Step 2 – Do an Inventory
Before you determine where you want to be, you need to assess where you are at.
Inventory the green initiatives that your organization is already undertaking. Also,
gather information about the environmental impacts of your current business
operations. It will help you to determine green priorities in subsequent steps.
Inventory Initiatives
Contact people from throughout your organization to find out about current green
initiatives. This will identify opportunities to support them or to learn from past
experiences.
Assess Current Impacts
What is your current consumption of energy and water? How much waste is generated?
What policies and practices are already in place that support the greening of your
organization? Gathering this information will allow your green implementation team to
identify gaps and establish priorities and goals.
The scope of this activity can vary significantly, depending on your objectives and
available resources. Worksheet 2A outlines four options for collecting baseline data. Be
realistic at this stage about the level of detail that you have the resources to gather data
on. In Step 4, you can obtain more detailed baseline information on the priority
initiatives that your Implementation Team has chosen.