Sustainability Performance of DMU
Introduction
The biggest challenge that faces non-profit organizations is accountability because individuals funding those institutions nowadays are more interested in accountability and demonstrated results. The move from funders has forced the organizations to be more accountable and thus encouraging transparency in the utilization of resources. Let us take a look at De Montfort University (DMU) to ensure accountability towards environmental management, and the institution has put in place environmental policy. The policy is geared towards mitigating the negative environmental effects and increase environmental performance. One key theme that the institution has added to ensure its commitment towards achieving accountability is sustainability. The environmental policy adopted by the institution aims to emphasize the commitment of the institution towards tackling various environmental issues that range from climate change to engaging students and staff on the war against environmental issues. The environmental policy also shows a structure that will be followed to ensure that the strategies put in place work and the goals are met and hence ensuring environmental performance. This assignment, therefore, discusses the sustainability performance and reporting practices of DMU as employed in their environmental policy.
Critical Analysis of Sustainability Performance and Reporting Practices of DMU
The institution has put in place several sustainability objectives that enhance DMU’s strategic plans and thus leading to improved performance. The university targets improved performance in areas such as water, energy, recycling of waste, staff and student travel, emissions of carbon, business travel, sustainable procurement, sustainable constriction, biodiversity and education for sustainable development (De Montfort University, 2013, p.2). The institution has involved faculty and department leaders in the taskforce that oversee development. The taskforce also includes estate staff, researchers, and representatives from the student union (De Montfort University, 2013, p.2). The task force is responsible for supervising and executes the sustainability strategies that have been put in place by DMU.
The university has adopted strategies that cater to the five crucial areas of teaching. The crucial areas are community engagement, health and well-being, research, and built environment (De Montfort University, 2013, p.3). The DMU community, which includes the staff and students play a vital role in improving sustainability performance and reducing the university’s environmental effects. The staff and students increase public awareness towards environmental issues and encourage the adoption of more sustainable actions like the adoption of projects like Green Impact and smart spaces (De Montfort University, 2013, p.5). The projects are geared towards the adoption of greener and better habits that protect the environment. The university has taken a prominent role in environmental sustainability by increasing its participation in Green impact. Student participation in the projects has improved their skills and thus boosting their CVs, which goes a long way in improving their chances of being employed (De Montfort University, 2013). Many institutions nowadays are interested in individuals who possess environmentally friendly behaviors.
Many organizations, despite their core objectives, they have other objectives that they wish they could achieve. DMU is one such institution that has invested in other fields, like ensuring environmental sustainability. For any organization to achieve such desires, it needs to involve its employees in any decisions that affect their well-being. Employee participation will ensure that new sustainable strategies are fully implemented. The ambitions of any organization or business need to go beyond their usual business and agendas and venture their resources to achieving sustainability. Therefore, compared to other institutions, the sustainability reporting in DMU is more effective.
The trend adopted by the university when it comes to sustainability reporting has proven to be positive over time. The positive trend is backed up by the fact that DMU has seen its income turnover increase and also, the institution has also registered a reduction in the gross internal area where students and employees are involved. During the period 2013/2014, the university registered sustained enhancement when it came to environmental policy responsibilities. Students at DMU are participating in volunteer activities geared towards environmental projects such as Green Impact and environmental cleanups. Students also participate in environmental reviews, among other county council activities.
The patterns of sustainability reporting could be identified by highlighting the main areas of sustainability performance at DMU. The main areas of sustainability at DMU include energy, whereby the institution continues to exercise the main energy-efficient and renewable energy projects (De Montfort University, 2014, p.4). These projects have been put in place by the university to help in reducing energy costs and maintaining low gas emissions for energy use. By 2014, the university had fitted energy-efficient LED illuminating around campus, pool covers had also been installed in some areas of the university and installed another 502 solar panels on some university buildings where these panels are responsible for providing 0ver 90,000kwh of electricity every year.
Another sustainability pattern put in place by the institution is the travel plan. The pattern is meant to encourage both the students and staff members to engage in environmentally friendly behaviors. The behaviors range from cycling to walking and reducing single occupancy of vehicles during car journeys (De Montfort University, 2013, p.7). Therefore, the amount of waste being produced by the institution has decreased while at the same time, the amount of recycling at the institution has gone up compared to data from previous years. The institutions have also made plans that will ensure that the amount of materials being recycled at the university goes up.
On the same issue of improving environmental performance, the university has made plans on how to reduce carbon emissions. DMU employs expert opinions by consulting with the department of energy that deals with sustainable development to those tactics that will measure and report carbon emissions that are put in place (De Montfort University, 2014, p.11). Emissions from energy are not the only focus of the campus, and the institution is also responsible for monitoring emissions of international student travel, waste, water, and procurement (De Montfort University, 2014, p.11). The university also plays an important role by ensuring that students and staff get access to sustainable food. During the 2013/14 period, the institution was executing a strategy that would ensure a maintainable food plan which aimed at ensuring that the university registers an increase in food provision by implementation higher welfare structures that would see a reduction in wastages (De Montfort University, 2014, p.13). The management at the university has played a role in the establishment of ethical investment policies that they apply to their business schemes (De Montfort University, 2014, p.13). The university relies greatly on the help they get from donors and sponsors because the institution still has smallholdings and, therefore, depends on partnerships for its continued growth. The campus has also adopted a biodiversity approach that focusses on improving the habitats of wild animals and come up with new habitats if required. DMU is motivated to apply sustainable development goals in every scenario that presents itself.
