Consulting: Managing Change; Institutionalizing Sustainability

Accelerating your progress from “random acts of sustainability” to consistent excellence

Almost every organization has some sustainability accomplishments.  They may be incorporating some green features into their project portfolio, have some LEED certifications or they may have started an office recycling program. At SPI, we say those companies are at the “random acts of sustainability” phase.

Whether your company is just figuring out where to begin, has some elements in place but has reached a plateau and needs to get “unstuck,” or is looking to achieve ever-higher goals, SPI can help accelerate your process. We can help you formulate explicit (“SMART”) goals, develop an implementation roadmap, and establish metrics and accountability for continuous improvement. We can also help with the really challenging aspects of this work such as “leading from the middle” and implementing change management strategies to make sure your efforts are successful in the long term.

SPI provides consulting to a wide range of clients from building owners, developers, and design and construction companies. Internally, we help them set and achieve their goals, and externally we help them improve their collaborations. For building owners, we also help build and manage teams for new projects from design team selection through post-occupancy evaluation.

Organizational consulting helps companies answer the essential questions: “how can we more effectively and efficiently deliver consistent, high quality sustainability services?” and “how can we improve performance and profitability at the same time?”  Ultimately, our objective is to help your company internalize best practices and embed them in systems and processes that will ensure consistent, high quality results that you can measure. Whether you are just starting or well along the road to sustainable practice we want to accelerate your path to achieving higher goals.

Each of our engagements is unique, but many fall into the following broad categories:

Creating and Implementing Sustainability Plans

Are you at the early stages of setting sustainability goals and a plan to implement them?  Do you have a plan in place but find it is not gaining traction?  Are metrics and accountability integral to your company?  No matter where you are on the sustainability spectrum we can assess your current situation and set you on a path toward greater performance and profitability.

Change Management

Many sustainability plans fail or lose steam within the first few years because organizations don’t realize how hard it is for people to change their behavior and do new things. Intentional efforts to manage change can make the difference between frustration and success. SPI can help company leadership develop change management strategies that are intrinsic to the roll-out of the sustainability plan and gain buy-in and support to meet and exceed expectations!

Integrated Design Process

The heart and soul of successful green building lies in the process through which major project decisions are made. Too often, companies expect a better outcome with the same old, antiquated process that was used to deliver mediocre performance. The integrative design process is not rocket-science, but it is a clearly choreographed set of interactions designed to increase accountability, improve cost and quality control and make design delivery more efficient. SPI works with owners and design teams to redesign their current processes and embed these best practices in project management methodology.. SPI can also provide project coaching and guide the integrated design process by helping all the disciplines create a roadmap to clarify roles, responsibilities and deliverables.

  • Setting team and project objectives
  • Integrating critical analysis
  • Facilitating critical cost and performance-based decision making

Outsourced Director of Sustainability

If your firm is at the point where hiring a Director of Sustainability would be helpful, but you haven’t found the right person, or you’re not sure what the scope of their responsibilities should be, not sure how to cover the cost or just not ready to invest in that full time – SPI provides a Sustainability Director Concierge Service. With extensive expertise and low risk, you can have one of SPI’s consultants provide on-call or contract part-time leadership for sustainability. We can help you establish what the future full-time position will be, how you will pay for it, how to achieve your goals and how to plan for continuous improvement and measurable success as well as how to leverage the position marketing and business development. This is a custom service, please contact us to explore the best option for your company.

Policy Development and Implementation

Over the years we have worked with a range of local, state and federal governments to help them create and implement green building and sustainability policies and programs. We facilitate internal processes for policy formulation as well as public-private processes to establish buy-in and community engagement. Governments are struggling with inadequate resources and staffing to spend the time they need to and SPI can provide support to streamline those efforts.

Not sure where to begin?  Contact us to learn more or request an assessment.

SPI. Giving new meaning to the role of sustainability consultant.