Magazine Sep/Oct 2018

COMMITTEE FEATURE

Sustainability Working Group

The Club’s Strategic Planning Committee was reconstituted earlier this year to re-start work on developing a strategic plan, setting priorities, and assessing the needs and direction for The Club in a changing environment. Cognizant that over the past year, numerous callouts have been received from Members to switch to more sustainable practices, the committee realized that The Club did not have a clear focus or plan around sustainability, even though “green” practices have gained importance both at home and globally. The Sustainability Working Group was thus established to address this gap, and outline a strategy for enhancing The Club’s sustainability and reducing its ecological footprint. Initial work has now begun on creating an assessment of sustainability and environmental prac- tices and processes at The Club. The results will be examined in conjunction with sustaina- bility-related metrics and compared against benchmarks to identify gaps and opportuni- ties for improvement. The Group will then develop a sustainability plan and roadmap that The Club can use for at least the next 3 to 5 years. Early measures are expected to include actions to reduce waste, electricity and water usage, cutting down plastic use, re-looking The Club’s entire supply chain, development of time-sensitive metrics to track progress, and laying the foundation for initiatives with long- term sustainability benefits that may take longer to achieve. Along with making The Club more sustainable and doing our part to reduce our impact on climate change, these initiatives are expected to reduce the costs of maintenance and ultimately, make The Club a more pleasant place for Members.

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SEP / OCT 2018 THE AMERICAN CLUB