Thanksgiving is barely over and we have more than a month until Christmas but here at GreenPrisons we have already begun planning for a number of activities for the new year.
On the Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving Ann and I spent the day checking out possible locations for the 2012 Symposium. Our goal was to find a location that provided as much meeting and exhibit space as the Hilton but to do it more economically. We think we've done it. We won't announce the location until after a planning meeting the week of December 5th but we believe this venue will provide more space, upgraded accommodations, and reduced costs for participants and vendors alike. Keep an eye on the website for all the details.
Speaking of next year's Symposium we have options on two dates, one in late September and one in early November. What is your preference? Let us know before the planning meeting and we will include that in our discussions.
In addition to the Symposium and the webinars we will begin conducting Sustainability Surveys for agency's in 2012. If you would like us to assist you in getting started or maximizing your current efforts shoot us an email and we can talk details.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Sunday, November 20, 2011
ACA Passes Standard and Policy Statement on Sustainability
As many of you who follow this blog regularly know, I chair the "Clean and Green" committee of the American Correctional Association and in another life was the Accreditation Manager for the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
The charge for our committee has been to help educate the corrections community about the advantages of using sustainable practices and products in the correctional environment. We have sought to do that in a number of ways including coordinating last April's issue of "Corrections Today" which focused exclusively on sustainability.
However we felt like to bring about meaningful change in correctional practice, it was necessary to find other ways to promote sustainability. Our committee is fortunate to be made up of some of the most experienced and thoughtful practitioners in our business, and it was decided in committee that we should ask the appropriate sanctioning bodies in ACA to approve a policy statement on sustainability so that everyone, both inside and outside of corrections, could know that ACA was taking a leadership role in this important endeavor. This effort was led by former Secretary of Corrections for Louisiana Richard Stalder and former Commissioner of Corrections for Kentucky, John Rees. Because of the efforts by these two gentlemen we were successful in accomplishing our goal in our first 18 months of existence.
While the Policy Statement is too long to list here, you can access it from the ACA website or follow this link http://http//aca.org/government/policyresolution/results.asp?PoliciesAndResolutionsYMGHFREName=environmental&sortfld_360=Name&reversesearch=false&viewby=50&union=AND&startrec=1
Based on my experience as Accreditation Manager for the Bureau it has been my experience that most folks involved in accreditation typically don't go out seeking more standards to have to demonstrate compliance with. However, I think accreditation managers will quickly understand that rather than having created a complex standard that requires pages of documentation all this new standard requires is that the agency demonstrate that they have explored the feasibility of pursuing sustainable practices during the period of accreditation.
A review of the standard language follows or you can access it from ACA's website as well:
The facility/agency shall demonstrate they have examined, and where appropriate and feasible, implemented strategies that promote recycling, energy and water conservation, pollution reduction and utilization of renewable energy alternatives.
If the agency is not currently involved in any sustainable practice to be compliant all they must document is that they have explored what might be possible. For those agencies already engaged in sustainable practices, documentation of compliance is even easier.
To learn more about this new standard and how to demonstrate compliance be sure to come by auditor training at the ACA Winter conference on Tuesday morning, January 24. I'll be doing a one hour presentation on the standard and how to evaluate compliance. You don't have to be an auditor to attend. Attendance is open to anyone attending the conference.
Since I'm writing this the Monday before Thanksgiving it seems appropriate to wish all of you the best of holidays, enjoy your family and friends and check back in here next week for our latest update.
The charge for our committee has been to help educate the corrections community about the advantages of using sustainable practices and products in the correctional environment. We have sought to do that in a number of ways including coordinating last April's issue of "Corrections Today" which focused exclusively on sustainability.
However we felt like to bring about meaningful change in correctional practice, it was necessary to find other ways to promote sustainability. Our committee is fortunate to be made up of some of the most experienced and thoughtful practitioners in our business, and it was decided in committee that we should ask the appropriate sanctioning bodies in ACA to approve a policy statement on sustainability so that everyone, both inside and outside of corrections, could know that ACA was taking a leadership role in this important endeavor. This effort was led by former Secretary of Corrections for Louisiana Richard Stalder and former Commissioner of Corrections for Kentucky, John Rees. Because of the efforts by these two gentlemen we were successful in accomplishing our goal in our first 18 months of existence.
While the Policy Statement is too long to list here, you can access it from the ACA website or follow this link http://http//aca.org/government/policyresolution/results.asp?PoliciesAndResolutionsYMGHFREName=environmental&sortfld_360=Name&reversesearch=false&viewby=50&union=AND&startrec=1
Based on my experience as Accreditation Manager for the Bureau it has been my experience that most folks involved in accreditation typically don't go out seeking more standards to have to demonstrate compliance with. However, I think accreditation managers will quickly understand that rather than having created a complex standard that requires pages of documentation all this new standard requires is that the agency demonstrate that they have explored the feasibility of pursuing sustainable practices during the period of accreditation.
A review of the standard language follows or you can access it from ACA's website as well:
The facility/agency shall demonstrate they have examined, and where appropriate and feasible, implemented strategies that promote recycling, energy and water conservation, pollution reduction and utilization of renewable energy alternatives.
If the agency is not currently involved in any sustainable practice to be compliant all they must document is that they have explored what might be possible. For those agencies already engaged in sustainable practices, documentation of compliance is even easier.
To learn more about this new standard and how to demonstrate compliance be sure to come by auditor training at the ACA Winter conference on Tuesday morning, January 24. I'll be doing a one hour presentation on the standard and how to evaluate compliance. You don't have to be an auditor to attend. Attendance is open to anyone attending the conference.
Since I'm writing this the Monday before Thanksgiving it seems appropriate to wish all of you the best of holidays, enjoy your family and friends and check back in here next week for our latest update.
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