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Symmetry Sustainable Business

Why is Symmetry important for a small business?

By Imam Ali, Project Manager Symmetry

1. Australian Business Policy Setting:

In response to growing concerns on the environment by the public and global pressures to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, the Australian Government is going to make a significant policy change to reduce carbon pollution. This will be done in October or November of 2008 when the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS) is unveiled. The policy will require adjustment to business practices to achieve better environmental outcomes. Symmetry provides a toolkit support by mentoring to improve environmental performance and improve financial results.

2. Paradigm Change

The CPRS will herald a paradigm shift with businesses increasingly seeing profits and environment in complementary terms, rather than a conflict that requires tradeoffs between them. Hence, businesses will need to change their consciousness and reengineer their operations to align with the new paradigm. Another more direct pressure is coming from consumers who are increasingly demanding products that are ‘environmentally friendly’ and recent surveys have indicated their willingness to pay a premium for such goods. An important element of this paradigm is the relationship of the business to the community. There is growing expectation that sustainable businesses should behave ethically and connect with their communities in a mutually beneficial way, including support for human rights and fair play.

In this broader context, Symmetry provides a useful process to modify behaviour by focussing on three pillars of wellbeing: Prosperity (profits); Environment (carbon neutrality); Community (social capital). This is a Triple Bottom Line (TBL) approach to business performance. In Australia larger corporations subscribe to TBL through their participation in the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), a process that is too expensive for the small business sector. Symmetry provides an affordable solution.

3. Business Transformation

Although the CPRS will initially target large ‘polluter’ sectors, the impacts will subsequently permeate to small businesses. This will result in a major structural change to the input-output coefficients in the economy, reflecting a lower carbon economy. The way this process is managed will have important consequences on production and employment. A smooth and quick adjustment will entail a lower economic cost.

Symmetry provides assistance to businesses to transform their operations by adopting better environmental practices. Through a mentoring program it teaches small business owners and managers to acquire ‘green skills’ essential for the transformation process.

4. Symmetry Sustainable Business Model

There are four components of the Symmetry model. Through the mentoring program, Symmetry addresses three of these: Business Capabilities (Green skills); Business Results (Carbon footprint, social capital), Performance Management (TBL).

Symmetry Model

 

5. Benefits to Business

Businesses enrolling in Symmetry are able to develop skills and capabilities to improve their environmental practice, engage meaningfully and in mutually beneficial ways to their communities and improve their financial results. Additionally, they get recognition in the local media when they graduate and their product and services are profiled on the Internet: www.makeitinmacarthur.com.au
Symmetry accreditation enables a firm to grow its market by being able to contest in the green supply chains of bigger companies.

6. Progress to Date 

Since the rollout of Symmetry in February 2008, 33 businesses from a wide range of industries have enrolled in the program. It has resonated very well in the small business sector, which suggests that such a program will prove to be highly beneficial for businesses across the nation.

19 September 2008

 

 

 

This project is proudly supported by AusIndustry, an Austrlian Government Initiative

Symmetry Sustainable Business Partners