MPM704 Managing for environmental sustainability Trimester 3, 2011

Assignment 2instructions: Environmental sustainability audit

Word limit: Value: 4,500 words with 10% tolerance Marks out of 100. Worth: 60% of final assessment

Submission deadline: Friday 24 February, 2012 The environmental sustainability audit is a practical project to be conducted in a company. Students need to search for and negotiate with a company to get permission for conducting the audit. The company can be either a manufacturing or a service organisation. Students can choose the company of their employment for this assignment. Students need to email the unit chair (mehdi.taghian@)deakin.edu.au) by Friday 9 December, 2011 and advise their company of choice. The unit chair will email back to acknowledge and confirm.

Please note that the company selected would be exclusive to the student who applies first (no duplication of companies). In case the company has been already allocated students need to select a different company.
The audit includes a review of the organisations status on environmental sustainability. It will be a comprehensive review of the organisations strategy, objectives, actions and achievements in planning and implementing for environmental sustainability.

Format
1

The assignment Market audit and competitive analysis should be prepared using the following basic format: Executive summary (3 Marks) Prepare the executive summary at the end when the market audit has been completed. This summary needs to present all the key points covered in the report, in a way that the reader can understand the contents of the report. The executive summary is expected to be only one page long. Introduction (6 Marks) Introduction of the company o History o Ownership o Market presence and strengths in key target market segments o Major products Definition of the companys key target market (6 Marks) o Describe the market Geographical region Forms of transportation and communication Customer buying habits Distribution of the product Marketing communication Pricing strategy o Compare and contrast the companys key product (goods and/or services) with those of their key competitors Products Prices Promotion Market share estimates Planning (6 Marks) o Corporate plan o Strategic plans (manufacturing, marketing, HR, etc) o Specific environment related plan 2

The current environmental information gathering system (6 Marks) o The method(s) of collecting information o The nature of the information collected o Distribution of the information to key decision maker Organisational response mechanism (6 Marks) o Decision making o Environment task force or team membership o Speed of response to the environment related information received

Behavioural audit (25 Marks) o Energy consumption o Sources of raw materials suppliers o Method(s) of transportation used From suppliers to the company From company to the market o Emission level targets identified o Emission levels controlled (recorded, compared to targets) o How these measurements recorded o How the corrective actions communicated to various stakeholders o Identify the various stakeholders sentiments about the environment o Product Manufacturing efficiency (process) reviews and actions Manufacturing efficiency (facilities, equipment, technology) reviews and actions New and/or improved product developments Waste levels and waste controls o Packaging Format Quality Waste and waste control o CEOs (or the key senior decision makers) attitude toward the environment o CEOs (or the key senior decision makers) education and background o CEOs (or the key senior decision makers) participation o Office (admin) efficiency Supplies used Processes Technology 3

Wastes

Analysis of the nature and types of environmental safety actions being undertaken (10 Marks) o Proactive o Reactive

Reporting (7 Marks) o Periodic reports to the management Contents Frequency Recommendations (25 Marks) o Prepare a list of recommendations for changes in the current practice with justification

Sources used Appendices

The marks allocated to each section of the audit are only indicative. Changes will be considered depending on the type of business and the extent and depth of audit conducted. The above list is very basic and is only a suggestion. Please add to or modify the list as related to the nature of the business being audited.

Submission
Assignment submission instructions No hard copy submission is necessary. There is no need for assignment cover sheet. Please make sure your name, student ID number and your Deakin email address appear on the top of the first page of your assignment. Please submit your assignment through the Turnitin facility on DSO. If there is any problem with submission through DSO, please email your assignment as an attachment to the Unit Chair directly: mehdi.taghian@deakin.edu.au. 4

Assignments will be assessed and returned by email to students. Further information: Submitting assignments to Turnitin: http://www.deakin.edu.au/dso/student/guides/qg-turnitin-submit.html Originality reports: http://www.deakin.edu.au/dso/student/guides/qg-turnitin-originality-report.html (Note: after submitting an assignment it can take a few minutes to an hour or so for your originality report to become available. You can log out of DSO and come back to check the report later on). Other information about Turnitin: http://www.deakin.edu.au/dso/student/turnitin/index.php Academic Integrity: Avoiding plagiarism and Acknowledging sources: www.deakin.edu.au/studentlife/academic-skills/resource-room/assign-ref.pdf or http://www.deakin.edu.au/studentlife/academic-skills/handouts/plagiarism.php Understanding plagiarism self-test: http://www.deakin.edu.au/studentlife/academic-skills/plagiarism-test/