Sustainable Policy Development at Umicore

Companies participate in activities that involve the usage of resources such as water, energy and paper and through waste wasteful emissions that are released to the environment (Karatasou, Laskari and Santamouris, 2018). The establishments of an effective Sustainable Management System enable Companies to regulate and assess these effects in order to attain its long-term environmental goals (Griggs, Stafford and Gaffney, 2013). This report will be executed using Umicore SA incorporation.  Umicore SA is an international materials technology Company with its headquarters in Belgium. Initially, this Company was formed as a result of amalgamation between four Companies specializing in smelting and mining industries. Currently, the Company deals with technology-based operations and recycling of metals such as germanium, cobalt and zinc among other materials. The objective of this research is to investigate the most vital Company regulations, relevant personnel, legislative requirements, organizational best practices and specifications.

Research

According to (Collis and Hussey, 2013), the most recognized methods of conducting research related to businesses include; interviews, surveys, observations and focus. Following the nature of this study, the research was conducted through interviews whereby, the main stakeholders included, Customers, employees, regulators, suppliers and the local community. In addition, primary data collection technique in form of questionnaires was integrated with interviewing to gather the data used in this report.

Methods and Techniques of policy writing used

The techniques of policy writing used in planning sustainability policy for Umicore SA incorporation were be step-by-step policy listing and Action-Condition logic (Richardson, 2018). Step-by-Step policy planning method involves presentation of the policy in a simpler manner in order to make the main goal understandable by clarifying the main issues. On the other hand, Action-condition logic is a technique used for formulating procedures and policies that may be vulnerable to climatic changes hence requiring further amendment. The combination of the two techniques will be applied in this case in order to formulate a step-by-step that will elaborate the key elements to the stakeholders involved. This combination will also ensure that the policy is not too rigid to the changing sustainable legal issues or regulations (Umee, 2018).

The research data from regulators were conducted through a telephone-based interviews and responses received through the same media. Customers were interviewed through online surveys based on three questionnaires. Their responses were recorded, transcribed and written to enhance future studies. Based on their responses, the regulators stated that that they needed a socio-political sustainability because it ensures proper maintenance of social acts that serve as vital instruments towards social justice and sustainability. In addition, they elaborated that this will mean an effective compliance with working regulations such as providing standard remunerations and job environment. The customers Umicore SA argued that they wanted an economic sustainability to make certain that the keys courses of interaction with the environment are economically feasible (Popkova, Inshakov and Bogaviz, 2018). To support their response, they stated that the business should continue applying waste reduction techniques in order to offer products in market at lower prices. In their view, the local community suggested that the Company avoid using releasing all forms of pollutants in order to ensure that the environment will remain as natural as possible.

According to their responses, the sustainability policy implemented should provide concise strategies towards the implementation process. The policy should also create other working strategies that will uphold continuous improvement. The policy that will be established on this case is assessing and monitoring the sustainability of the Company against different standards and benchmarks such as the level of environmental emissions and pollutants. And some of the policies proposed include:

- Use of solar energy to power production machines and equipment.

- Establishment of green space round the Company’s premises

- Switching off machines such as computers, laptops and mobile phones which use power.

There are various advantages and disadvantages associated with this policy.

Needs and Interests of each Stakeholder Group

For the purpose of executing this policy planning report, employees, suppliers, regulators and customers were selected as the most critical stakeholder Group. These groups tend to have different interest on policy planning and implementation within Umicore SA in Belgium. Following the planning of sustainable policy development at Umicore SA, the customers will have the interest of making certain that it will lead to the improvement of product qualities. The 14,000 employees at Umicore SA have the interest of guaranteeing that the policy planning will motivate their respective duties and improve job satisfaction. The regulators will have the interest of ensuring that the business operates in compliance with the laws and regulations. The needs and interests of suppliers is to ensure that the Company either maintains or improves its purchasing power for recycling materials. The suppliers will be concerned to make certain that the planning of this policy will not impact the ability of Umicore SA to settle amounts due on supply of energy production and recycling raw materials.

Advantages if the sustainable policies

i) The sustainable development policies will save cost. Using solar to produce electricit will save the expenditure on electricity bills. This will be efficient since the management will save more financial resources on annual basis.

ii) These policies will build an appealing and reputation for Umicore incorporation. The customers will be more proud when purchasing from a Company that upholds the issue of sustainable development.

iii) It will ensure that the business operates in compliance with the government of Belgium by adhering to sustainability policies accordingly.

