Plan for Sustainability

Welcome to Plan for Sustainability

The Bureau of Sustainability is here to help your business thrive while protecting the future. Sustainability is about meeting the needs of today without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs. By focusing on the three pillars of sustainability—society, economy, and the environment—your business can take meaningful steps toward long-term success and resilience.

Why Create a Sustainability Plan?

A Sustainability Plan is a centralized document that outlines your business’s approach to sustainability. It helps you:

  • Identify sustainability goals tailored to your business.
  • Track measurable progress on each goal.
  • Reduce costs by improving water and energy efficiency.
  • Enhance your competitive edge in the marketplace.
  • Positively impact your community and environment.

Through this process, you and your team will develop practical strategies to transform your sustainable values into actionable steps.

How We Can Help

The Bureau of Sustainability offers FREE assistance to New Jersey small businesses. We understand that creating a Sustainability Plan can feel daunting, and we are here to guide you every step of the way. Whether you’re just getting started or looking to refine your approach, we’re excited to support you on your sustainability journey.

Here’s what you’ll find on this webpage:
  1. Request Free Assistance: Provide your contact information, and our team will reach out to help you create a custom Sustainability Plan tailored to your goals.
  2. Step-by-Step Guide: Prefer to go it alone? Our “Planning Your Sustainability Road Trip” guide will walk you through the process at your own pace.
  3. Sustainability Plan Template: Use our ready-made template to get started quickly and efficiently.
  4. Resources: Access tools and information to evaluate your current energy usage, calculate potential savings, and identify opportunities for sustainable growth.
Start Your Journey

Every business’s path to sustainability is unique. Whether you’re focused on reducing costs, enhancing community impact, or achieving compliance with environmental standards, our resources and support are designed to meet your needs.

Ready to take the first step?

Request Free Assistance: Provide your contact information below, and someone from our staff will contact you with more details.

If you’re not a small business or prefer a DIY approach, explore our guide and resources to create a Sustainability Plan independently.

Request Free Assistance to Create a Sustainability Plan

Provide your contact information so the Bureau of Sustainability can provide you with free information on creating a custom sustainability plan for your business.

Planning Your Sustainability Road Trip

Embarking on a journey to sustainability is like planning a road trip. It starts with understanding your current location and comparing it to other businesses in your industry. This helps establish a baseline for the positive environmental changes you want to achieve. Once you know your starting point, you can set both short- and long-term goals for sustainable development. With your goals in place, it’s time to decide on the actions needed to achieve them. Finally, by measuring, tracking, and evaluating your progress, you ensure that your sustainability efforts stay on course.

You Are Here! (Baseline Data Collection)

Understanding your current position is crucial when starting your sustainability journey. Identify what sustainable initiatives your business is already taking, such as using LED lights or training employees on waste disposal. To get a clearer picture, track your spending on resources like electricity and water. Consider these key areas:

    • Energy consumption
    • Water usage
    • Waste generation
    • Carbon footprint
    • Supply chain emissions
    • Employee commuting

Use the Benchmarking Tools and Measurement Tools and Calculators to start tracking your spending and consumption of resources.

Where are you going? (Vision and Goals)

Picture your sustainability goals as your road trip destination. Map out your route by setting clear, achievable goals and decide on the actions needed to reach them. Just like a cross-country trip takes time, reaching sustainability goals requires patience and regular reviews. Be prepared to adjust your course as business conditions change. Section 3.0 Vision and Goals of the Plan for Sustainability Template will help you map out your goals.

Who is going with you? (Create a Green Team)

A successful road trip needs a team, and so does sustainability planning. Assemble a diverse group of passionate individuals committed to driving your business and environmental goals forward. Your green team will develop and implement initiatives, track progress, and foster a culture of sustainability, bringing your destination closer.

What should we pack? (Selecting Sustainable Actions)

Packing for a road trip is essential. Decide on the sustainable actions you’ll take, from simple tasks like upgrading to LED lighting to more ambitious projects like installing solar panels.

