45
2.2.2 Communicating the Life Cycle Management
Initiatives Efforts and Results
The results of the initiatives, which are the outcome of an organization’s commitment,
need to be documented and also communicated to stakeholders and other interested
parties. An offi cial report that communicates relevant information with regard to the
organization’s sustainability ambitions, its managements practices in making their
goals and strategies to happen and their overall contribution towards economic,
environmental and social performance improvement is very crucial. Reports on initiatives can be used as a marketing tool as it demonstrates to customers, suppliers
and other stakeholders how the organization is engaged in sustainability management, which in turn provides credibility, confi dence and trust. The report can also
serve as an internal communication tool for setting new targets, performance evaluation and re-defi ning strategies.
There is no mandatory format for reporting on sustainability initiatives. However,
an organization can adopt different sustainability reporting frameworks to its context depending on its ambition level, for example, the Sustainability Reporting
Framework established by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) (GRI 2013 ),
Corporate Sustainability Reporting (McWilliams and Siegel 2001 ), etc. It is advantageous for an organization to have some insight into the type of environmental and
social impacts that the stakeholders prioritize, so that communication can be tailored to meet these demands.
The report can cover several issues that are addressed in the LCM practice, it
may include, but is not limited to (Remmen et al. 2007 ):
• Trends of resources consumption such as energy, water, fossil fuels and other
resources
• Resources consumption reduction achievement after the introduction of LCM
initiatives
• Achievement on increasing the recycle content of input raw materials in the production process
• Any effort made to reduce environmental impacts associated with distribution
and transportation
• Information about the amount of solid waste production, wastewater discharges
and emissions generation
• Resources supply risk and also opportunities due to geopolitical, social, relational, and other environmental factors such as climate change
• Any initiative towards increasing the social benefi ts of the local community,
employees and other stakeholders.
Results may also be made visible by calculating key fi gures, for example,
energy consumption during production of the product. The key fi gures and the
practical results of the initiatives can be made public via, for instance, a leafl et, an
eco-label or an environmental product declaration. Internal as well as external
communications are necessary precondition for achieving the benefi ts of LCM
initiatives.
4 How to Implement Life Cycle Management in Business?
2.2.2 Communicating the Life Cycle Management
Initiatives Efforts and Results
The results of the initiatives, which are the outcome of an organization’s commitment,
need to be documented and also communicated to stakeholders and other interested
parties. An offi cial report that communicates relevant information with regard to the
organization’s sustainability ambitions, its managements practices in making their
goals and strategies to happen and their overall contribution towards economic,
environmental and social performance improvement is very crucial. Reports on initiatives can be used as a marketing tool as it demonstrates to customers, suppliers
and other stakeholders how the organization is engaged in sustainability management, which in turn provides credibility, confi dence and trust. The report can also
serve as an internal communication tool for setting new targets, performance evaluation and re-defi ning strategies.
There is no mandatory format for reporting on sustainability initiatives. However,
an organization can adopt different sustainability reporting frameworks to its context depending on its ambition level, for example, the Sustainability Reporting
Framework established by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) (GRI 2013 ),
Corporate Sustainability Reporting (McWilliams and Siegel 2001 ), etc. It is advantageous for an organization to have some insight into the type of environmental and
social impacts that the stakeholders prioritize, so that communication can be tailored to meet these demands.
The report can cover several issues that are addressed in the LCM practice, it
may include, but is not limited to (Remmen et al. 2007 ):
• Trends of resources consumption such as energy, water, fossil fuels and other
resources
• Resources consumption reduction achievement after the introduction of LCM
initiatives
• Achievement on increasing the recycle content of input raw materials in the production process
• Any effort made to reduce environmental impacts associated with distribution
and transportation
• Information about the amount of solid waste production, wastewater discharges
and emissions generation
• Resources supply risk and also opportunities due to geopolitical, social, relational, and other environmental factors such as climate change
• Any initiative towards increasing the social benefi ts of the local community,
employees and other stakeholders.
Results may also be made visible by calculating key fi gures, for example,
energy consumption during production of the product. The key fi gures and the
practical results of the initiatives can be made public via, for instance, a leafl et, an
eco-label or an environmental product declaration. Internal as well as external
communications are necessary precondition for achieving the benefi ts of LCM
initiatives.
4 How to Implement Life Cycle Management in Business?