Authors: DeGeorge, Elise; Loucks, Jamie

Source: Proceedings of the Water Environment Federation, Cities of the Future/Urban River Restoration 2010 , pp. 158-163(6)

Publisher: Water Environment Federation

Abstract:

This paper describes an approach which drives sustainable project decisions by understanding constraints, leveraging existing resources and integrating industry best practices along with relevant technical, political, and economic information. The holistic approach, combined with stakeholder input and top technical expertise, allows for creation of a focused plan to meeting objectives while taking advantage of the most relevant information and stakeholder inputs. It should first and foremost capitalize on the growing body of research and best practice, which should be used to assess an organization's baseline activities, areas of relevance and gaps amongst the categories that make up a sustainable organization. These assessments are most effective when performed at least annually. With each session, potential activities are identified and prioritized in a transparent manner, with an emphasis on early action items (or quick wins). All assessment results are documented, including organization-specific issues, criteria and vulnerabilities and examples of how these issues have been addressed historically in practice. Recommendations are designed to provide flexibility while enabling continual improvement over the long term.

Keywords: Gap analysis; triple bottom line; sustainability program; benchmarking; continual improvement

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2175/193864710798284850

Publication date: 2010-01-01

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