Step #6: Obtain Management Support

Management support is crucial for the overall acceptance of the program. After you get a handle on the big picture (i.e., waste survey, teams, employee attitudes), discuss all your findings with your site environmental professional to get his/her input. The next step is to create a management presentation to sell your program. Schedule a meeting with the senior line executive (i.e., Vice-President, Plan Manager) to inform him/her of the opportunities. Depending on the business unit, other levels of management may need to be involved in the approval process. Be prepared!! Do not go into this meeting with the idea that management will tell you how to create and/or organize the program. Make sure that you are prepared and then give your pitch. Remember that the information that you are presenting is probably new to management. If this is the case, it may take a little more explanation on your part to educate management and demonstrate the need for this program. Your suggestion "may not fly" the first time but do not get discouraged. If you proposal is turned down, ask what additional information is needed to achieve program approval. Remember that if you do not have management's commitment, you program will not survive. If you are not 100% successful the first time, do not get discouraged. Take what you have learned, regroup, reorganize, and be prepared to present the idea at another scheduled meeting.

Remember that your request for management's commitment will be to:

• Support a "world class program;"
• Provide a signed letter to all employees, from the top level person, demonstrating his/her support
• Ask for the opportunity to present the program to as many employees as possible;
• Ask for the resources to "do it right" (floorspace, equipment, labor, time) Ask for a given day to address the new recycling guidelines by having a "Clean out the office day." (This project can be a real team building exercise.)

-"Reality Check"-

Several internal publications, available throughout the Corporation, stress the need for each employee's cooperation in protecting our natural resource and the environment in which we operate. These publications also recognize the responsibilities of our facilities to be a good citizen of the community. This program has the ability to allow the plant employees to accomplish these tasks and, at the same time, extend the useful life of the local landfill. Publishing a newsletter and highlighting team success will feed the imagination and promote innovation.

Experience has shown that new programs, including recycling programs, do not always get approved the first time you ask. Remember that there are always larger issues working through the system that are competing for the same resources. Several attempts may have to be made to rework program ideas before management approval is granted. This effort will not be easy; however, by seeking approval to initiate this program, you will gain more experience about the interworkings of the business. This educational process will help you in your efforts in learning to deal with many different attitudes and personalities throughout the facility. If your request is disapproved the first time, "keep your cool" and be patient. The success of this program will require people's behavior to be modified and that process never occurs without resistance.