transformative approach to waste diversion and vehicle fueling at a municipal level. This full-circle approach, which involves the capture, generation, transmission, distribution and consumption, can be facilitated through the use of biogas, sometimes known as Renewable Natural Gas (RNG), produced from curbside organic material. Through a full-circle Systems Building approach, this means that the vehicle picking up the curbside organics can be powered by those very same organics. The profound shift in moving from Organizational Transformation to Systems Building may require some outside-the-box thinking, but when a symbiotic relationship can be developed, such as the example mentioned, e2s benefits are an easily embraced derivative. So how do you innovate for sustainability in a fleet or business? At a macro level, start by measuring and then set goals. • Define efficiency targets and policies, and set challenging sustainability goals. • Build sustainability goals into technical specifications. • Articulate your organization’s sustainability goals and why they are important. • Reframe the business model, structure processes and metrics to transparently reflect the triple bottom line or e2s goals and objectives. • Promote internal and external collaboration. • Supply Chain Management – Improve your supply chain through enhancing green and social procurement practices, while incorporating methods to hold suppliers accountable. • Enhance knowledge capture and management – employ mechanisms and platforms such
reserve adequacy and provides an indicator of the fleet’s actual age, as compared to the optimum age by class/category that provides the lowest total cost of ownership, based on Lifecycle Cost Analysis (LCA).
as Environmental Management Systems (EMS) and Lifecycle Cost Analysis (LCA) tools to enhance sustainability, while embedding it into business practices and processes. In the City of Toronto Fleet Services Division, varying degrees of sustainability advancement exist beyond those already mentioned. At the highest level these are currently defined by performance indicators that reflect the needs of the business, combined with sustainable innovation. Some of the indicators used in Toronto’s fleet include:
7. Sustainability level – This is a more complex measure that assesses the health of the division as a whole. It incorporates the above two measures as well as the following: a. Facility Condition Index – Based on a facility condition assessment this provides an indicator of the health and LCA of each facility respective to operation. b. Environmental Management System – International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14001 Environmental Management System and ISO 9001 Quality Management System certification.
1. Fleet Utilization – A measure to assess utilization and opportunities for fleet reduction and/or increased car-sharing. 2. Supplier performance – A measure to assess procurement practices and supply chain members’ performance. 3. Shared Services – A measure to define the socio-economic and environmental benefits derived from various collaborative efforts. 4. Productivity rate – A measure that identifies productivity in key areas such as maintenance operations, while helping to streamline operations and drive efficiencies. 5. Capital reserve adequacy – This measure defines the ability of the vehicle and equipment capital reserve to meet fleet replacement requirements. The calculation is based on anticipated future requirements and lowest total cost of ownership, based on the economic theory of replacement. The reserve and the associated vehicle and equipment replacement is forecasted for 10 years and adjusted each year, as required, to reflect changing operational requirements. 6. Optimization rate – This measure works in conjunction with capital www.apwa.net
Achieving a balance between the environment, society and the economy is an essential requirement that allows today’s needs to be met without negatively impacting future generations’ ability to meet their needs. Achieving this balance requires innovation, and advancement through innovation changes existing paradigms. To stimulate such innovation, business leaders must first question the inherent assumptions behind current practices. The choice for companies and government alike is not if, but how, they should achieve and enhance sustainability. Business leaders can continue to choose to see this as a socio-economic conundrum, a necessary evil, a matter of compliance and risk, or, they can look at it as an opportunity to develop organizational processes and deliverables that produce environmental and social benefits, as well as economic value. Lloyd Brierley can be reached at (416) 392-1034 or lbrierl@toronto.ca.
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May 2016
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APWA Reporter
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