Dear Procurement, is it time to get with the e-times?
We’re hired by private, not for profit and public organizations across Canada — and the contractual arrangements with some of these publicly funded, otherwise progressive groups, don’t always align with the sustainability goals we are hired to help advance.
I understand the t-crossing and i-dotting form the vital backbone for product and service delivery. But to cut to the chase – why does procurement need so many hard copies of RFP responses and contracts? And why multiple copies of multi-page documents when our ‘agreement’ is demonstrated through signatures on only one of those pages?
Over the years, our firm has signed numerous agreements that require printing of two, four and even recently up to eight signed, hard copies of documents. Some even with specific requests to print single sided — only to be delivered through mail or courier back to procurement departments to allow our work to begin.
In an age of e-collaboration and electronic storage and back-up for almost everything, would one hard copy not suffice? Or, could an e-transfer of a contract with an e-signature be considered official? If a hard copy is necessary in the process, the organization that needs it could print on their end, and cut out the fuel consumption related to postal and courier mailings.
It would be great to hear what “progressively green” procurement departments are doing to cut carbon while still fulfilling due diligence on legal and contractual obligations. In the meantime, we’re making it a habit to ask procurement departments if double-sided and/or email are acceptable in the receiving of documents.
Part of the Club
It was with excitement that I received a heavy package in the office mail this week. It contained my certificate that confirmed I am now a Certified Environmental Professional. This is not the highest academic achievement I have attained, but it is one I am very proud of.
The designation recognizes my experience in environmental and stakeholder communications as well as my graduate certificate in sustainability, received from the Bainbridge Graduate Institute in Seattle in 2010. More than anything it means that I have been evaluated by my peers as meeting a standard of excellence.
According the FSC-certified guidebook that came along with the certificate, “the CEP designation provides Canada with an invaluable tool for developing a highly skilled workforce. Environmental professionals demonstrate their ability to meet the National Occupational Standards (NOS) for environmental employment. “
CEPs work in environmental protection, sustainability and resource management sectors and consist of scientists, researchers, educators and communicators.
In short, the EP certification represents the standard of excellence in environmental employment in Canada. They have done so for more than a decade. It feels great to be part of this ‘club’.
I am now connected to a large network of Canadian peers who are both passionate about the environment and who have demonstrated their expertise as environmental professionals. For me this means that I can connect with project partners and follow front-line research much more readily.
Through the CEP designation clients and employers also have a way of separating self-proclaimed experts from those with years of dedication and experience. When it comes to making decisions about how our activities impact our precious environment – it makes sense to be talking to the right people. And the CEP designation helps us all know who they are.
Not to say that there aren’t plenty of experts doing great work without the recognition of a certifying body. There are. It is just that the certification is a kind of shorthand – it lets you know right away if the person you are consulting has met a national standard of excellence. Kind of like knowing that your doctor passed medical school – except this time the patient is the environment.
And we all have a responsibility to provide the best care possible.
Learn more about Certified Environment Professionals at http://eco.ca/certification/
Our Company’s Sustainability Headline
We work with a number of clients across the country with health and environment goals, but know it’s as important to spend time focusing the lens on our own organization’s contributions to sustainability. One action we’ve taken recently as a company in that regard is identifying, measuring and reducing our carbon footprint through the Climate Smart program.
This week we attended the second of three training sessions focused on reducing our greenhouse gas emissions. We started the session off with a fun, brainstorming exercise. We were asked to create a news headline that encompassed our company’s big goal or vision for the future; something to shoot for five, 10, or even 20 years out. Vancouver’s vision to be the greenest city in the world by 2020 was one example.
We came up with two headlines that encompassed some of our organization’s sustainability goals. Our first headline – Marketing Company Brings Rooftop Produce to Market – focuses on a vision we’ve had for rooftop herb gardening and composting.
The second headline – Communication Solutions Finds its Place in the Sun – is a play on words regarding our “Place in the Sun” video for the City of Kamloops. It refers to a much larger and long term vision where our company would be based out of a solar-powered office space.
This exercise was just what we needed to get the ball rolling for the remainder of the session where we brainstormed ways all participants in the session could reduce GHG emissions. Who knows, one day in the future updates on this blog may be coming to you from a solar-powered office. And the timing for our brainstorming couldn’t be better. We also just learned our local city council just voted to make it mandatory for all new homes to have solar hot water “readiness”, joining 36 other BC municipalities who have made similar commitments.
What is your company’s sustainability vision? What would your “headline” be?