We are delighted to be a part of this Sustainability Index Webinar series and would like to thank APGA for the opportunity. All the material is available for free at the Public Gardens Sustainability Index (APGA). If you are a non-APGA member and interested in aiming for excellence in one or more of the attributes, it can even be possible to get your achievements validated through APGA. Get in touch with us to learn more. You probably do a lot already and we hope this Webinar-series will inspire you to apply changes to your organisation for a sustainable future. Every bit helps!

⏭ 2021-07-07: Introducing the Public Graden Sustainability Index Webinar-series

Business Planning & Management 

In the final Sustainability Index Webinar of 2021 we heard how three different organizations are making decisions through the lens of sustainability. This webinar is a great source for inspiration if you want to give it a go on the Business Planning & Management-attribute (APGA) which is tied to the UN SDG 9: "Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure".

The Triple Bottom Line

In Business Planning, the use of the Triple Bottom Line is useful to evaluate the pros and cons by introducing a change. Take into consideration not only the economic aspect, but also the social and the environmental impact. If a decision is bad for either, you should try to avoid it all together. Read more about this and more tips in the WORKBOOK: Business Planning & Management Attribute (pdf).

Glenda Abney, the Interim Vice President, Education and Director, EarthWays Center with Missouri Botanical Garden discussed her organization's use of the triple bottom line to make sustainability-related business decisions for both internal and external programming efforts. 

The Quadruple Bottom Line

Drake Fowler, Deputy Executive Director of The North Carolina Arboretum, talked about his organization's use of the quadruple bottom line and the importance of design within this framework. We can share so much that the 4th bottom line has to do with aesthetics and Drake talked quote a bit about this factor which naturally play part when making decisions on your garden's future.

Regenerative and long-term thinking

Richard Piacentini, President and CEO of Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens talked about how they have applied regenerative and long-term thinking and several frameworks to make their decisions including Living Systems Stakeholders and Three Lines of Work. He shared surveys done for Phipps proving that with long-term thinking, investing in sustainable buildings will not only benefit the environment but also the economy of the institution. Furthermore, he shared how they have used the Covid-19 pandemic in the most fruitful way possible, ensuring that staff could stay employed and continue to provide a program for the community.

In the Sustainability Insights portion of the webinar (not recorded), Richard shared a link to a video about single-use plastic. To see that and the other 4 videos, check out The Climate Toolkit: for museums, gardens and zoos (free videos).

Reach out to either of the speakers to learn more. The webinar is available On-Demand via APGA. 

IrisBG – Business planning: Make informed sustainable decisions

You may not think that IrisBG, a collection management software for your living and preserved collection, could be an aid when working on your Trippel Bottom Line. 

Let’s have a look on how using a professional collection management system as IrisBG can aid your work with Sustainable Decision-Making. Collection Management should naturally be a big part of running a Botanic Garden. With IrisBG you can get the most out of your plant records as it is easy to analyze and share your data so you can make informed strategic decisions.

Just as your institution’s mission will help guide financial strategies, your mission will also help you guide the direction of your collection policy whether you focus on conservation, education, community outreach or something else. By tracking your collection, you can discover what works and not and you get the added value of using the data already recorded for education, research, marketing and sharing knowledge!

Maintaining data on your collection is crucial, so that when the time comes to make a decision, you have the data to back that decision up. And if your data is not organized and documented in an accessible way, and stored appropriately, it is or could become useless.

We understand that maintaining records can prove a challenge and whilst homemade solutions, excel and pen and paper are better than nothing, these means are often prone to errors and difficult to maintain. Many other alternatives require specialty staff or expensive 3rd party licenses. With our Standard package you get you all you need to get started and if you talk to any of the members of our community they will tell you IrisBG is intuitive and easy to use.

Request a free 60 days trial 

Sustainability Index Webinar-series

⏭ 2021-07-20: The battle against biodiversity loss | Sustainability Index Webinar
⏭ 2021-08-17: Involve and engage your community | Sustainability Index Webinar
⏭ 2021-09-14: Are you prepared for a natural disaster? | Sustainability Index Webinar
⏭ 2021-10-18: Why water management matters | Sustainability Index Webinar
⏭️ 2021-11-09: Empower and include for a better future | Sustainability Index Webinar