When the mandate keeps getting reassigned.
Functional teams book this when a sustainability mandate moves between departments and no team takes technical ownership. HR says it is Procurement’s problem. Procurement says Finance. Finance says Operations. The mandate stops moving.
A Departmental Training gives one function the technical detail and the decision framework to own its piece. The training is built on your operations, not on generic content.
The method: the Future‑Fit Prioritization Protocol.
Lorne uses the Future-Fit Business Benchmark as the technical core. Each Break-Even goal that belongs to the function is scored on three dimensions:
Scored 0 to 3
Difficulty
How hard is it to reach the goal from where you are today?
Scored 0 to 3
Impact
What is the cost to society and to your ecosystem if you do not?
Scored 0 to 3
Risk
What is the risk to business resilience and revenue if you do not act?
Scoring follows the FFBB Implementation Guides, the standard Future-Fit Accredited Advisors use. The output is a Functional Heat Map: a priority-ordered view of which goals need resources now and which can wait.
The four clusters.
HR and Procurement
People and Supply Chain
Social resilience and Scope 3 transparency. HR teams apply the Future-Fit metrics for Living Wage, Employee Health, Fair Employment Terms, Non-Discrimination, and Employee Concerns. Procurement teams learn supplier audits beyond Tier-1, focused on ethics, water use, resource dependencies, and Sustainable Procurement (BE04).
R&D and Marketing
Product and Growth
Circular design and product transparency. R&D works on Design-for-Future-Fit, covering Product Repurposing, Usage Harm, and Product GHGs (BE15 to BE19). Marketing learns the data requirements for sustainability claims that hold up under Honest Product Communications (BE15).
Finance and Legal
Capital and Governance
Non-financial risk. Finance audits Tax Responsibility (BE21), the alignment of financial assets (BE23), and the place of sustainability risk in corporate planning. Legal works on Lobbying alignment (BE22) and Business Ethics (BE20) as technical disciplines, not statements of intent.
COO and Facilities
Net Zero Operations
Operational mathematics. COOs and Facilities Managers work the calculations to cut GHG emissions (BE06), harmful pollutants (BE05), and physical waste (BE07) at source, using the FFBB Implementation Guides for each goal.
The training is built on your operations, not on generic content.
What you leave with.
On the day
- A Functional Heat Map: your priority goals scored on Difficulty, Impact, and Risk
- A Data Readiness Audit: the metrics and data sources needed to benchmark current performance
- A Departmental Roadmap: a 90-day implementation plan for the highest-priority goal
- The working language to speak Future-Fit to other departments
After the session
- A 30-day follow-up pack tailored to your cluster
- FFBB Implementation Guides for your priority goals
- An optional 30-day debrief or coaching call with Lorne
What this is not.
This is not a full benchmark of your operations. Accurate scoring across every site and contract needs data your team gathers after the session. The Training gives you the method, a worked example, and a directional view of where you stand. Anyone who expects a final benchmark on the day will be disappointed. Anyone who wants to know how to do the benchmarking properly will be equipped.
Format and investment.
Length
A full day per cluster. One cluster per Training. Book several to cover the organization.
Mode
In-person preferred. Virtual works for distributed teams.
Group size
Eight to twelve functional leads. The head of function and the two to four reports who own the data and the decisions.
Pre-work
A 90-minute Future-Fit Crash Course, sent two weeks ahead.
Location
Delivered in Shanghai. International delivery across Asia-Pacific.
Investment
Confirmed on the Strategy Call.
Common questions.
Can we run all four clusters at once?
Yes, as a sequenced program over one quarter, one cluster per fortnight, with a final cross-cluster synthesis session. This is how the most operationally serious organizations engage. We scope it on the Strategy Call.
What if our department spans two clusters?
Many do. Sustainability teams often need parts of Capital and Governance plus Net Zero Operations. Procurement often needs parts of People and Supply Chain plus Product and Growth. We design hybrid Trainings when needed.
Do participants need prior Future-Fit knowledge?
No. The 90-minute Crash Course brings every participant to a working baseline. Lorne sets the in-session depth based on the room.
About Lorne.
Departmental Training is led by Lorne Michael Cousins. As an Accredited Advisor of the Future-Fit Business Benchmark, he is qualified to apply the method to client operations. Twenty-five years inside corporate sustainability across China and the Asia-Pacific, as environmental auditor, sustainability consultant and leadership strategist.
Book a Strategy Call.
We help you pick the right cluster to start, or scope a sequenced multi-Training program.