Abstract
Operational excellence is one of our priorities for the 2023-2028 strategic plan at our School of Nursing. The Office of Strategy and Global Affairs at UNC School of Nursing is committed to continuous improvement of sustainable operational excellence. The sustainable development goals/global goals were adopted by the United Nations in 2015, with a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity. The purpose is to present an overview of the formation, evolution, and evaluation of the Office of Strategy and Global Affairs in the School of Nursing which focused on meeting needs of our present community without compromising future generations abilities to meet their own needs. We share 3 examples of sustainability in our School of Nursing with an emphasis on protecting the planet: 1) supporting small business owners to support the local community, 2) using companies with all-green floral arrangements, and 3) avoiding plastic waste and substitute for ecofriendly and biodegradable alternatives. Our community had mixed perspectives about integrating these sustainable development goals into our School of Nursing. Creating a healthy work environment to protect the planet has clear benefits for nursing students, faculty, and employee culture and retention. Eco-friendly behaviors and initiatives can lead to happier employees. Our School of Nursing is committed to a sustainable and healthy work environment.
Notes
References: 1. Ferronato N, Malllouf A, Mertenat A, Saini A, Khanal A, Copertaro B et al. A review of plastic waste circular actions in seven developing countries to achieve sustainable development goals. Waste Management Research. 2024;42:436-458. doi: 10.1177/0734242X231188664
2. Khaled R, Ali H, Mohamed EKA. The Sustainable Development Goals and corporate sustainability performance: mapping, extent and determinants. J Clean Prod. 2021;311:127599. doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.127599.
3. Naki S, Sony M, Antony J, McDermott O, Tortorella G, Jayaraman R. Operational excellence framework for sustainability in the organisation: a design science approach. Production Planning and Control. 2024, 35: 1215-1231. https://doi.org/10.1080/09537287.2023.2165188
4. Rosa WE, Hassmiller SB. The Sustainable Development Goals and building a culture of health. AJN Am J Nurs. 2020;120:69–71. doi: 10.1097/01.NAJ.0000668772.33792.1f.
5. Tremblay D, Fortier F, Boucher J, et al. Sustainable development goal interactions: an analysis based on the five pillars of the 2030 agenda. Sustain Dev. 2020;28:1584–1596. doi: 10.1002/sd.2107.
Sigma Membership
Alpha Alpha
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
N/A
Research Approach
N/A
Keywords:
Sustainable Development Goals, Global Leadership, Workforce
Recommended Citation
Bryant, Ashley Leak; Leonard, Gabrielle; Alston, Lakecha; Vann, Julie Jacobson; and Howard, Valerie, "Aligning Operational Excellence With Sustainable Development Goals in a School of Nursing" (2025). Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE). 52.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/chwe/2025/presentations_2025/52
Conference Name
Creating Healthy Work Environments
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Conference Year
2025
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Aligning Operational Excellence With Sustainable Development Goals in a School of Nursing
Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Operational excellence is one of our priorities for the 2023-2028 strategic plan at our School of Nursing. The Office of Strategy and Global Affairs at UNC School of Nursing is committed to continuous improvement of sustainable operational excellence. The sustainable development goals/global goals were adopted by the United Nations in 2015, with a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity. The purpose is to present an overview of the formation, evolution, and evaluation of the Office of Strategy and Global Affairs in the School of Nursing which focused on meeting needs of our present community without compromising future generations abilities to meet their own needs. We share 3 examples of sustainability in our School of Nursing with an emphasis on protecting the planet: 1) supporting small business owners to support the local community, 2) using companies with all-green floral arrangements, and 3) avoiding plastic waste and substitute for ecofriendly and biodegradable alternatives. Our community had mixed perspectives about integrating these sustainable development goals into our School of Nursing. Creating a healthy work environment to protect the planet has clear benefits for nursing students, faculty, and employee culture and retention. Eco-friendly behaviors and initiatives can lead to happier employees. Our School of Nursing is committed to a sustainable and healthy work environment.
Description
We present an overview of the formation, evolution, and evaluation of the Office of Strategy and Global Affairs in the School of Nursing, which focused on informing our community about Sustainable Development Goals. In this presentation, we share three examples of sustainable operational excellence in our School of Nursing with an emphasis on protecting the planet. We provide lessons learned about aligning operational excellence with sustainable health goals and our future.