Improve understanding of what “environmental maturity” means for Synergy

Initial scope of the project

The initial project problem

To create a successful environmental stewardship program an organisation must clearly define what it wishes to achieve and what it means by “environmental stewardship”. This improves understanding of the factors that lead to the success or failure of environmental stewardshipin different contexts. One definition of environmental stewardship programs is that they aim to “protect, care for or responsibly use the environment in pursuit of environmentaland/or social outcomes in diverse social-ecologicalcontexts.”

1. Key Challenges for the Environment Team

AN ENVIRONMENTAL CULTURE OF COMPLIANCE AND OBEDIENCE
Including a culture of blame and shame, reactive environmental systems, disconnection to the impact on the ecosystem.

THE CAPACITY OF THE ENVIRONMENT TEAM
Including being under-resourced and time-poor, over-relied upon, and their communication role.

CHALLENGES WITH CURRENT COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS
Including a lack of an open and discussional sharing space, share-wall, email overload and lack of online engagement, and lack of environmental information prioritisation.

THE SEPARATION BETWEEN THE ENVIRONMENT TEAM/SBU AND GBU
Including the physical distance and transient relationships (FC and on-site staff), top down approach and lack of cultural consideration, conflicting priorities and Environment Advisors perceived as a 'policing' role, lack of communication and transparency, the nature of environmental impact (intangible, long-term and impersonal).

SUMMARY
The combination of all of these challenges – the top-down approach with the lack of communication and relationship-building skills in the environment team, and the lack of transparency and ineffective communication systems – are all contributing to the challenges the environment team is facing. The problems and challenges we discovered here revealed larger organisational obstacles that prompted further research and will be discussed in the next section.

3. Front Facing, Recruitment & Inductions

FRONT-FACING
Including inadequate outward environmental messaging and positioning, the public perception of Synergy, the website and critical customer touchpoints, collaboration between teams and transparent organisational communication, recruitment

HIRING PROCESSES, TRAINING AND INDUCTIONS
Including the hiring process, environmental inductions content and format.

THE BACKEND: PROCUREMENT AND PRODUCTION PROCESSES
Including the procurement processes on site, environmental impact of all back-end processes.

SUMMARY
Having a strong environmental position and clear outward facing messaging at Synergy will ensure a collective understanding around what Synergy stands for environmentally. It will create pride and positive culture towards environmental impact within Synergy. It will align all staff with environmental values and encourage proactive environmental thinking. It will attract staff who value the environment and already have proactive environmental thinking in place. It will assist in the development of long-term trusted partnerships with like-minded organisations who are aligned with Synergy’s environmental strategy and it will filter out contractual partnerships with organisations who engage in greenwashing or efforts to disguise their poor environmental practices.

2. Key Problems with Organisational Structure, Leadership and Communication

STRUCTURE AND LEADERSHIP
Including unclear organisational structure, lack of direction from leadership, and inconsistency of expectations.

TRANSPARENCY AND COMMUNICATION
Including siloed business units, leadership type (top down and oneway communication), challenges with Freedom of Information, missed opportunities for sharing positive environmental stories.

IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS
Including organisational strategies, and challenges with collaboration and follow through.

SUMMARY
The broader problems mentioned in this section are contributing to the challenges around establishing effective environmental stewardship within the organisation. Although Tandem Codesign was not hired to develop a new organisational structure, the existing structure and its subsequent barricades (such as top-down approaches, limited transparency, one-way communications and confusion around leadership roles) are restricting the organisation from reaching its goal of becoming environmentally mature. These insights therefore triggered further research to explore how these organisational problems may be overcome, the results of which will be discussed in upcoming sections.

4. What is Working Well

THE SUCCESSFUL HEALTH & SAFETY CULTURE TRANSFORMATION 
Including mindset change, leadership driven, longterm incremental change process, personalisation, key differences between Enviro and Health & Safety,

ENGAGED AND PROACTIVE STAFF CULTURE
Including workforce transition team, leadership promotes staff engagement, proactive culture and continuous improvement, positive change in environmental culture, local pride and connection to the natural environment.

PINJAR: COMMUNITY AND PROACTIVITY
Including community culture, proactive thinking and environmental awareness.

ORGANISATIONAL CHANGES
Including the new strategy, new environmental team and strategy, and small scale initiatives.

SUMMARY
Synergy staff have shown that they are capable of adapting their behaviour to adopt innovative approaches to organisational structures and systems. A range of Synergy staff have revealed their care for the environment through their cultural connections such as staff living and working at the Muja site in Collie. Time is needed to build understanding of environmental impact among staff and the individualised action that could be taken to overcome it. Staff need education on how to identify their own personal responsibility for instigating environmental stewardship and what that means for individual and team roles within Synergy. Overall, Synergy staff have demonstrated that they are enthusiastic about addressing their environmental concerns but they need strong leadership to clarify how they can get involved to drive positive change around environmental stewardship. Pathways which address how this might happen are explored in our concepts sections.

1. CLARITY OF FUTURE GOALS
Making sure that all teams and individuals at Synergy understand what the organisation’s goals actually are and how they relate to them.

