This document discusses using benefits management to prioritize sustainability initiatives. It notes that sustainability projects are difficult to quantify and fund due to higher upfront costs and uncertain long term returns. The document defines benefits management and sustainability. It recommends starting with identifying stakeholders and the value they receive, understanding current performance, and monitoring benefits realization. The document discusses techniques for valuing sustainability benefits and overcoming barriers to using benefits management, including making the process easy and appealing to stakeholders. Examples of successful benefits management projects are solicited from the audience.

1. Prioritizing
sustainability using
benefits management
A guide to informing decisions in the right way
Dr Hugo Minney, FAPM, ChPP, CMgr, FRSA, FCMI

2. The problem
• Never enough money to do everything
• “Sustainability” is higher costs now, and uncertain returns
later (and “later” is often the next government’s problem)
• Sustainability is difficult to quantify and more difficult to
monetize
• We often decide What to do first, then How to do it, and
only consider the Why (benefits) afterwards

3. Some definitions
• Sustainability
• balances the current needs of stakeholders without compromising or
overburdening future generations.
• helps organisations to achieve their strategic objectives, deliver value to
society, and address the global challenges of climate change, resource scarcity,
and social inequality.
• Benefits Management
• A benefit is a change that a stakeholder considers to be of value (to them) – in
a particular context (ie as part of everything going on for them)
• Understanding stakeholders enables the right decisions: when to invest; and
the specification of the investment
• Benefits should have a time guillotine, so delays to delivery incur a benefits
“cost” for everything that goes outside the guillotine

4. The British Standards
• Start with the end in mind
• Understand who’s affected and
how much – what value?
• Understand current success
– and what to do about variation
• Guidance on handover and
subsequent evaluation

5. 7.2 Define
and clarify
required
benefits
7.3 Assess
benefits
realization
7.4 Identify
benefits
variance
7.5 Address
benefits
variance
8.3 Define need or
opportunity, and
value to the
organization
8.4 Plan benefits
and contribute to
the
business case
8.5 Recommend
decisions to
optimise benefits
realization
8.6 Monitor
benefits realization
Benefits
Management
in
the
portfolio
Benefits
Management
in
work
components
Prioritising across a portfolio of investment
• Benefits management
drives decisions across
the whole portfolio
• Benefits management
informs decisions during
delivery of work
components
• Benefits management
makes things happen
and motivates people

6. What are the barriers to using benefits
management? [audience]
 Do we value our (or our children’s) future? How do we value
it?
 Desire for control – and benefits are outside of control?
 Putting a value on specific benefits which aren’t monetary?
 And
 And…

7. Putting a value on sustainability benefits
 Social Value International – 8 Principles, 6 steps.
Environment, Community, Economy
 UNSDGs – 17 goals each with metrics and progress globally.
Environment, Community, Inequality
 Social Value Portal and the TOMs (Themes, Outcomes,
Measures) – Economy, Jobs Created

8. Benefits Management Techniques
• Stakeholder identification and analysis
• Who cares? What do they care about? What value do they put on it? What do we need to deliver to meet
this? Are they for or against?
• Benefits identification and prioritization
• Top down from the portfolio, organisation or œconomy; Specific to this requirement, but in context;
Develops specification or informs decision to proceed
• Benefits forecasts, measurement and evaluation
• Identify variation from intention, and time to do something about it; Informs portfolio, with time to do
something about it; informs Lessons Learnt and changes future practice
• Shortcuts – how to put values to benefits across tens or hundreds of projects, in order to
prioritise
• The Carbon Footprint example

9. How do we overcome these barriers?
[Audience]
 Making it easy?
 Carrot and stick?
 Appeal to the heart?
 Clear policy and overall goals?
 Tension between overall aim and specifics of this project?

10. Benefits of using
benefits for
sustainability
• Stakeholders engaged so
challenges and obstacles are
smoothed away
• Ongoing evidence of Fitness for
Purpose and alignment to
objectives
• Understanding options –
Minimum Viable Product, and
waterfall of everything additional
• Do the Right Things, in the Right
Way, do them Well

11. Examples of good use of Benefits
Management, and how it worked [Audience]
• Civils?
• ICT?
• Culture Change?
• Power generation?
Please add your Contact Details so we can find out more

12. Seven Deadly Sins of Benefits Management
[Audience]
1. Shoot first, then name your target
2. And then a miracle occurs
3. “mandatory” programmes don’t need benefits
4. Every benefit can be added together
5. No consequences
6. Money is the top priority
7. The project is the only thing