Current trends and Patterns of DMU Sustainability Performance
Stakeholders’ theory and sustainability management share a close relationship. The two ideas discuss the business of the institution by comparing questions ranging from the scope to the main purpose of establishing the business. The stakeholder theory expounds on the scope to involve another societal, organizational embeddedness. Both the stakeholder theory and sustainable management do not view the businesses of the organization as conflicting but are there to complement one another and therefore, they are built on a mutual understanding. According to sustainable management, stakeholders will derive value from the organization if there is the adoption of sustainable development, which leads to improvement in environmental issues. The shortcoming of the two concepts arises by failing to acknowledge the compensation concept in the institution. The two ideas argue that organizations should not do away with wrongdoings brought about by reckless performances. Instead, the business should be hypothesized in such a manner that price making itself is carried out in an accountable manner. Due to the strong focus that stakeholders have been putting on accountability in businesses, the two ideas are opposed to the CSR concepts. In the future, it is predicted that the precise role of education could be studied easily, and also it is regulation and value creation.
The importance of the institution to the local community cannot be measured. DMU creates job opportunities for individuals in the community and also provides markets to locally available goods and services, making it a valuable customer. The institution also has plans to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the vicinity by over 50%, a plan that has been running since 1990 to 2025 (De Montfort University, 2014). DMU plays a vital role in the city when it comes to offering support and delivering projects that will play a huge role in decreasing environmental emissions. The university plays its role to the community by ensuring that projects that will contribute to low carbon emissions such as Green Impact are completed and work to achieve the desired outcomes. DMU has also partnered with Leicester city council in the past to ensure that there is low energy usage in the buildings in the city, also running environmental projects as part of the Square Mile inventiveness (De Montfort University, 2013, p.4). What serves as a major motivation for the institution is its ability to help Leicester city and its people, and that has helped them moving and growing.
Individuals at DMU are motivated to work hard because every individual understands their targets. Students and employees at the institution understand their specific goals and objectives. The institution is motivated to work on other projects every time they meet their overlaid targets, and that has seen the institution continue to grow. the achievements made by the team go to the list of progress made by the institution, and therefore, every time the university makes notable achievements, the achievement is moved from the list of targets to list of achievements and brings a lot of joy to the organization.
Another motivation for the institution is the desire to achieve uniqueness in the way it carries out its objectives. the objectives of DMU is to provide solutions to ecological and humanitarian issues which range from poverty, health issues, education to climatic changes. DMU has surpassed other institutions around the world when it comes to coming up with innovative ways of ensuring prosperity is achieved by the year 2030. Outperforming other institutions in service delivery is a huge motivation for DMU and its environment. students and employees of the university work hard to ensure that the institution maintains the reputation it deserves. The hard work from staff members and students is what makes DMU successful in its quest to achieve environmental sustainability.
How sustainability Continues to be a Determinant of DMU’s Academic and Non-academic Performance as a Whole Given its Non-Profitable Nature
It is very easy for individuals to assume that sustainability is not a defining factor when it comes to the academic and non-academic activities carried out at the institution. The assumptions are likely to come up due to the fact that DMU is a non-profit making organization. Such assumptions are false and baseless, and this is because there is a high level of relevance when it comes to sustainable development in non-profit organizations. When discussing the relevance, it is important to consider that non-profit institutions are mission-oriented, which at times may be directed towards solving social problems in the community. Having missions that are meant to solve social problems facing the community makes it very difficult for the organization to measure the missions they have achieved. And therefore, the institution does not put a lot of focus on the profits, but their biggest concern is improving community well-being.
The sole responsibility of non-profit organizations is to improve the living standards of individuals in society. According to non-profit professionals, no value is achieved by measuring meaning social works geared towards achieving humanitarian sustainability (Al-Raqadi et al. 2017, p.230). Social works are meant to improve the standards of the community and the lives of the entire society. Therefore, there is a need for institutions to develop tasks will be achieved effectively. Nowadays, stakeholders and donors have become more concerned with how their resources are utilized. The outrages from non-profit organizations on resources are utilized raised donors’ suspicion and hence the demand for accountability. Non-profit institutions are making efforts to ensure that they calm the nerves of donors and make them less suspicious regarding the activities being carried out by institutions. To ensure accountability, non profit organizations have made it easy for donors to access their financial information through the use and adoption of technology. Nowadays donors do not just make donations to any organizations, they analyze their performances and compare them with other non-profit organizations before making the decision on which institutions they should make their donations. No matter how good the organization may seem on paper, that does not give the guarantee that the organization will perform exemplary. It is important for organizations to build good relationships with the public because that will guarantee trust and thus restoring confidence in the operations carried by the institution. To achieve environmental sustainability, it is important for non profit organizations to be highly effective in their workings.
