everything website to encourage member and public engagement, and has implemented a number of

employee environmental engagement programs over the years.

4.2 COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Some co-operatives have community involvement programs, including donations, sponsorships, and

employee volunteering. Those that do may wish to consider the opportunity of integrating their

environmental commitment into their community initiatives. This may simply be a matter of

including the environment as a theme in your community program, or it may involve identifying

specific environmental priorities, such as sustainable communities, climate change, environmental

protection and conservation, environmental leadership and capacity building, environmental

solutions, sustainable co-op development and support for sustainable business, etc.



Mountain Equipment Co-op’s Volunteerism Program provides paid days off to staff members so

they may volunteer with non-profit organizations that support outdoor activity and conservation

issues. Vancity supports community groups taking action on climate change.

Sometimes co-ops provide a charitable contribution add-on as a marketing incentive for their

product or service. For example, a donation is made to an environmental group for each product or

service sold. For co-ops seeking to advance sustainable economy solutions, opportunities exist to

fund university research, programs, and scholarships in this area. Other measures to advance

sustainability could include funding tools, or sponsoring conferences or programs that help

members, suppliers, business customers, and households reduce their environmental footprints. For

example, Sustainability Solutions Group has developed a carbon reduction educational tool for

public use, which is available on its website. Perhaps your co-op could sponsor an environmental

award along with your local chamber of commerce or board of trade as a way to bring attention to an

environmental issue and good practice organizations.

4.3 PARTNERSHIPS AND ADVOCACY

Leading organizations often find that effectively tackling environmental issues requires working

with partners on common issues, and sometimes advocating with governments and others on public

policy measures and system, or forming sector-wide responses. For example, at the community

level, getting a transit system in place might require working with other businesses and employers,

the local government and provincial and federal funding partners to find a workable solution. To get

your products and services environmentally certified might require working with your industry

association and environmental organizations on environmental standards and minimum criteria. To

find cost-effective measures for implementing a product take-back program might require

collaborations with competitors and regional or provincial governments. To secure an international

agreement on reducing carbon emissions might require co-operatives joining with other

organizations to communicate their desire for government action.

Depending on the priority of your co-op, collaborations and partnerships can focus on knowledge

development and information sharing, product innovation, environmental standards development,

supplier engagement, and advocacy.

If your co-op is interested in undertaking advocacy measures to promote public policy on

environmental issues, you may wish to adopt an advocacy policy or implement an advocacy

checklist for your organization. Your checklist could include the following questions.

• Is the issue a key priority for your co-op?

• Does the issue support your environmental commitment and is it aligned with your overall

mission, vision, and values?

• Does the issue relate to your core business?

• Will the issue help your members? Your co-op? Your community?

• Is this a non-partisan issue?

• Can you collaborate with others on this initiative?



For those wishing to set up a proactive advocacy program, the following approaches may be

worthwhile:

• Commission and publish high profile research reports;

• Sign petitions;

• Hold meetings and engage in letter writing with government representatives;

• Release position statements;

• Hold media events;

• Launch or join coalitions and roundtables; and/or

• Sponsor summits or environmental campaigns.

Check to see if there are any pre-existing co-operative, industry, or business groups already engaged

in the issue, or join and work with environmental organizations that represent views similar to those

of your co-op.

The Co-operators has adopted a Sustainability Advocacy Policy and is implementing an advocacy

program. Vancity advocates for the development and advancement of public policy solutions to

climate change. Mountain Equipment Co-op participates in three collaborations with other

organizations to advance its environmental objectives. The Co-operative Auto Network works with a

number of partners to advance car sharing.

CONCLUSION

This Guide provides a roadmap for co-operatives seeking to formalize their environmental

commitment and to make a concerted effort to effectively manage their environmental performance,

much as they do their financial performance. Four steps, or areas of activity, are recommended for

those just starting out or those ready to move to the next level of environmental leadership. Co-

operatives that spend time defining and then implementing their environmental approach and

priorities stand to generate business, community, and member benefits—a home run and a triple win.



APPENDIX: RESOURCES

• CSR and Governance Guidelines: Canadian Credit Union 2010 Environment Scan

Available from Stephanie Wood at SaskCentral

• CSR and Human Resources Checklist

• Institutionalizing Sustainability at BC Hydro

• Industry Canada Environmental Sustainability Roadmap for SMEs

• Business Case for Sustainability

• CSR Continuum

• Filene Institute Credit Union Social Responsibility: A Sustainability Roadmap

• Credit Union Sustainability Strategy Roadmap

• “Under the Spotlight: The Transition of Environmental Risk Management” by The Economist

sustainability toolkit part one: environmental governance...

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