Business and Biodiversity Turning corporate goodwill into ... · PDF file• Become...
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@WildlifeHC Business and Biodiversity Turning corporate goodwill into action Martha Gruelle, Wildlife Habitat Council
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Transcript of Business and Biodiversity Turning corporate goodwill into ... · PDF file• Become...
@WildlifeHC
Business and Biodiversity Turning corporate goodwill into action Martha Gruelle, Wildlife Habitat Council
@WildlifeHC
Wildlife Habitat Council promotes & certifies voluntary habitat conservation on corporate properties.
@WildlifeHC
@WildlifeHC
Each dot on this map is a voluntary conservation and/or environmental education program that received Conservation Certification.
@WildlifeHC
@WildlifeHC
BASF Fighting Island
@WildlifeHC
GM Orion Assembly
@WildlifeHC
ITC Belleville Warehouse
@WildlifeHC
Project Themes
Incorporating Green Infrastructure and Wildlife Habitat into Project Planning and Company Culture
Kristen LeForce Environmental Engineer, DTE Energy
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DTE Energy
• HQ located in Detroit, MI
– Nationwide energy-related businesses and services
• Electric generation
• Natural gas transmission, distribution, and storage
• To be a “Force for Growth & Prosperity Across Michigan”
• 35 Wildlife Habitat Council-certified sites
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Environmental Sustainability Task Force
• How do you change corporate culture and increase sustainability projects?
– Tie these projects in with capital projects
• In 2015, a task force was formed within DTE’s project management organization
– Goal: To integrate environmental sustainability concepts and wildlife habitat into capital projects during the planning and design phases
– Reality: Frequently, these projects are put in
place after construction has finished or company locations have existed for years
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Promoting Sustainability within a Project Management Organization
• Fundamental obstacle of any project
• Project managers are focused on delivering projects on time, under-budget, and in scope
• How do you:
– Engage busy project managers?
– Obtain buy-in with increased cost, affected schedules, increased maintenance, on-going monitoring, and employee participation?
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Getting Buy-In: Storm Water Management
• Every construction project typically has to deal with storm water
• Municipal storm water drainage fees add up over time
• Promote green infrastructure over traditional methods
THE HOOK: once project managers are on board with green infrastructure design, it’s a simple step to create a WLH project with native plants in its green infrastructure
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Team Development
• Need individuals involved in all aspects of project management
• Identify your core team and grow it organically
– Seek out interested, passionate individuals with a variety of backgrounds
– Each person brings a different set of knowledge to the table
– Environmental, planners, auditors, project managers, etc.
• Leadership support is essential
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Implementing Your Goals
• Modify existing processes and procedures – Requires organizational buy-in – Is it used? Is it enforceable?
• Become involved in project planning or project
initiation – Attend project planning meetings to identify
opportunities – Schedule site visits for on the ground
assessments and meet project teams – Work with Project Managers to reinforce goals to
consultants and landscape architects
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Educational Opportunities
• For team-members, members of your organization, suppliers, and individuals you seek to gain buy-in from
• “Lunch & Learns”
• Create an accessible Information Resource Library
• Promote successes at organizational meetings
• Engage suppliers whenever possible
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Benefits of Our Approach
• Involvement in the project planning process early helps to identify potential projects
• Allows for funding to be allocated in advance
• Opportunity to work with consultants early on to design the project with wildlife habitat and green infrastructure in mind
• Increases the number of projects initiated and completed
• Helps create a culture of sustainability
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Final Thoughts
• Go straight to the source – project managers, planning meetings, etc.
• Planning process – get involved early!
– Sometimes is too late; budgets already assigned
• Importance of long-term management
plans and assigning future responsibility to projects
• Determination, persistence and passion are
your best allies
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