ASSESSMENT 1.
This assignment is to be completed using the “Market World Shopping Centre” case study.
The assignment written work must be typed (in Arial 12 point type on A4 paper).
Part 1.
This activity requires you to take responsibility with an organisation for developing
workplace sustainability policy. You are provided with case study /scenario in the
“Additional Information” at the end of the project. You must use this information to
complete the project tasks.
Task 1
a) Conduct a review of the organisation’s current position in terms of sustainability
practices. This could include a review of:
• Management commitment
• Planning & communication processes
• Waste management (water & solid)
• Air emission management
• Hazardous materials management
• Environmental emergencies and response
• Site security
• Visual impact (greening of site, maintenance)
• Cultural & biological impacts
• Energy use
b) Identify and describe required sustainability initiatives for Market World Shopping
Centre
c) Research the following and describe best practice models relevant to the business
sector (in this case shopping centre).
i. information gathered from above task
ii. relevant laws, standards and guidelines for the industry
iii. Government initiatives
iv. ISO 14001:1996
v. Organisation’s strategic & business plans
vi. Best practice models applied by other shopping centres
d) Describe who could be consulted with in the development of policy
e) Make recommendations for policy options based on the likely effectiveness, timeframe
and cost. This could include barriers to changing policy, costs for changes, timeframes
for implementation and responsibilities for implementation.
f) Develop sustainability policy with the following headings:
i. Purpose (the context of the policy, why it is required)
ii. Scope (the application of the policy – particular location, workgroups, coverage etc.)
iii. Procedure (how the policy is implemented)
iv. Roles and responsibilities (who is responsible for the implementation of the policy)
v. Communication (how the policy is communicated to the stakeholders)
vi. Review (how frequently the policy will be reviewed)
vii. Legislation (reference any legislation that the policy specifically complies with)
g) Explain how you developed policy that reflects Market World Shopping Centre’s
commitment to sustainability and as a business opportunity
h) Prepare an implementation plan for the new policy
i. Description of sustainability initiative being implemented
ii. Implementation timelines and milestones
iii. Strategies for minimising resource use, reducing toxic material and hazardous
chemical use, and employing life cycle management approaches
iv. Sustainability or environmental targets or key performance indicators
v. Organisational costs for implemented the required changes
vi. An outline of the monitoring approaches to gather reporting information
throughout implementation
vii. A description of how continuous improvement for the process will be
implemented and managed
Task 2
a) Prepare and deliver a presentation to your team mates and assessor. Include the
following information:
• Brief overview of the process you followed to draft the policy
• Recommendations for policy options
• Compliance with relevant legislative requirements
• The process you will use to communicate and implement the policy
• The benchmark indicators you propose to use to measure improvement
• Stakeholders who are responsible for the implementation
Part 1. Checklist and Scope of Submission
Before you hand in part 1, use the checklist below to make sure you have completed all the
tasks and have included all relevant information.
• Conducted a review of existing sustainability practices
• Described required sustainability initiatives for the Market World Shopping Centre
• Described best practice models relevant to the business
• Described who could be consulted
• Made recommendations for policy options
• Developed sustainability policy
• Explained how the policy reflects the centre’s commitment to sustainability and as a
business opportunity
• Prepared an implementation plan
• Delivered a presentation
• Submitted PowerPoint slides
Part 2.
To complete this part, you will be using the information from part 1 and also the Additional
Information at the end of the project, specifically the “Sustainability Results”.
Task 1
a) Describe any possible outcomes and shortfalls of the implementation process so far
b) Prepare graphs or charts that could describe or summarise the progress towards or
against the established targets and KPIs
c) Provide an evaluation of the graphs or charts to identify any trends
d) Describe further action areas from the information provided
e) Recommend changes or revisions to the policy
Part 2. Checklist and Scope of submission
Before you hand in these assessment tasks, use the checklist below to make sure you have
completed all the tasks and have included all relevant information.
• Described possible outcomes and shortfalls of the implementation
• Prepared graphs or charts to summarise the progress
• Provided evaluation of the graphs or charts to identify trends
• Described further actions areas
• Recommended changes or revisions to the policy
Additional Information – Case Study
Brief Description of the Organisation – Market World Shopping Centre
Market World Shopping Centre is a community shopping complex that was established in
1970. It is located around 30 kilometres south of the Sydney CBD. The shopping complex
houses a number of large retailers, around 20 speciality food stores, 15 fashion outlets, 3
banks, a post office, library and a small number of speciality services such as an
optometrist, dry cleaner, pharmacy and travel agency.
The Management team at Market World Shopping Centre is very committed to
environmental sustainability and would like to implement a sustainability policy for the
organisation. One of the strategic business objectives set in a recent strategic plan was to:
• Implement a sustainability policy to integrate sustainability considerations into all
business decisions
At this stage they want to specifically focus on water usage, energy usage and waste
management.
Current Sustainability Practices
A project team had been formed to develop a sustainability policy for the shopping complex
and to assess the organisation’s current performance in relation to sustainability practices.
So far they have gathered the following information.
• There is no formal sustainability policy operating across the group however some
retailers have implemented some sustainability initiatives. (e.g. some shops recycle
their paper waste; some food outlets separate their recyclable waste from food
waste.)
• As an older shopping complex, Market World is heated by a gas boiler system. More
energy efficient heating and cooling systems are available.
• Lighting is centrally controlled across the complex which means that individual
shops cannot turn off lights when not needed.
• Only about 10% of waste is recycled. (Industry best practice is over 40%)
• General waste and food waste is not separated.
• An inspection of bathroom facilities found 4 leaking taps and 4 trough type urinal
systems that use an average of 200 kilolitres of water each year. Basin taps were
not fitted with flow restrictors. Toilets were older style single flush systems
• Many of the light bulbs used across the complex are standard incandescent lamps
Sustainability Results
After implementation of a number of sustainability initiatives the following results have
been achieved.
Strategy Area Results
Air-conditioning systems - Gas boiler was replaced with an energy efficient air conditioning
system. Resulting in a saving of nearly $10, 000.00 per annum and
a saving of 442, 288 MJ of gas
Lighting - Light bulbs replaced with compact fluorescent lamps resulting in a
saving of 50,000 kWh/yr and a further saving of 2,000 kWh/yr due
to the reduced load on the air conditioner. Greenhouse gas
savings: over 50 tonnes/ year
LED strip lighting replaced neon strip lighting in various signs across
the complex saving 1,729kWh/yr. Greenhouse gas savings:1.8
tonnes/yr.
Waste Management -Recycling system introduced to separate general recyclable items
from food waste
60% of waste was able to recycled
A worm farm was introduced to dispose of food waste. This is
used to fertilise the gardens surrounding the complex.
Water Usage - 4 leaking taps fixed resulting in a reduction in water usage of 356
kilolitres per year
Replaced urinals with waterless urinal systems saving 800 kilolitres
of water/ year
Flow restrictors were installed on all basin taps resulting in a saving
of 80% of water usage.
Dual flush toilet systems were installed saving about 382 kilolitres
of water/ year
Power Usage - A building management system was installed resulting in a saving
of 5% of annual electricity consumption.