Disadvantages of the policy

i) The policy of benchmarking standards can require extra human resources and even equipment a move which may mean usage of extra financial resources. This may become a major predicament in circumstances whereby the Company is experiencing financial predicaments.

ii) When Umicore SA incurs an extra cost during production, as part of attempts to enforce sustainability measures. The overall burden will be transferred to consumers through the charging of expensive price on products. This demerit can also be viewed based on the long-term existence of the business. If this becomes the case, it means that the Company will find it difficult to thrive in future due to a low customer turn-around.

iii) Establishment of some sustainable development policies will be cost effective for Umicore Corporation due to the large amount of capital required to purchase starting machineries as acquire operating building infrastructures.

Based on the nature of these policies, several recommendations can be made in order to enhance its effective. For proper sustainable development, the cost of implementing the policy should not be too high to avoid transferring similar burden to customers who purchase the products manufactured by Umicore SA. The standards and benchmarks should be executed using less time to establish time for performing other production activities. The policy should align with the existing measures of sustainable development. For instance, the Company has already engaged in recycling of precious metals, approximately, 20 different types of metals. The policy of using standards and benchmarking processes to track its sustainability will align with the existing sustainability activities of Umicore SA incorporation. According to corporate guidelines and regulations of Umicore SA, any implementation of a policy should take approximately 3 months, whereby, one month will be used for planning and two months for education and implementation. The final recommendation is that, Umicore should provide a spacious place that will be used for planting trees in order to launch the green space.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the adoption and implementation of policy programs is significant within the scope of Umicore SA Incorporation. The policy of sustainable development is important in ensuring that the Company operates more effectively and efficiently without depleting the existing natural resources. Having sustainable development policies is important in enhancing the achievement of the long-term organization goals and objectives. Additionally, it can be deduced that the planning of a sustainable development policies will be associated with several costs at the final stages of implementation.

PART B

i) Scope of the Policy

a) Vision Statement

The main objective of formulating a sustainable development policy is to ensure that our main stakeholders obtain the best experience. Our corporate vision can be stimulated into actions through the provision of clean technologies. In addition, offering an eco-friendly environment, materials for recharging car batteries and the provision of emission control catalysts, sustainable economic advancement, participating in ethical strategies of executing the society and value and providing employees with an excellent environment to work. To achieve this, we have adopted the use of sustainable activities to match the current situation of resource scarcity, electrification of auto-mobiles and the need to provide clean air to the environment.

ii) Workplace Sustainable Policy

The Commitment to sustainability is perceived as a significant section of business planning and operations at Umicore SA incorporation.

b) Goals and Objectives

Goal

Based on the goal of promoting energy conservation, the Company focus on the following key objectives.

The first objective of this Company is to promote the efficient usage of Catalysts and Energy techniques obtained from research and development work. Currently, the Company has invested €175 on ensuring that new energy conservation techniques are formulated.

All employees within the organization should strictly adhere to internal policies related to energy saving in order to conserve the available energy resources. For instance, this will be achieved by switching their computers off during launch hours. This will play a crucial role in conservation of the electricity (Emst, 2018).

Umicore SA Company will adopt a software program that will make it easy to assess the amount of energy used on daily basis and related the consumption to the net organization’s revenue.

The Company will adopt building structure and lighting system effective for conserving the energy. For instance, LED bulbs will be used across all building structures. In addition, the Company will use a water recycling system to ensure that the sewage water is re-utilized through a recycling process that uses high technology.

Goals

Umicore SA incorporation is a material technology and recycling Company. This implies that the organization places more focus on waste management. The Company will collaborate with other Companies under its supply chain to ensure that more recyclable materials are gathered. The Company will sort out different types of materials in order to increase the recycling number to over 20 materials.

In the first objective, the Company will track the amount of waste recycled on annual basis in order to formulate an achievable target.

Umicore SA will purchase more efficient technological Waste to Energy production facilities in order to ensure that all waste materials are utilized appropriately. The purchased plants will be used for using the waste material to produce energy and electricity.

The third objective will focus on the reduction of dangerous materials released to the environment. These materials include hazardous chemical products and gaseous substances. This objective will set a constant rate of reduction such as 10% on all materials released.

Implementation Strategy System

To promote the achievement of sustainability at Umicore SA workplace, the Company should consider the following system;

i) Encouraging and enhancing the culture of environmental responsibility and sustainability to employees, key stake holders such as customers and the material supply chain system.

ii) The Company is pledged to establishing quality assurance systems and team that will make certain that all sustainable development policies are followed accordingly.

iii) Extension of the operating area in order to retain enough space for implementing the green place policy.

In the general provision of clean technology and recycling services, the Company is committed to promoting sustainability through the use of technological techniques obtained from research and development activities. We shall focus on formulation of innovative processes and materials in order to promote economically and socially sustainable services.

