 |
Overview
The Swinburne Centre for Sustainability
has developed an online software tool to allow small to medium sized
enterprises (SMEs) to conduct a sustainability self-assessment of
their operations. In addition to generating ‘triple bottom
line’ reports for business, the tool provides practical information
and resources to encourage SMEs to pursue immediate and realistic
strategies to move towards sustainability
Project Background and Rationale
In 2003, the NCS in partnership with Sensis
conducted research into the key sustainability priorities for SMEs.
While a wealth of generic sustainability information was available
for business, much of this information was disparate and not specifically
designed for the sector.
Unlike larger businesses, SMEs often did not have the knowledge
or resources to understand and act on the sustainability priorities
of their business. They required an interactive resource that was
time efficient, informative, easy to understand and practical so
as to encourage immediate sustainability actions. The development
of the SME sustainability self-assessment tool was proposed to address
this need
Objectives
To develop an online sustainability assessment tool that:
 |
Is user friendly, interactive and
relatively quick to use; |
|
Provides useful information as
well as practical advice on how to improve business sustainability;
|
|
Can track the sustainability performance
of a business over time, and compare data with other businesses
in the same sector;
|
|
Can be offered as a comprehensive
assessment tool to SMEs Australia-wide beyond the pilot phase.
|
How you can get involved
The tool is called SMART-Biz ready for
you to use now! And its 100% free!
Just visit: http://tool.ncsustainability.com.au
Contact
For further details, contact the National Centre for Sustainability (ncs@swin.edu.au)
|
|
