The Corporate Partnership Programme in Action: OSF Sustainability Workshop
One of the strengths of the Corporate Partnership Programme is our ability to navigate Cambridge on behalf of our Partner organisations, making connections with experts across a wide range of fields and subject areas, and facilitating productive collaboration. In April 2021 we co-organised a sustainability workshop with Professor Steve Evans from the University of Cambridge Institute for Manufacturing (IfM) for our Partner organisation, Open Society Foundations (OSF).
In early 2021, Dr Barry Varcoe, Global Director of Real Estate & Facilities at OSF and our William Pitt Fellow for the organisation, came to us with a brief, looking to organise a workshop exploring new ways to minimise greenhouse gas (GHG) and other natural resource impact on the planet in their hub offices in London, New York, Washington DC and Berlin. This would help to enable OSF to move towards its ultimate goal of a carbon/GHG neutral operation.
Working with this brief, Dr Kate Parsley, our Corporate Partnership Manager, approached Professor Steve Evans, Director of Research in Industrial Sustainability at the IfM at Cambridge, to ask if he would be open to co-organising a workshop.
Professor Evans has a considerable track record working with companies on their sustainability practices, building on 12 years in industry with focus on improving engineering performance, followed by over 20 years of academic experience. His research looks at how industry can develop solutions to move towards a sustainable future.
The workshop took place on 8 April 2021. Colleagues from OSF, as well as some of its workplace consultants, were brought together to present and discuss a wide range of ideas. Sessions included a look at the trends and drivers of change which demonstrate why action is needed, and where to act – beyond the building or net zero; followed by a look at concepts relating to experimentation and governance. Finally, the workshop was wrapped up with a prioritisation session to determine the main areas for action and next steps.
Following the workshop, Dr Parsley and Professor Evans worked together to produce a list of ‘next steps’ for OSF to take, both in principles and practice. This included prioritising subjects for future, more specific workshops with colleagues and stakeholders. Other suggestions included ways to disseminate ideas and oversee the implementation of various sustainability practices across the organisation.
Kate suggested that one way of exploring the outcomes of the workshop would be to put together an MBA project proposal for the CJBS MBA programme. Barry drafted this proposal on ‘Assessing the Viability of a Carbon and GHG Neutral Office Portfolio’, and MBA student Jennifer Yiu was recruited. Jennifer undertook research over a 2-month period into the technologies and innovations which could be pursued by OSF, including interviewing industry experts and relevant stakeholders, and maintaining regular contact with OSF. This report is now being implemented by OSF, especially for their newest office building development in Berlin. This report may be written up and published as a paper by Barry and Jennifer. Recently, Barry showed Kate around the OSF headquarters in London and highlighted the areas where the outputs of the workshop had been implemented – it was gratifying to see our work making such a positive change.
A workshop such as this can act as a first rather than a final step, and it is in this facilitator role that the Corporate Partnership is arguably at its strongest: opening the doors of possibility to our Partners and guiding them along the way.