2. CLEAR COMMUNICATION OF INTENTIONS 
Communicating how these goals will be achieved at an organisational, team and individual level. Making sure that everyone knows what they need to do in order to achieve their goals.

3. CODESIGNING HOW GOALS WILL BE ACHIEVED 
If staff are part of the process of developing their own plan for how to achieve their goals, they will be better positioned to achieve them.

4.  A COLLECTIVE PRIDE IN COMMUNITY AND THEIR WORK 
Fostering more pride in what Synergy are currently doing to help the environment will help generate positivity around future goals.

5. EMPOWERMENT OF INDIVIDUAL KNOWLEDGE 
Encouraging staff to draw on their own skills and knowledge to achieve goals. Look out for the above icons on the following pages that link each output to the corresponding goal.

Communication

How might we deliver environmental information in a way that is engaging, accessible and relevant for all Synergy staff?

The current environmental team are not skilled inthe area of communication therefore they are notable to communicate their messaging effectively. More effective interactive spaces and accessiblelanguage is required for effective delivery and uptake of environmental information.

Part 1: Channels:
Create a strategic communication system to assist the messaging around environmental stewardship and ensure staff receive environmental information in a way that integrates seamlessly into the way they carry out their roles. This includes face-to-face spaces as well as digital spaces.

Part 2: Content:
Closer collaboration between the environment team and the strategic communications team to translate scientific info into relevant and engaging content for the rest of the organisation. This would involve looking to ‘translate’ policy into language that resonates with context of staff andusing visualisation to make sense of complex information.

Goals addressed: 2 and 4.

Hiring Process

How might we deliver environmental information in a way that is engaging, accessible and relevant for all Synergy staff?

Part 1 - External Messaging :
This concept endeavours to develop external messaging via website, social media and other communication avenues that align with desired future employees.

Part 2 - Hiring Staff:
With an Environmental Ethos By vocalising Synergy’s environmental ethos via job advertisements, selection criteria and interview processes, potential staff will recognise the importance of their own environmental stance.

Part 3 - Staff Inductions: 
Synergy also needs to develop staff inductions and initial training processes that educate and align staff with Synergy’s environmental values. This will create an in-depth understanding for all incoming staff across the organisation (not just from an operational and licensing perspective) on how they can be environmentally responsible and proactive in their roles.

Goals addressed: 1, 2 and 3.

Procurement Process

How might we ensure that Synergy considers the environmental impact of its purchasing habits and procurement of contractors?

This concept looks to explore how we might support the introduction of the ESG framework to the procurement of contractors who are hired to support Synergy’s operations. This is to ensure that all associates of Synergy provide products and service offerings that align with Synergy’s environmental strategy.

Part 1 - Contractors: Examining the procurement processes used to determine the alignment of Contractors with Synergy’s environmental operating requirements and values. As contractors are such a large presence on site, it is crucial to amply environmental values in this cohort.

Part 2 - Supply Chain of Products:
Understanding the environmental impact of the supply chain for all resources purchased by Synergy. This would allow development of selection criteria for these various types of supplies used throughout the organisation sites to ensure Synergy is supporting businesses that have positive environmental and social impact that align with Synergy’s values. This would also involve up-skilling of the Supply Chain Team to carry this role.

Goals addressed: 1, 2 and 4.

Environmental Champions

How might we embed environmental mindsets in each team throughout the organisation?

This concept looks to activate environmental stewardship within individual staff and their associated teams to ensure environmental consciousness is embedded across all sectors of the organisation of Synergy.

This idea proposes to nominate one staff member from each team across the entire organisation to be an environmental influencer or champion for their team. They would engage directly with the environmental team to workshop strategies to implement in their own team. To bolster the effectiveness of the environmental champion, we advise linking workshops to the current continuous improvement system to include the whole of the Forrest Centre.

Note: This concept would coincide with the expansion of the Continuous Improvement system across the organisation. This will ensure ideas are resourced appropriately and have dedicated staff for their implementation, resulting in follow-through of projects.

Goals addressed: 1, 2 and 4

Incentives to Drive Motivation

How might we motivate and empower staff through team and individual incentives rather than a focus on compliance?

This concept looks to incentivise staff and teams toencourage an environmental mindset through activecompetition either with themselves or with others.

This strategy intends to reduce environmental impact by creating a playful but competitive environment for staff to measure their personal impact and team project impact.

Individual staff and teams could set goals to reach such as reducing scope 3 emissions, reducing waste, engaging in more environmentally focused practices, etc and be rewarded once they reach them. (For example, think Apple watch exercise rings which allow youto set exercise step targets to reach or banking apps which allow you to create saving goals).

This concept aims to move Synergy beyond reactive legislative compliance towards proactive environmental action.

It also aims to build a positive team culture and nurturing camaraderie that takes pride in their work through reward for their incentivised results.

Individual and team incentive concepts might vary across teams and sites in terms of personal interests and the goal settings that would be attached to those interests. This challenge can be overcome by allowing staff and staffing teams to create their own incentive goals to reach.

Goals addressed: 1, 2, 3 and 4.