Toward sustainable management: the University of Michigan Housing Divisionʹs approach

The University of Michigan Housing Divisionʹs (Housing) study on creating an environmental management system based on sustainability, completed in July 1999, develops a rationale for organizational alignment with sustainability and assesses leading edge practices. The study recommends altering Housingʹs current mission statements as well as creating a freestanding sustainability mission statement. The study includes sustainability assessments of 11 operational and decision-making areas. The assessments extend beyond traditional environmental audits by developing sustainability visions, prioritized recommendations and indicators for each area. The study, which forms the basis of Housingʹs current environmental initiatives, concludes that sustainability management must be holistic, systemic and integrated.