Sustainability as a concept sets up a framework of new objectives for organisations. Addressing these objectives – across environmental, social, economic and governance aspects – means working with staff, and other stakeholders, to clarify the organisation’s challenges and develop clear goals and strategies for addressing them.

Organisations can choose to wait until they are directed by government or by community expectations to address sustainability. On the other hand, many managers are seeing the sizable benefits to be had from embracing sustainability and the new era it brings. They are choosing to develop early interventions in their way of doing business to realise those benefits and to minimise the risks from late action. Risks of not addressing sustainability early and appropriately enough stem from multiple sources including new legislation, losses in production and escalating costs and the potential for loss of competitive advantage in the marketplace.

Ptonline & Associates to date has practical experience of sustainability solutions through a number of avenues:

• Her position as the first Director of Brisbane City’s Environment Branch;

• Recently, her Board director positions – with the Port of Brisbane Corporation and SunWater GOCs;

• Over 20 sustainability based consultancy projects.

Consultancy projects to date have included:

• Sustainability strategies for Brisbane City, Caloundra City and Callide Power

• Sustainability action plans on several specific aspects of sustainability – working up plans for managing environmental impacts, energy and water efficiency, climate change, employment and social indicators

• Sustainability and Triple Bottom Line reporting for SEQ Water, Noosa, and several Brisbane City Council Departments

• Training for Directors, executives, site and branch managetmen and operational staff in sustainability concepts and solutions.

Services offered to facilitate sustainability solutions in your organisation include:

• Board and executive ‘conversations’, and training and strategic planning for sustainability

• Process planning and orienting management to sustainability challenges, opportunities and possibilities

• Executive and staff coaching

• Focus groups and team facilitation for example working with corporate sustainability teams to develop ideas and turn them into action plans on key sustainability issues.

• Facilitation of reviews of progress and performance, as well as development of annual reports.