Implementing a Sustainability at St Jude Medical - Essay Example

? EMBA 520 Implementing a Sustainability Plan at St. Jude Medical Brian Giuliano Texas A&M Commerce Carol Langford May 30, Table of Contents Implementing a Sustainability Plan at St. Jude Medical 3 Introduction 3 St. Jude Medical 3 Literature Review 4 Sustainability 4 Implementing a Sustainability Plan 5 The Components of a Sustainability Plan 6 Sustainability framework 6 Rationale 7 Vision 8 Key impacts 8 Action plan 9 Barriers to Implementing Sustainability Plan 10 Overcoming Barriers to Implementing Sustainability Plan 11 Methodology 12 Conclusion 13 References 15 Implementing a Sustainability Plan at St. Jude Medical Introduction Sustainability is a common term used in many organizations. For most organizations, sustainability is compliance to environmental regulations, eco-efficiency, or even going green. However, becoming a sustainable organization is more than doing the above-mentioned things. When organizations understand what sustainability is, they begin to wonder if they have been doing enough. Martin (2011) describes sustainability as a process through which social, economic, and ecological imperatives are reconciled. A sustainability plan must be composed of the following five components: a sustainability framework, rationale, vision, key impacts, and action plan. Developing a sustainability plan is not an easy task because they are several barriers that make it difficult to develop. Uncertainty in the future is one of the common barriers. Another barrier is the inability of the organization to define sustainability. Most organizations define sustainability in terms of compliance to environmental regulation. Overcoming these barriers requires the organization to develop a clear vision of where it is heading, to develop a culture of sustainability, and to create collaborative relationships. St. Jude Medical This proposal will look at implementing a sustainability plan at St. Jude Medical. St. Jude Medical’s mission is to “develop medical technology and services that put more control into the hands of those who treat cardiac, neurological and chronic pain patients, worldwide” (St. Jude Medical, 2012, par 1). In its corporate sustainability report, it puts emphasis on stakeholder engagement to realize its sustainability initiatives. The stakeholders of St. Jude Medical include individuals who affect and are affected by its business. Stakeholders’ feedback is important as the organization seeks to focus and expand on its sustainability reporting and initiatives. Stakeholders of St. Jude Medical include the surrounding community, customers, employees, environment, investors, patients, regulators, and suppliers. Each stakeholder is important to the organization and in its quest to become sustainable so St. Jude Medical has a primary area of focus to each stakeholder (St. Jude Medical, 2012). The primary area of focus for the community is volunteerism and charitable giving. Concerning customers, the primary areas of focus include product quality and safety, appropriateness and ethics of relationship with physicians, product innovation, and professional training. The area of focus among the employees is health and safety, inclusion, competitive benefits and compensation, and personal development. Carbon dioxide, waste management, water usage, recycling, and energy use are the primary areas of focus concerning the environment. St. Jude Medical influences the environment and makes use of natural resources in manufacturing, offices, and distribution. Product innovation, security of personal information, product safety, and quality are the main areas of focus for the patients. For the regulators and suppliers, the main areas of focus include product safety and quality, public policy, privacy, and ethical business practices (St. Jude Medical, 2012). Literature Review Sustainability Sustainability is described as a process through which social, economic, and ecological imperatives are reconciled (Martin, 2011). Sustainability is not a destination, but a journey. Just like other organizational undertakings, it is important to have a plan. The aims of sustainability include planning to evaluate the effect of global trends on the business, and commit to sustainability as an inventive strategy for dealing with opportunities and challenges intrinsic in these trends. The outcome must be a detailed and a practical tool that offers guidance to everybody in the organization. A sustainability plan is important since it outlines the organization’s areas of focus and their goals in the target areas. It also recognizes the initiatives the organization is going to implement and offers a comprehensive mode of executing the initiatives. Lastly, it elucidates how to assess the success of the organization’s efforts, therefore, permitting the organization to amend its plan based on those evaluations (Swallow, 2009). Implementing a Sustainability Plan Before an organization begins working on its sustainability plan, it has to do a lot of groundwork. The organization has to have a clear business case and sufficient support to pursue it. However, there are tasks that will be beneficial to an organization that is not ready to develop a sustainability plan. First, the organization must determine its current stage of development. This is perhaps the best place to begin evaluating the current relationship with the problem or issue. The following are some of the stages that organizations go through on their way towards higher understanding and sophistication. At the bottom are organizations or companies that still focus on the regulatory compliance. At this level, the organizations are generally concerned with evading legal liabilities, and they