Task 2

Communication Strategy

Background

The relevance of this communication strategy is to inform the key stakeholders of Umicore SA Incorporation about the newly developed sustainable development policies. This communication strategy will highlight the key strategic planning communication in order to ensure that Umicore corporation execute its strategies more effectively.

Communication Objectives

- Establish awareness to customer, regulators, suppliers and the local community members about the newly developed sustainable development policies.

- To communicate to the key stakeholders about their responsibility in implementing the policy. For instance, the expected contributions of suppliers and customer towards the enforcement of these policies.

- Notify regulators about the principle elements of sustainable development policies as well as influencing the policy makers around Belgium.

- Encourage research and development work to implement supporting programs and technologies that will improve sustainable development within the Company.

Target Audience

This Communication strategy will target recycling and clean technology customers, the local community, regulators and suppliers. The target audience will be grouped into two; Primary target audience and secondary target audience. The primary target group consists of groups that will be briefed about the policy directly while secondary target audience involves group that will be targeted in the future. The primary target audience of Umicore SA Company comprise of the employees, suppliers, customers and regulators. On the other side, the secondary target audience of this policy is the local community members.

Communication Tools

They are a set of media used to share knowledge and communicate significant information in the workplace. Based on the nature of stakeholders involved in the communication of this sustainability development policy, a combination of email hosting provider, training sessions and Televisions will be used as the main communication tools. Email hosting provider will be used to communicate key aspects of the policy to Umicore SA employees located in different departments. In addition, email communication tool will also be applied when communicating the policy to regulators and suppliers who are located at different regions. Training sessions will be provided to senior management employees responsible for active implementation of the policy. Such employees include supervisors and managers at Umicore SA Incorporation. Television channels will be used to communicate the new policies to local community members. Television channel will highlight any requirements or standards that local community should uphold to promote efficient implementation of the sustainable development policy.

Roles of each Stakeholder in implementing the Communication strategy

Customers

The customers of Umicore SA will have the responsibility of keeping communication lines active in order to ensure that the Company will communicate any update regarding clean technology or recycling processes to customers timely and effectively.

Employees

Umicore has approximately 14,000 employees who have the responsibility of operating effectively to spread any key implementation updates to other key stakeholders who will be affected by the implementation process of this policy.

Regulators

The regulators in this policy planning and implementation include the Belgium government agencies and authorities. The regulators will have the responsibility of granting the necessary implementation permissions for the policy to become effective through communication to relevant stakeholders such as the local community.

Budget

Currently, Umicore SA incorporation has allocated €80,000 to help in the implementation process of the sustainable development policy. This budget includes the cost of communication tools such as television and the cost of promoting the policy to key policy regulators. This cost will also publish the sustainable development policies after the implementation stage.

Timeline

This communication strategy will be executed within the next 2 months after planning in order to provide the key stakeholders with enough opportunity to study the key aspects including importance, advantages and disadvantages of sustainable development policies.

Evaluating the Success

To assess the success and effectiveness of sustainable policy development, several indicators will be considered.

Operating in an eco-friendly manner

Eco-friendly performance will be measured by ability of the Company to make effectual use of energy, metals and other significant substances during the operation. To achieve such status, Umicore SA should engage on the most efficient recycling process that will reduce the net operating costs and generate a compelling usefulness to the Company.

Ability of the employees to appreciate their workplace as a great place to work

When the Company promotes sustainable developments measures, it provides a more conducive working environment whereby employees are given high remunerations and a standard working environment.

Through the annual reports released by the quality assurance team formed. The effectiveness of this communication strategy will be assessed by the ability of the sustainable development team to release positive results that reveal efficient use of energy and conservation of recyclable materials within the Company.

The establishment of green space. This will assess ability of Umicre SA to utilize the sustainable development policies. Green space involves creating a special area and planting trees while conserving any water catchment are found within the Company’s operating area.

Project Review Assessment (Task 3)

Part A. (Policy Implementation)

Introduction

Policy implementation is the stage whereby policies enacted after formulation stage are further customized following any recommendations made during the preparation stage. After the formulation of sustainability policies, the Board of Directors from Umicore SA Company order for an implementation. A Companies’ philosophy can be assessed based on ethical operating values within the workplace and the policies implemented. Before the implementation of these policies, critical discussions were held between employees and the senior management of Umicore SA incorporation.

Policy Implementation

Before the execution of sustainable development policies, several factors were placed under consideration (Thomas, 2018). Umicore SA organization engaged in several discussions to discuss factors that may arise following the implementation of sustainable development policies. These main factors were categorized into; central policy advancement considerations and policy implementation.

