Sustainability Industry Reference Committee (IRC)

It is proposed that the Sustainability IRC would have responsibility for national training package qualifications relevant to:

• sustainable operations
• environmental monitoring and technology and
• competitive systems and practices.

Sustainability is a goal for most enterprises, and is a broad term encompassing both business and the environment. The MSS Sustainability Training Package has been developed and refined over a number of years to encapsulate all industries in both sustainable business practices through lean and agile processes and in sustainable environmental practices.

A broad future focus is essential for the long-term viability and ‘sustainability’ of a business. There are many areas a business might achieve sustainability improvements, often without big budgets. A business can also target management and organisational processes to embed sustainability activities in the workplace.

The qualifications available in the MSS Sustainability Training Package cover sustainable operations, environmental monitoring and technology, and competitive systems and practices. They focus on helping operations become more sustainable through improved productivity and efficiency and meeting their environmental responsibilities. They are applicable to all members of a manufacturing value chain, including non-manufacturing areas, such as administration, logistics and other support services areas as well as almost any enterprise in non-manufacturing industries. Users may include medical and dental practices, printing, educational, agriculture and food enterprises and many others.

These qualifications are included in the:

• MSS Sustainability Training Package

It is expected that the IRC would be supported by one or more Technical Advisory Committees to provide technical and related specific industry information on an as-needs basis to support the decision-making of the committee.

The proposed structure for the IRC is now open for public consultation and comment – see table below.

Please note the Sustainability IRC was previously known as ‘Manufacturing Skills Australia Strategic IRC’.

At this stage, industry stakeholders are being asked to comment on the proposed structure (not membership or nominations) to ensure it is representative of the industry and sectors. Once the structure has been agreed, the AISC will call for nominations against the vacant positions. For more information about the review process please see the IRC review page.

In your response, you may want to consider the:

• proposed committee size – is the committee the most appropriate size to represent your industry?
• industry coverage the proposed structure would provide
• balance of representation between the sub-sectors and
• balance between the number of organisational and individual expert positions.

If you have any comments or suggestions on the proposed structure below, please complete the AISC feedback form by COB Tuesday 14 February 2017.

If you are interested in nominating for a position on this IRC please keep an eye on this webpage.

A call for nominations will be made after the proposed structure consultation period has closed.