may perceive environmental issues as the basis of headaches and additional costs (Hitchcock and Willard, 2008). At the next level are organizations that focus on eco-efficiencies. These organizations have known that saving resources is beneficial to the environment as well as the organization’s financial bottom line. These two perspectives are based on the internal environment of the organization. Majority of organizations in this level know that being green can make their community look attractive, or it can attract new consumers. They make use of green marketing to differentiate themselves from the other competitors. The main focus of both eco-efficiencies and green marketing is doing better. However, when they understand sustainability, they start wondering if they are doing enough (Hitchcock and Willard, 2008). St. Jude Medical is at this level (eco-efficiency); their main focus based on its sustainability report is the people and the planet. In other words, St. Jude Medical’s focus is on the community and the environment. At the level of sustainability, organization understand that they significantly need to transform what they have been and are doing, and understand the benefits of sustainability to the business. Some businesses are beginning to talk about moving beyond the scopes of sustainability to restoration or rebuilding what they have degraded. Sustainability in this case balances the organization’s demand with what the nature can offer. Second and lastly, the organization must plant a seed, that is, something must be done to nudge the organization out of the comfort zone. It is time for the organization to deal with the issues or problems related to sustainability (Hitchcock and Willard, 2008). The Components of a Sustainability Plan There are five components of a sustainability plan, and it is important that each plan is tailored to the needs of the organization. The organization must ensure that the plan contains the following five basic components: a sustainability framework, rationale, vision, key impacts, and action plan. Sustainability framework The direction of the efforts the organization takes is largely determined by the manner in which it defines sustainability. It is strongly recommended that the organization couch its program in terms of the sustainability framework. The following are some of the programs the organization can choose from; Triple Bottom Line, The Natural Step, CERES, and Agenda 21. The Natural Step is defined as a collection of principles based on the laws of natural cycles and thermodynamics, which develop a framework for communicating and understanding sustainability. CERES (Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies) principles encompass an organization’s commitment to continued improvement, accountability and environmental awareness (Davis, 2000). Agenda 21 is made up of chapters, which describe the role of the industry and businesses in sustainable development. For instance, Chapter 30 speaks of the strengthening function of business and industry in sustainable development. Triple bottom line is based on three dimensions of a company’s performance, that is, its environmental performance, social performance and economic performance (Davis, 2000). The organization has to choose the program that suits them best or combine them in a manner that makes sense to them. The aim of the framework is to offer a common language and a shared vision with which to talk about sustainability (Willard, 2007). Rationale The sustainability efforts of the organization should have a strong link to the organization’s strategic plan. This is especially important if the sustainability goals have not been integrated into the normal business plan of the organization. If sustainability is not part of the strategic initiative and if a solid rationale for tracking it with the other goals in the strategic plan is absent, it will forever be an additional effort and a risk for the abandonment of real work. It is important that the organization makes sure that all individuals are involved in the efforts towards understanding the main rationale for pursuing sustainability (Willard, 2007). This rationale elevates the significance of the organization’s intentions and establishes the reason for the commitment of resources. The business case for “sustainability is usually easily made from an examination of relevant environmental and social trends” (Willard, 2007). It is imperative for the business to know how these trends threaten the capability of its operations, and the opportunities the trends present for distinguishing the business within the industry or how they inspire innovation. It is also important for the organization to know what would happen if it responds to these trends and the price of doing nothing (Willard, 2007). Vision Through the selected framework, the organization can create its own picture or view of sustainability. The organizations should ask themselves how it would appear, what it would be performing, and its contribution to a sustainable world. The business should make use of a horizon that is distant enough to help it get past the restrictions of today’s thinking. It is worth noting that true sustainability is an end goal that is very crucial and not anything short of that will solve any issues or problems (Willard, 2007). Key impacts An analysis of the organization’s key impacts will create the basis of its efforts. The analysis of key impacts of an organization must start with basic questions. These questions include, what comes into the organization, what materials are used, what products are bought, what energy and water is consumed, and how these products are transported to consumers and employees of the organization. The