Unit of competency details

1

Analyse interactions with organisation’s environment

1.1

Process map operation for chosen portion of value chain

1.2

Determine ecological interactions for each process step

1.3

Determine social interactions for each process step

1.4

Determine economic interactions for each process step

1.5

Analyse overall interactions for chosen portion of value chain

2

Determine the significance of each impact

2.1

Determine sustainability issues of particular relevance to the chosen portion of the value chain

2.2

Analyse ecological impacts

2.3

Analyse social impacts

2.4

Analyse economic impacts

2.5

Analyse for interactions between individual impacts

2.6

Rank each impact by significance

3

Develop an appropriate response for each interaction

3.1

Analyse the causal tree for each significant impact

3.2

Analyse mitigation methods available

3.3

Determine an appropriate response for each significant impact

3.4

Determine aggregate impact of all ‘non-significant’ impacts

3.5

Determine if additional response is required

4

Communicate with relevant stakeholders

4.1

Identify relevant stakeholders

4.2

Determine stakeholder information needs and wants

4.3

Analyse data which may be appropriate to communicate with stakeholders

4.4

Prepare and disseminate information to stakeholders, as appropriate

4.5

Negotiate solutions with stakeholders, as required

5

Communicate required responses as appropriate

5.1

Identify what communications are required and to whom

5.2

Prepare appropriate reports and recommendations

5.3

Pitch reports and recommendations as appropriate

5.4

Brief appropriate persons as required by determined responses

5.5

Finalise appropriate recording

Required skills

Required skills include:

• process mapping of goods and/or services
• interpreting specifications, operating procedures, manuals, regulations and other complex documents
• consulting and negotiating with internal and external stakeholders
• analysing and problem solving, including determination of root cause
• interpreting and manipulating data, including establishing series, means, correlations and rates of change
• drafting formal reports

Required knowledge

Required knowledge includes:

• process and changes which occur at each step in selected value chain
• principles of sustainability
• causes of climate change, impacts of greenhouse gases
• sources and impacts of pollution and other ecological degradation and methods of eliminating, controlling or reducing them
• causes of adverse social impacts and methods of eliminating, controlling or reducing them
• causes of adverse economic impacts and methods of eliminating, controlling or reducing them
• root cause analysis
• hierarchy of hazard control and its application to sustainability hazards
• relevant legislation, regulation and protocols, government incentives and other initiatives
• risk analysis and its application to sustainability risks

Overview of assessment

A person who demonstrates competency in this unit must be able to analyse an organisation’s interaction with the environment, determine impacts, and suggest responses to minimise risks and vulnerabilities.

Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate competency in this unit

Assessors must be satisfied that the candidate can competently and consistently apply the skills covered in this unit of competency in new and different situations and contexts. Critical aspects of assessment and evidence include:

• analysing sustainability susceptibilities for a chosen portion of a value chain
• identifying appropriate responses
• communicating the above, as appropriate.

Context of and specific resources for assessment

• This unit of competency is to be assessed in the workplace or a simulated workplace environment.
• Assessment should emphasise a workplace context and procedures found in the candidate’s workplace.
• This unit of competency may be assessed with other relevant units addressing sustainability at the enterprise level or other units requiring the exercise of the skills and knowledge covered by this unit.
• The competencies covered by this unit would be demonstrated by an individual working alone or as part of a team.

Method of assessment

• In all cases, practical assessment should be supported by questions to assess underpinning knowledge and those aspects of competency which are difficult to assess directly.
• Where applicable, reasonable adjustment must be made to work environments and training situations to accommodate ethnicity, age, gender, demographics and disability.
• The language, literacy and numeracy demands of assessment should not be greater than those required to undertake the unit of competency in a work-like environment.

Guidance information for assessment

Sustainability 

Sustainability incorporates the three aspects of:

• survival of the ecology/physical environment (to manage the impact of the business to ensure the survival of the physical environment)
• economic viability (efficiency, cost and waste reduction and competitiveness to support survival of the business)
• social sustainability (to manage the impact of the business to ensure its continued survival within the community and the survival of the community)

Process mapping 

Process mapping is a technique for visualising/drawing a set of interrelated work activities characterised by a set of inputs and value-added tasks that produce a set of outputs. It applies to any process producing a good or a service

Portion of the value chain 

Value chain is the sequence of activities that a firm undertakes to create value/product (good or service). Portion of the value chain includes:

• sections internal or external to the organisation

Interactions with the environment 

Interactions are value-free statements of how each step, or the entire process, interact with the ecology, society and the organisation’s economy

Sustainability issues of particular relevance 

Sustainability issues of particular relevance include:

• particular sensitivities of the local ecology, such as:
• endangered species
• sensitive local flora/fauna
• material scarcity
• water availability
• general ecology issues and regulations, such as:
• climate change and carbon footprint
• pollution control measures
• particular local social issues, such as:
• distortions to the housing market
• disruption to local lifestyles
• general social issues, such as:
• corporate citizenship
• use or/deterioration to infrastructure
• particular local economic issues, such as:
• cost of capital
• profit margins
• competition
• general economic issues, such as:
• state of the economy
• stage of the business cycle
• product improvement/life cycle, such as:
• organisational risk of loss of sales due to consumer preference/economic opportunity for more sustainable products
• competitors meeting this market,
• consumer preferences not to use companies with poor sustainability credentials

Significance of impact 

Significance of impact includes:

• permanent loss or degradation
• loss or degradation which inhibits use by the following generation
• temporary degradation requiring remediation
• temporary degradation which is self-remediating
• speed of change/degradation/loss

Appropriate response 

Appropriate response includes:

• application of the hierarchy of hazard control to sustainability hazards
• when the impact cannot be prevented application of mitigation and amelioration techniques, such as:
• capture and storage (e.g. scrubbing) and similar ‘end of pipe’ solutions
• dilution/dispersion and similar techniques which reduce concentration but not amount
• capitalising on revealed opportunities
• other approaches which meet the sustainability requirements