BUSINESS STANDARDS
is the quarterly magazine of BSI Group, highlighting the vital role that standards play in today's business environment. Regular features include interviews with leading business figures, as well as news on the latest developments in management systems and standards.
Accenture going green
07 Dec 2007
Topics: Environment, ISO 14001, Spain
Accenture Group is a global provider of management consultancy, technology services and outsourcing management, with 170,000 people working in 48 countries. Its net revenues were US$19.70 billion for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2007.
As an organization, Accenture Group has a commitment to incorporating the best environmental practices in the development of its management processes, and has implanted social responsibility into the way it does business - a matter of increasing concern for Accenture clients and employees. It encourages people to use resources carefully, engages with environmentally responsible suppliers and collaborates with clients to improve their environmental performance.
Words into actions
Accenture Spain has taken these measures a step further, and last year achieved certification to ISO 14001 in one of its three Spanish offices, with the remaining two adopting the standard in 2007.
Its Torre Picasso office in Madrid led the way across its consulting, solutions and outsourcing businesses. A team of five employees designed and developed an environmental management system - noted as highly innovative by BSI's auditor - that uses processes to drive more efficient energy consumption, recycling and reducing paper use, as well as separating and managing waste generated by the office. The environmental measures it adopted in 2006 on the way to achieving certification to ISO 14001 resulted in a three per cent reduction in electricity consumption and an impressive 81 per cent recycling of generated waste.
Accenture Spain was already some way down the road to becoming greener - the company has been implementing environmental initiatives since 2004. These have resulted in 100 per cent of paper used being environmentally friendly and the implementation of a waste separation system. Additionally measures have been taken to institute appropriate management of dangerous waste and to reuse 10 per cent of the computing equipment that is no longer in use by donating it to local not-for-profit organizations. It has reduced its use of plastic bottles by 800,000 and recycles 300 mobile phones annually.
Going countrywide
With the success of the Torre Picasso office to emulate, Accenture's other Madrid office in La Finca and its Barcelona operation in Diagonal followed suit in 2007 and both achieved the ISO 14001 certification with BSI this year.
Both offices have adopted programmes to consume resources responsibly, controlling and reducing the consumption of paper, electricity and water, as well as waste management programmes. According to the audit team, communication has been vital in inspiring Accenture's employees to maintain certification standards through posters, training and an internal website for advice and feedback.
External recognition
For Accenture Spain, the certification represents an important external recognition of the work the organization has done to identify its environmental impacts and implant a programme of continuous improvement which, not incidentally, means it effectively fulfils its obligations to meet environmental legislation.
Almudena Rodriguez Beloso, operations manager for corporate social responsibility and environmental management, explains that the Environment Department developed metrics to meet annual objectives and is now offering assistance to other countries in the Group in the wake of the success in Spain. "This achievement shows our employees as well as future generations that Accenture is committed to sustainable development," he says.
Adds Vicente Moreno, Accenture Spain's country managing director: "Accenture's ISO 14001 certification across Spain is based on continuous improvement. These results have far exceeded the goals set in the initial environmental programme."
Business Standards © 2009. Editorial produced by Caspian Publishing in association with the British Standards Institution. Editorial opinions expressed on are not necessarily those of BSI Group or Caspian Publishing. Neither Caspian Publishing nor BSI Group accept responsibility for advertising or editorial content, nor for that appearing on linked third-party websites. Reproduction in whole or in part is forbidden without written permission from BSI Group or Caspian Publishing.
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