Sustainability assessments are tools that help an organization to determine its current environmental, social, and economic performance and provide a starting point to integrate sustainability principles into strategy, planning and operations.

There are many types of standards ranging from voluntary, quasi-mandatory or mandatory as well as those focused on a single issue (water, poverty) or integrated across all sustainability issues.  I loosely categorize sustainability assessments in two ways: prescriptive or non-prescriptive.

Prescriptive Assessments:  Certification under an existing standard is a tool for an organization to show that a measured, recognizable level of sustainability has been achieved.

Objective, third-party auditors trained and qualified to conduct assessments under a specific standard are professionally obligated to only determine the current state of compliance and not offer consultation on how to improve assessment outcomes.

What I Do

v  Assist organizations to identify the best assessment tool to meet its needs and goals

v  Provide informal, internal assessments using a certification standard to identify key issues prior to a formal assessment.

v  Consult organizations on how best to improve performance in preparation for formal assessments

v  Identify potential funding sources and help secure financing

v  Assist the organization to disclose formal findings and build relationships with key stakeholder groups

Non-Prescriptive Assessments:  Depending on the needs, goals and vision of an organization it may choose to use a variety of credible sources—good practices, case studies, benchmarks, even the relevant parts of certification standards—to assess current sustainability-related actions and then use findings to create a roadmap to improve and manage sustainability performance.

What I Do

v  Assess the organization’s baseline environmental, social, and economic performance
 

v  Analyze upper-level management and accountability structures and systems

v  Conduct materiality analysis of risks and opportunities

v  Identify potential funding sources and help secure financing

v  Assist the organization to disclose findings and build relationships with key stakholder groups

Choosing the appropriate sustainability assessment tool and implementing it correctly is crucial because it provides an organization with a starting point to chart its own course towards improved performance. The path an organization takes will vary according to sector and its unique mix of assets as well as its needs, goals and vision.

Tomas A. Beauchamp        Tomas@SharedValue.US      +1 812-824-6029