Strand 03 of 06 on the highway
Sustainability Costing and Appraisal
Evaluate costs, returns and trade-offs.
Determining the cost of managing impacts, risks and opportunities and the return on investment.
Identifying an issue is one thing, but before you can fix it you need to know what it will cost and whether it makes financial sense. Sustainability Costing and Appraisal outlays the solution and works out the return, so that you can make a decision and take a credible case to a lender.
What is sustainability costing and appraisal?
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Why sustainability costing and appraisal matters
You cannot simply go straight to the bank with a problem, an organisation needs to cost the solution so that it makes financial sense. When you approach a lender, you should be able to say: this is the current problem, this is how much it will cost us to fix, and this is how much better off we will be in so many years. A lender can then see that you have something that is properly costed and that makes financial sense.
In Zimbabwe, a typical example is electricity. Power from ZESA is unreliable and expensive, and where it is generated from coal it also produces greenhouse gas emissions. Many organisations would like to switch to renewable energy solutions like solar panels, but that switch needs to be costed before it can be financed.
There is currently no regulatory requirement to carry out sustainability costing and appraisal. It is, however, the step that turns an identified issue into a case you can act on.
Who this service is for
Our services are designed for organisations such as:
- listed companies;
- Not for profit organisations
- state-owned enterprises
- organisations with a high environmental impact, such as those in mining and farming.
Within each organisation, our costing and appraisal courses are for the board and for technical and professional staff.
Benefits of Sustainability Costing and Appraisal
- Compare the costs, expected returns, risks, and trade-offs of sustainability initiatives.
- Build stronger business cases before committing funds.
- Prioritise projects based on their likely value and feasibility.
- Reduce the risk of investing in initiatives that do not deliver the expected results.
How we cost and appraise a sustainability project
How we cost a project depends on what the use case is. Take the switch to solar as an example, we can work out what system you need and how much it will cost. We then work out how much you will save, over what period, and what the payback period is, whether that is four years, five years or something else.
That example is tangible, but the same approach applies to issues that are less so. For governance issues, we look at what you need, what it will cost and what you are likely to gain. We do the same for training so that if you want to implement new systems, for example to address tax evasion, we look at what the system will cost to implement, what you will gain and what the payback period is.
How we deliver costing and appraisal training
We offer two costing and appraisal courses, and each can be delivered in person, remotely or online:
- Sustainability Costing & Appraisal: From Cost to Organisational Value, for the board of directors. Delivered in person or remotely over 4 hours, or online over 3 hours.
- Sustainability Costing & Investment Appraisal: Building the Business Case, for technical and professional staff. Delivered in person over 7 hours, remotely over 6 hours, or online over 5 hours.
If you would like us to carry out the costing and appraisal with you, our consulting service supports that implementation by providing a cost versus benefit analysis of the change you are considering.
Where sustainability costing and appraisal sits on the highway
Sustainability costing and appraisal is strand 03 of The Highway to Organisational Prosperity Through Sustainability. It follows Sustainability and ESG Reporting, which identifies the issues to be costed. With a costed case in hand, the next step is Sustainable Finance, where you secure the money to act on it.
You do not have to start at the beginning. You can join the highway at the junction that fits where your organisation is today, build capability, and advance towards organisational prosperity. Sustainability runs throughout the journey, and organisational prosperity is the destination.
Book a consultation to cost a sustainability project, or see our training services for courses for your board and technical team.
EVENTS AND TRAINING
Upcoming sustainability events
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The Highway to Organisational Prosperity Through Sustainability
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