Central policy advancement Considerations

Under this category, Umicore SA employees and the management discussed the following critical organizational concerns;

- The Board of Directors including the top executive officers offered both financial and physical support towards the implementation process.

- Before implementation, the management in conjunction with the employees ensured that the policy promoted safety within the workplace.

- The organizational management issued instructions to all members that they should follow the policy strictly or rather tough measures will be initiated.

- The employees agreed that any relevant corrections will be discussed and evaluated when they are all present.

- The organization should adopt more environmentally and economically friendly operation in order to ensure that sustainable development is maintained and adhered to within the Company.

Training and Education

Sustainable policy education and training is a vital instrument that reduces the level of inequality and discrimination in the workplace. Currently, Umicore SA has 14,000 employees who operate on day-to-day matters of the Company (Meyer et al,. 2018). To enhance their understanding to sustainable policies, they should be educated and trained thoroughly.

Provision of sustainable development information

This can be achieved by supplying the employees among other stakeholders such as the local community, with written information to ensure that they obtain more relevant information which they can use to promote sustainable development within the Company.

Conclusion

Implementing sustainable development policies in Umicore SA Corporation will play a huge role in enhancing the operations of the Company. For instance, enforcing policy advancement considerations, providing employees with the necessary information, engaging in training and education will play a huge role in ensuring that they will implement sustainable development policies in both practical and understanding.

Part B

Policy Implementation Review

Introduction

The Board of Directors from Umicore SA Company expects a complete implementation of sustainable development policies. For this reason, the management will develop a monitoring-oriented activity of checking the effectiveness and usefulness of these policies within the organization. To facilitate this framework, the management formulated a sustainable development quality assurance team, to measure the level of sustainability and usage of resources within the Company. This team was charged with two responsibilities: Monitoring the effectiveness and ability of the entire Company to follow sustainable development policies and performing regular assessments to determine the results of sustainable development policies to the Umicore SA Incorporation.

Monitoring the adherence to sustainable development policies

The quality assurance team will use special software programs to record the level of adherence to sustainable development policies among the employees. The observations of employees while performing their normal duties in relation to their morale and level of contentedness will be recorded. This will help the management to forecast the effectiveness of sustainable development policies in the long-term.

Performing regular assessment to determine the impact of sustainable development policies

The quality assurance team will analyze the results collected using observation and software systems to determine the influence of sustainable development policies on the operations of Umicore SA. In addition, the quality assurance team will scrutinize the quantity of recyclable substances such as metals and other materials used in production. Through policy implementation review, Umicore SA will be able to monitors records and determine the success of implementing sustainable development policies.

References

Van Meel, K., Smekens, A., Behets, M., Kazandjian, P., & Van Grieken, R. (2007). Determination of platinum, palladium, and rhodium in automotive catalysts using high-energy secondary target X-ray fluorescence spectrometry. Analytical chemistry, 79(16), 6383-6389.

Collis, J., & Hussey, R. (2013). Business research: A practical guide for undergraduate and postgraduate students. Macmillan International Higher Education.

Griggs, D., Stafford-Smith, M., Gaffney, O., Rockström, J., Öhman, M. C., Shyamsundar, P., ... & Noble, I. (2013). Policy: Sustainable development goals for people and planet.Nature, 495(7441), 305.

Richardson, D. (2018). Key Findings on Families, Family Policy and the Sustainable Development Goals: Synthesis Report (No. inorer948).

Urmee, T. (2018). Development of Energy Service Company (ESCO) Market to Promote Energy Efficiency Programmes in Developing Countries. In Transition Towards 100% Renewable Energy (pp. 283-294). Springer, Cham.

Meyer, S., Laurence, H., Bart, D., Lucie, M., & Kevin, M. (2018). Capturing the multifaceted nature of energy poverty: Lessons from Belgium. Energy research & social science, 40, 273-283.

Thomas, S. (2018). Corporate performance of the Seven Brothers of the European energy market: Then there were five. Utilities Policy, 50, 164-174.

Popkova, E. G., Inshakov, O. V., & Bogoviz, A. V. (2019). Regulatory Mechanisms of Energy Conservation in Sustainable Economic Development. In Energy Sector: A Systemic Analysis of Economy, Foreign Trade and Legal Regulations (pp. 107-118). Springer, Cham.

Karatasou, S., Laskari, M., & Santamouris, M. (2018). Determinants of high electricity use and high energy consumption for space and water heating in European social housing: Socio-demographic and building characteristics.Energy and Buildings, 170, 107-114.