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Lyttleton Port Company:
Co-creating sustainability strategy with the team
LPC had plenty of good sustainability initiatives in place with a strong track record; but the company wanted a coherent framework to bring them all together. At the same time, LPC wanted to develop a better shared understanding of sustainability across the business, a common view of the future and some clear priorities in a structured plan.
With a desire to build the capability of a broader LPC team and internalise the sustainability strategy process, Proxima adjusted the Adding Sustainable Value strategy programme to run an in-house process. That allowed a wide variety of employees as well as executives to be involved.
Environment, Planning and Sustainability Manager, Kim Kelleher, sums it all up.
“We decided to use the ASV course because it had a logical structure, and was also flexible enough that we could shape it a bit depending on our priorities; but importantly it put us in the driver’s seat. The process supports and facilitates the development of a strategy for growing long term value but we did all the work.”
“We used the programme to develop our first comprehensive sustainability strategy and involved approximately 25 LPC staff across a broad range of business areas, from cargo handlers to the executive team. We had a lot of feedback on how engaging the workshops were; and they were especially valuable for developing a common language for sustainability at LPC.”
“We were really interested in a process that would help build capabilities of our team and it exceeded expectations in that area. The team found the workshops engaging and energetic and there was plenty of opportunity for good discussion.”
Over the four modules of the programme, the LPC team developed a strong vision for the future with clear sustainability themes, priorities and a plan. And, with it all being developed by the LPC team themselves through a guided process, the ownership and understanding will help internalise sustainability thinking and improve implementation.
Adding Sustainable Value is based on a systems view of sustainability and a robust strategy development and planning process. The programme was originally co-developed with Otago Polytechnic and rolled out to over 100 organisations, both large and small, around Aotearoa New Zealand. The programme combined a NZQA Certificate in Sustainable Practice with the process of developing a practical sustainability strategy for business.
Building capability on the inside is a strong value for Proxima. It fosters more integrated thinking and a deeper understanding about how creating more value for the full range of stakeholders can produce better commercial outcomes in the both the short and longer-term.