Apart from the relevance associated with non profit organizations, there are also irrelevance. When non-profit-making organizations are initiated, their aim is to deliver better services to the communities, but sometimes, due to lack of accountability, they run the risk of constraining their resources. Employees working at such institutions are overworked and they end up not getting the payments they deserve. Other employees work under unfavorable working conditions and that results into low motivation going forward. Some individuals will opt for part-time jobs to meet their financial responsibilities. Many individuals working at non profit organizations working a thin line between hope and despair. Non profit organizations face financial limitations and that leads to insecurity which plays a role in putting too much attention on money and thus the adoption of wrong metrics. When non profit organizations spend too much of their time focusing on money, they end up wasting the money received through donations doing nothing tangible, and thus spend much of their time trying to recover the money through fraudulent schemes every other time. less focused is put on who donates the money or who attends their charity functions as long they get high numbers every other time, they have an event. When the goals of the employees at the institutions, it becomes hard for the organization to achieve its mission statement. Becoming a paper chasing organization exposes the organization to several consequences such as neglecting the priorities of the organization. Also, the organization starts jumping several loops in the hope of avoiding unpredictable government and foundation funding, undertaking such moves becomes a recurring issue for the organization.
Due to constrained resources at the institution, the morale of working towards meeting the organizational objectives slows down. Due to lack of money, it becomes difficult for the organization to spend due fear of encountering risks. It becomes very difficult for the organization to explore new ideas and thus becomes very difficult for the institution to achieve sustainability. Failure to utilize resources will drive the organization to employ measures such as cost-cutting, which stifles the growth of the organization and may eventually bring down the organization. The confidence and employee motivation in the institution will also suffer a big blow. The best way in which the organization can thrive again is limiting its focus on making money and focus on value creation. Delivering value will ensure customer satisfaction and a good reputation in the community through trust which will eventually lead to the organization earning money without putting so much focus. Value creation will lead to authentic success for the non-profit-making institution. Many individuals, organizations and donors are focused on value creation, therefore, id the organization focusses on sustainable development it is bound to attract several suitors because many individuals are attracted to the desire of mitigating environmental issues. When an organization fully understands its mission, it becomes easy to attract partners. It is very difficult for an organization to survive without partnerships therefore, an organization that is passionate about achieving mission will attract partners with ease and thus ensuring sustainability of the organization. A non-profit making institution will achieve its mission if the leaders at the managerial level are competent enough to understand the number of resources that will be required for the organization to meet its goals and objectives and deliver services to the community.
Non-profit organizations can be founded by any individual, and the idea of non-profit organizations is not limited to business or huge corporations. Non-profit organizations can also be founded by the community, and the sole purpose of non-profit making organizations is to solve the gaps that exist in the community. Non-profit making organizations that have lasted are guided by principles such as preserving, securing, serving others, sustaining and addressing existing issues in the community. Creating and running a non-profit organization needs sustainable leadership skills, and the leader needs to have a result-oriented attitude and accountable for every decision they make, and that will see the growth of the organization. A sustainable leader needs to focus on the mission and the vision of the organization if the organization is to attract suitable donors. Accountability is the biggest that the founder of the organization needs to possess to earn the trust of investors and sponsors. When trust exists between the sponsors and the organization, it makes it easy for them to donate their gifts freely and also attract other members of the community. Having support from others from the community will ensure the growth of the organization.
Conclusion
To sum it up, it is evident that for every institution to continue growing its needs to be accountable for how it utilizes its resources. With the high cases of non-profit making organizations misusing the resources, they get from donors, and therefore, donors have been forced to be part of monitoring how the limited resources and gifts they donate are being utilized. And for organizations to ensure effective utilization of resources, they have to adopt sustainability. DMU is the best example when it comes to non-profit, making organizations that have adopted ways of ensuring sustainable development. The institution has adopted an environmental policy that is geared towards mitigating environmental issues. The institution has taken another step towards helping the local community to become sustainable. The institutions, together with its students and staff, are educating the community on the importance of preserving the environment by recycling wastes and reducing carbon emissions. From the above research and reports, it is evident that DMU has done enough to ensure sustainability performance in the community. Other organizations could benefit greatly by benchmarking on the efforts that have been set by DMU.
Reference List
Al-Raqadi, A.M.S., Rahim, A.A., Masrom, M., and Al-Riyami, B.S.N., 2017. Sustainability of knowledge and competencies management on the perceptions of improving ships’ upkeep performance. International Journal of System Assurance Engineering and Management, 8(1), pp.230-246. Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13198-015-0382-2
De Montfort University. 2013. De Montfort University Environmental Report – 2012/13 Report of the Sustainable Development Task Force March 2014. Retrieved from https://www.dmu.ac.uk/documents/about-dmu-documents/dmuestate/environmental/environmental-report-2012-13.pdf
De Montfort University. 2014. ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT 2013/14. Retrieved from https://www.dmu.ac.uk/documents/about-dmu-documents/dmuestate/environmental/environmental-report-2013-14.pdf