How do we get there? (Implementation)

Planning your route includes deciding on stops for gas and food, just as implementing sustainable practices involves specific actions. Choose your actions, outline steps for implementation, and ensure you have the necessary resources and leaders in place.  Section 5.0 Action Plan and the Action Plan Worksheets in the Appendix of the Plan for Sustainability Template will help you map out how your sustainable actions can be implemented.  You can find funding opportunities for implementing your sustainable actions in the Resources section.

Are we there yet? (Monitoring and Evaluation)

Track your journey with key performance indicators (KPIs) to ensure you’re on track. Regularly evaluate your progress and adjust your plan as necessary. Flexibility is key to staying aligned with your sustainability goals.  The tools linked in the Measurement Tools and Calculators section can help you with tracking your sustainability journey. Section 6.0 Monitoring and Evaluation of the Plan for Sustainability Template provides information on tracking your successes.

How is the trip? (Reporting and Communication)

Keep stakeholders updated on your sustainability journey, just as you’d share travel adventures with friends. Use reports, social media, and your company website to communicate milestones, successes, and challenges. Clear communication keeps everyone motivated and aligned.  Section 7.0 Reporting and Communications of the Plan for Sustainability Template provides information on reporting your successes.

Where to next? (Continuous Improvement)

The journey towards sustainability is ongoing. Embrace new opportunities and goals as they arise. Foster continuous improvement by involving employees in planning and feedback, and update your sustainability plan regularly to adapt to changes.

Resources

Benchmarking Tools

Use the links below to start calculating where your business is.

Multi-media Benchmarking

Portfolio Manager is an interactive resource management tool that enables you to benchmark the energy use of any type of building, all in a secure online environment. This is a benchmarking tool for energy, water and waste. 

Energy Benchmarking

For existing industrial and commercial buildings. Benchmarking is a free service that assesses the energy performance of your facilities compared to similar buildings. Our program representatives will track and score your actual energy usage based on your industry type and provide a detailed report along with valuable information on implementing energy-efficient technologies, including available financial incentives to lower project costs.

For local government. It allows local government agencies, state contracting agencies, public agencies, state colleges and state universities, and select non-profit agencies, to examine their facilities and see how they can improve their energy use. The program can help you identify cost-justified energy-efficiency measures, as well as subsidize the full cost of the audit. The entire audit process including customer assistance, application processing and auditing will be performed by TRC, the Program Manager for New Jersey’s Clean Energy Program (NJCEP).

Take advantage of energy tips, programs and resources to help your business save energy and money, and keep you informed about energy issues impacting your business (for PSE&G business customers).

Take the next step to help your business save energy and money with energy efficiency rebates and programs, for South Jersey Gas (SJG) commercial and industrial customers.

Water Benchmarking

The AWWA Utility Benchmarking Program provides objective performance measures for utility leaders to track their organizational performance. Businesses can participate in a n annual survey to track utility performance, which yields an individualized report (for free) on your business’ performance for each indicator relative to the industry. 

Annual beverage industry benchmarking study with facility specific data.

Waste/Recycling Benchmarking

Tool to compare baseline and alternative waste management practices. “EPA created the Waste Reduction Model (WARM) to provide high-level estimates of potential greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions, energy savings and economic impacts from several different waste management practices.” 

Instructions on conducting waste assessments to identify waste generated at a facility, and purchasing and management practices; examine current waste reduction practices and assesses their effectiveness; and identify the areas and materials in which waste reduction efforts will be most effective. 

Wastewater Discharges Benchmarking

American Water Works Benchmarking Program

The AWWA Utility Benchmarking Program provides objective performance measures for utility leaders to track their organizational performance. Businesses can participate in a n annual survey to track utility performance, which yields an individualized report (for free) on your business’ performance for each indicator relative to the industry.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

EPA GHG Inventory Guidance for Low Emitters

A tool for low emitters including office-based organizations, small businesses, and public institutions to track their carbon footprint. Includes instructions for creating an inventory management plan and a GHG calculator.

Emissions Factor Hub

A tool that includes a chart, which allows businesses to calculate GHG emissions and Heat content from tons of fuel used.

Tools Built of GHG Protocol

Includes a list of tools based on the GHG Protocol, that allows companies and organizations to track and manage GHG emissions.