Elements and Performance Criteria

Sustainability
Sustainability incorporates the three aspects of:
survival of the ecology/physical environment (to manage the impact of the business to ensure the survival of the physical environment)
economic viability (efficiency, cost and waste reduction and competitiveness to support survival of the business)
social sustainability (to manage the impact of the business to ensure its continued survival within the community and the survival of the community)
Factors
Factors refer to any force external to the organisation relating to sustainability which may encourage it to act in a particular way and include:
government (at any level) legislation or regulation
government (at any level) direct action programs or similar
government (at any level) incentives or similar
customer expectations
community expectations
market trends
competitor actions
other factors
Portion of the value chain
Value chain is the sequence of activities that a firm undertakes to create value/product (good or service). Portion of the value chain includes:
sections internal or external to the organisation
Response
Response may include:
any action which improves the sustainability of an organisation, its product or its value chain and which addresses the issues raised by the stimulus
Sustainability issues of particular relevance
Sustainability issues of particular relevance include:
particular sensitivities of the local ecology, such as:
endangered species
sensitive local flora/fauna
material scarcity
water availability
general ecology issues and regulations, such as:
climate change and carbon footprint
pollution control measures
particular local social issues, such as:
distortions to the housing market
disruption to local lifestyles
general social issues, such as:
corporate citizenship
use or/deterioration to infrastructure
particular local economic issues, such as:
cost of capital
profit margins
competition
general economic issues, such as:
state of the economy
stage of the business cycle
Significance of impact
Significance of impact includes:
permanent loss or degradation
loss or degradation which inhibits use by the following generation
temporary degradation requiring remediation
temporary degradation which is self-remediating
speed of change/degradation/loss
Appropriate response
Appropriate response includes:
application of the hierarchy of hazard control to sustainability hazards
when the impact cannot be prevented application of mitigation and amelioration techniques. such as:
capture and storage (e.g. scrubbing) and similar ‘end of pipe’ solutions
dilution/dispersion and similar techniques which reduce concentration but not amount
other approaches which meet the sustainability requirements

Overview of assessment
A person who demonstrates competency in this unit must be able to monitor the organisation’s external environment for sustainability related factors that will, or are likely to, impact on the organisation, analyse risks and determine appropriate responses.
Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate competency in this unit
Assessors must be satisfied that the candidate can competently and consistently apply the skills covered in this unit of competency in new and different situations and contexts. Critical aspects of assessment and evidence include:
recognition of an relevant stimulus
development of appropriate responses to the stimulus
determining which response(s) proceeds
communicating the above as appropriate
Context of and specific resources for assessment
This unit of competency is to be assessed in the workplace or a simulated workplace environment.
Assessment should emphasise a workplace context and procedures found in the candidate’s workplace.
This unit of competency may be assessed with other relevant units addressing sustainability at the enterprise level or other units requiring the exercise of the skills and knowledge covered by this unit.
The competencies covered by this unit would be demonstrated by an individual working alone or as part of a team.
Method of assessment
In all cases, practical assessment should be supported by questions to assess underpinning knowledge and those aspects of competency which are difficult to assess directly.
Where applicable, reasonable adjustment must be made to work environments and training situations to accommodate ethnicity, age, gender, demographics and disability.
The language, literacy and numeracy demands of assessment should not be greater than those required to undertake the unit of competency in a work-like environment.
Guidance information for assessment