About us
Sustainability is an increasingly important concept in public, private and other sectors. Many organisations now have sustainability strategies setting out excellent intentions, but they often lack the systems, tools and skills to fully implement them, and there is no simple, consistent reporting framework that enables stakeholders to assess performance.
With this in mind, His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales established his Accounting for Sustainability project in June 2006 with a two-fold aim:
- to develop systems that will help both public and private sector organisations to embed sustainability considerations into decision-making; and
- to assist in ensuring that sustainability is integrated in a clear, concise and consistent way into mainstream external reporting.
The project was launched in December 2006 by The Prince of Wales. Speeches on the day were also made by the then Prime Minister, Tony Blair, the then Chief Executive of British Petroleum, Lord Browne, and The Bishop of London, reflecting the importance of sustainability across different sectors of society. The report that was published at the time of the launch can be accessed here: introduction, first part, second part and third part.
Following the launch, the project has worked with a large number of organisations in both the public and private sectors to identify the key challenges faced in embedding sustainability, and to develop ways to overcome them. A recurring theme in conversations that we have had during the course of the project is that there is such a plethora of available information relating to sustainability that it is often very difficult for organisations to know where to begin in building sustainability into their work.
The Sustainability at Work website, developed in partnership with the National Audit Office, the Sustainable Development Commission and Defra, aims to address this problem by bringing together the key guidance, tools and other information in the sustainability arena and relating these to common questions asked and challenges faced by organisations in relation to sustainability. The web site is also supported by case studies showing how organisations are already successfully integrating sustainability into their strategy and operations and tools that demonstrate and can actively assist in embedding sustainability into the decision making process.
While we have sought to include the most commonly used sustainability material, we are aware that many organisations are developing their own tools or have their own case study stories that they may wish to share with others. If you are aware of, or your organisation has developed, a tool, a piece of guidance or information or a case study that you would like to submit for inclusion in Sustainability At Work, we would be delighted to hear from you. Click on Contact Us at the top of the page to get in touch.