organization should ask what goes on inside its facilities, the impact of the key activities and processes, and how the facilities are managed and run. Apart from what happens inside its facilities organizations should evaluate what comes into its operation, what non-products are released from its processes, and what happens to these products, what happens to the products once they are out of the organization’s premises and the impact the products over their life span (Willard, 2007). The organization should also ask what impact it has on the community, the interdependence and the relationship with the local community, and what it takes from the community and what it gives the community. Lastly, the organization should evaluate the impact it has on the industry, and if it is in a position to effect change in the entire industry. The organization must ask these questions based on the sustainability framework it has chosen to disclose areas for improvement or its biggest impact (Willard, 2007). Action plan The impacts evaluation must disclose opportunities for improvements. Once the organization has prioritized its action ideas, it should flesh out its intentions for each action point. When formulating an action plan, the organization should recognize that a participative process saves time and energy output. Apart from saving time and energy output, the process results in a product that is widely supported and more useful. It is not all about the plan; it is about the conversation that develops the plan (Willard, 2007). The organization should consider setting up a planning committee that is a representative of its main stakeholder groups. The primary function of this group is setting the direction for organization’s sustainability, creating the sustainability plan and then stewarding the efforts of sustainability. All or some of the senior leadership and key departments representatives from the organization should be on the committee. Priority is given to the functions or departments that would be likely to be affected by the sustainability related projects. Generally, it includes purchasing, production, human resources, and facilities. Once the sustainability has been created, it is the responsibility of the planning committee to monitor the progress, troubleshoot the implementation, remove obstacles, advocate for resources, and report results (Willard, 2007). Barriers to Implementing Sustainability Plan Sustainability necessitates companies or organizations to bold steps towards moving beyond compliance, beyond just green and beyond efficiency, to a level of higher performance. Uncertainty in the situations affecting sustainability adds complexity. For instance, the future is distant from concentrating on issues such as water and energy availability, environmental regulations, and related technologies. The uncertainty makes difficult the conditions necessary for strategic development. Furthermore, leaders are dared to shift from looking for immediate return on investments to longer-term benefits. This transformation can be difficult to sell to high-level decision makers. For others, uncertainty is important for the organization; they view uncertainty as the source of innovation (Miller, 2011). Another important barrier is that many organizations lack the common definition of what it entails to be sustainable. Some organizations define sustainability in terms of compliance with the environmental regulations, and others view it as developing processes and products with the primary focus on environmental management efficiency and the impact on social welfare. Without knowing the actual meaning of sustainability, realistic plans and goals, which can be actually implemented, cannot be created by the leaders. Organizations that share a common, internal definition of sustainability may still lack a general plan for dealing with sustainability-related problems systematically. Since the majority of the efforts are gradual, organizations cannot measure the system-wide impacts of their investments (Miller, 2011). Effective sustainability strategies ought to take an integrated approach. It needs incorporation of the value chain and the integration of finances. In other words, the organization is not operating in a sustainably if it has not fully engaged its employees, engineering, supply chain, and accounting and finance. It is important to note that all companies have a number of priorities on how they spend their money and time. That is why majority of the leaders find it difficult to steer their companies towards greater sustainability (Miller, 2011). Overcoming Barriers to Implementing Sustainability Plan In order to overcome these barriers, the organization must take note of the following things. First, the organization is required to develop a clear vision of where it is heading. Company leaders with effective sustainability strategies possess clear visions than the other leaders. They are also able to inspire the rest. Those at the executive level tend to act as the dynamic supporters of the initiatives. These leaders tend to be individually committed to sustainability values, and they are more willing to reach stakeholders with their visions. They are even most likely to be individually involved with the employees across the organization in the journey of sustainability (Miller, 2011). Second, the organization is required to develop a culture of sustainability. Most organizations have to change the way in which they conduct business to become sustainable organizations. For instance, traditional boundaries between practical groups have to change. Profits at the expense of the rest are not acceptable. Realignment of rewards is important to encourage behavior that supports new practices and