By Alistair Collier | From BG Magazine
John Collier Survey’s FAQs section in BGM, explores answers to some of the most commonly asked questions about good governance and environmental compliance. This issue looks at environmental responsibilities and the practical application of an environmentally sensitive set of activities in terms of a board’s overall responsibilities.
Question
I am a club GM and we had a debate recently at the board level about what my role is and how it intersects with the board’s responsibilities in a management sense. I thought the matter would be dealt with quickly, and that we would move on, but it turned into a complex debate. So, for clarity could you offer some sort of a summary of the board’s roles and responsibilities, not just as they are in the ‘book’, but rather in a more practical day-to-day sense?
Answer
One of the most important things with the John Collier Survey, is that the structure will allow you to identify your own goals, and then set your own pace to achieve the objectives that your club has identifed. So, it is not a question of tackling all the challenges that your facility has at once – some of which may not even come into play at your facility – and this makes sense, because club’s budgets and staff structures vary enormously, as do the challenges that they face. In terms of the specific questions, there are certain ‘must dos’, and examples of these, would be that every club, or venue, has a responsibility, both in terms of its environmental and governance policies, to re-cycle waste oil responsibly, manage water consumption, wherever, and whenever possible, and note the presence of and then remove alien vegetation.
The John Collier Survey’s dashboard, allows you to track your club’s progress in specific areas and monitor results for as a long as the data is input. The last aspect relates to costs, because the only new costs, if any in terms of the survey itself, would be related to the small amount of time needed each month for the designated staff member / members to input the fresh data. The upside of using the dashboard is that it allows you to track the progress made with interventions, such as collecting and storing run on water more efficiently. Over time, activities such as the modification in fertiliser programmes, the reduction in the areas of maintained turf, will all make an impact on the bottom line and show as savings in terms of expenditure. The club’s board has an overarching responsibility and duty of care to ensure that the club is a good corporate citizen, which includes the need for it to be active in helping to protect the environment.