0B ‐ Developing Green Policy
Best Practice Key Components What others are doing
Approve and widely
communicate a clear written
commitment statement or
policy
Why is this a best practice?
• Formalizes and embeds
explicit commitment to
environmental
sustainability
• Demonstrates
environmental leadership
• Serves as an effective
communication tool as it
clearly defines goals and
requirements
• Provides guidance for
program development
• Defines accountability
* Developed and compiled by Reeve
Consulting for the Government of
Alberta
The written commitment should:
• Be clear, concise and in common
language
• Assign roles and responsibilities to key
employees
• Provide a framework for strategic action
planning
• Connect to related
policies/initiatives/goals
• Should not be too complex and could be
as simple as updating an existing policy
Common policy commitments:
• Zero waste
• Carbon neutral
• Toxic free
• Energy consumption reduction
• Paper free
• Cradle to cradle lifecycle approach
• Protect and conserve water resources
The Vancouver Aquarium developed The
Environmental Policy in May 2007. The policy sets
out organizational requirements that must be met
to receive ISO 14001 certification standards and
states that they will become “a model of an
environmentally responsible organization, which
will promote environmentally responsible behavior
among (their) workforce…”
Interface Inc. aspires to eliminate any negative
impact the company has on the environment by
2020 through its ‘Mission Zero’ commitment. This
means that the company will endeavour to:
• Sustain the environment by taking nothing from
the earth that cannot be easily replaced
• Sustain society by educating employees and
associates on their impact on the environment
and create solutions that reduce their footprint
• Sustain economic health by creating products and
solutions that are environmentally friendly and
profitable
Interface proposes 7 steps to help them meet their
Mission Zero commitment (see Best Practice #5 for
more details).