policies. Leaders who excel in implementing sustainability strategies align their cultures and their goals on the front-end of their individual efforts. Due to the context in which these strategies are implemented, moderate targets also need an organizational environment that embodies collaboration, tolerance, and trust for uncertainty. Leaders that thrive in sustainability ensure that their organizations are ready for change (Miller, 2011). Third and lastly, organizations must create collaborative relationships. Sustainability affects a number of disciplines as well as numerous stakeholders (both external and internal) to the organization. Successful leaders approach sustainability from a holistic system view. For instance, a study conducted revealed that leaders of a successful organization were capable of collaborating across the nontraditional boundaries. They create alliances with atypical partners such as NGO’s and their competitors. They also encourage individuals within their organizations to learn and seek out from those, not within the organizational boundaries. Steering an organization towards sustainability is not an easy task. Though the way to sustainability is a demanding one, it is the prerogative of the leaders to take necessary steps towards addressing the triple bottom line – planet, profits, and people. The mentioned cultural changes usually seem a difficult task to the leaders. However, it is not necessary to do all of them at once. Visionary leaders generally tackle “great challenges with grand consequences over long time spans” (Miller 2011, p14). Methodology The methodology that will be used in this study is interviewing. A sample of 10 individuals both within and outside St. Jude Medical will be interviewed. Interviewing is the preferred method of data collection because of several reasons. The questions to be used in the interview are open-ended questions. Open-ended questions are advantageous since they give the participant room to answer the question comprehensively. Interviews foster face-to-face interaction, which, is useful for uncovering the perspectives of participants and facilitating immediate follow-up for clarification. Additionally, interviewing the participants provides contextual information, facilitates analysis, triangulation, and validity checks (Martin, 2011). The aim of the research is to give a guideline as to how St. Jude Medical will implement a sustainability plan. Interviewing participants will assist in uncovering the ways in which the organization will implement the various components of a sustainability plan. Questions to be asked include those related to the components of a sustainability plan, that is, how these components can be integrated to make St. Jude Medical “a sustainable organization.” Other questions to be asked will be related to the barriers of implementing a sustainability plan and how to overcome them. The data collected from the research will be analyzed based on the responses given by the participants. Conclusion Sustainability is a process that reconciles social, economic, and ecological imperatives. A sustainability plan is important for any organization that wants to be sustainable. The main components of a sustainability plan include rationale, sustainability framework, vision, action plan, and key impacts. Each organization tailors its sustainability plan based on what it needs. However, implementing a sustainability plan is not an easy task; there are barriers that make it difficult to implement it. Uncertainty in the future and the inability of the organization to define sustainability are some of barriers to implementation of a sustainability plan. For instance, most organizations perceive sustainability as compliance to environmental regulation. It is important to note that organizations can overcome these barriers when they develop a clear vision of where they are heading, develop a culture of sustainability, and create collaborative relationships. In regard to developing a clear vision of where the organization is heading, successful leaders create sustainable strategies that possess clear visions. Developing a culture of sustainability entails changing the manner in which organizations do their business and gear it towards sustainable organizations. Creating collaborative relationships involve the leaders of successful organizations reaching out to others across the nontraditional boundaries. Thus, in the implementation of a sustainability plan at St. Jude Medical, it will be important to consider the components of a sustainability plan and barriers to its implementation. It is also vital for the firm to consider how it will overcome these barriers. References Davis, G. A. (2000). Growing business, naturally. Forum for Applied Research and Public Policy, 15(4), 6-12. Hitchcock, D. E. & Willard, M. L. (2008). The step-by-step guide to sustainability planning: How to create and implement sustainability plans in any business or organization. London, UK: Earthscan. Martin, T. W. (2011). Overcoming sustainability implementation barriers in the college sector: Olds College 2010-2014 business plan. (Unpublished thesis). Royal Roads University. Miller, K. (2011, March 15). Sustainability: Can leaders meet the challenge? Retrieved from http://www.environmentalleader.com/2011/03/15/sustainability-can-leaders-meet-the-challenge/ St. Jude Medical (2012). 2011 corporate sustainability report. St. Paul, MN: St. Jude Medical Inc. Swallow, L. (2009). Green business practices for dummies. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Willard, M. (2007). Creating an effective plan for your sustainability efforts. AXIS Performance Advisors, 7(1). Retrieved from http://www.axisperformance.com/S29SustPlan.html Read More