Validate, review, and sign-off policies, targets and KPIs
Once the process of creating the PTKs is complete, and the various teams are satisfied that they are well defined, measurable, and achievable, the final stage is to validate them and take through your organisations formal sign-off process.
Review PTKs against ambition targets
Consider the full set of Policies and their associated targets against the ambition targets you set in the PTK preparation phase.
- Is it feasible that your organisation will be able to implement the number (or percentage) of these you have stipulated in your ambition targets?
- Does the sustainability team have the capacity to track these with the respective teams, and collate into any necessary periodic internal reporting?
- Do the PTKs align with the overall level of ambition that your organisation has, and the approach that was mandated (if applicable) when the strategy creation process was initiated?
- Do the PTKs, and their alignment with your ambition goals, align with the sustainability vision, principles, and narrative?
Following the above review, it may be necessary to revisit specific PTKs and/or the overall ambition targets. If your timeline allows, doing a “soft review” during the development phase can help flag any issues or imbalances early on and expedite this process.
Assure policies against your Definition of Done
As an important final quality assurance process, require the finalised list of PTKs against the DoD you defined in the Preparation phase. This should be done by or in collaboration with someone who was not directly involve in the creation process to add an outside perspective and help identify any overlooked issues.
...organisations QA processes may mean they already have policy DODs that can be used, as but as an example, these may include the following:
- Clarity: Is the policy written in clear, accessible language? Are key terms defined?
- Completeness: Are all necessary components included (e.g. purpose, scope, actions, timelines, responsibilities)?
- Feasibility: Are the targets and actions realistic given current resources and capabilities?
- Ownership: Is it clear who is responsible for delivery, oversight, and updates?
- Communication needs: Are stakeholders and communication requirements identified? Is there a plan for rollout?
- Support needs: Are training, resources, or tools needed to implement the policy identified?
- Scope: Is it clear what the policy applies to (e.g. departments, locations, event types)?
- Detail: Are the actions and expectations specific enough to avoid ambiguity?
- Implementation timeline: Does the policy state when and how it comes into effect?
- Exceptions & contingencies: Are edge cases, exemptions, or fallback mechanisms addressed?
- Monitoring & enforcement: Are mechanisms in place to track compliance and take corrective action?
- Organisational alignment: Has the policy been checked against business priorities, procurement processes, operational constraints, and both event-based and non-event contexts?
- Actionability: Is the policy enforceable and practical? Is the wording suitable for publication and rollout?
Final Sustainability sign-off
Senior management sign-off
A meaningful sustainability strategy is likely to involve a significant element of change management, and so it is important to have Senior Management buy-in and support. Involving them as early in the process as is feasible is recommended, but at a minimum, they should be involved in the final formal sign off of the strategy. ISO14001 and ISO20121 also require this.
Consider how best to present the PTKs for approval – this is an excellent opportunity to fine tune how to present the detail of the Policies, using the context of the materiality assessment from Phase 1, and the narrative developed from the vision and supporting principles in phase 2.
Senior management are particularly likely to be interested in the costs and impacts of policies, creating an opportunity to group them up to form a compelling narrative covering one of more of the following topics:
- cost-benefits for revenue (cost savings and increased sales)
- risk (reduced regulatory risk)
- robustness (reduced exposure to climate risks, happier / more sustainable workforce)
- reputation (customer/client perception)
- marketing materials and opportunities
- internal value alignment This is not to say that senior management will not be focused on the environment or social benefits, but these can be harder to quantify in a commercial (or donor-funded) setting. The appropriate approach will be highly dependant on the organisational context.
Senior stakeholder signoff (Optional)
Depending on the nature of your organisation, and motivations/ priorities identified in Phase 1, you may also wish to consider convening a group of “Senior Stakeholders” and presenting the strategy to them for feedback.
This may include major suppliers, customers or partner organisations. It could also feature representation from the various groups affected by the policies, as well as the members and/or staff of the organisation. Typically engagement is sought with affected parties to help inform creating the strategy, but these opinions can also be highly beneficial in reviewing the developed strategy.