Module 1 Know your customer and market 4 hAnalyse
Every sound business in sustainability management begins with one clear customer and one clear problem. In São Paulo and the wider state, demand is real but crowded, so a small, well-described customer group wins before a broad one.
- In sustainability management: Customers want to cut cost and prove claims; start with one site and its bills.
- Write the customer in one sentence: a firm or city office. Add the place, the moment of need and what they use today.
- List five rivals or substitutes within reach. For each, record price, strength, weakness and how people reach it.
- Interview at least eight real customers with open questions. Record exact words, not your summary.
- Count the market in units: how many assessments could one area buy in a month? Use two public sources and your own count, then take the lower figure.
- Choose one first segment and say why the others wait.
Worked example. Weak: 'Everyone needs a measured plan to cut waste and emissions.' Strong: 'Our first customer is a firm or city office within 8 km of the centre, who today pays R$ 9.900 per assessment and complains about delay. We target 4 assessments a month by month three.'
Second worked scenario. Scenario: ten customers are interviewed for sustainability management. Seven say price, two say speed, one says trust. Question: which first message do you write, and which interview record backs it? Model answer: lead with the assessment price and speed promise, keep trust proof as the second line, and cite the seven price answers by date.
Activity. Write the one-sentence customer, a five-row rival table and eight interview records. Share them with a peer for a challenge round.
Standard to meet. Define a specific customer, build a rival table with prices, and trace every claim to an interview or a source.
Module 2 Rules, registration and data duties in Brazil 4 hUnderstand
Brazil asks every trader to be visible and accountable. Know which register, tax regime and sector rules apply before the first sale, and check each against the current official text.
- In sustainability management: Environmental licences and reporting duties apply; avoid claims that cannot be proven.
- Choose a legal form: micro-entrepreneur (MEI) only if your activity appears on the official MEI list, or a company registered with a CNPJ. Regulated activities need their sector authorisation first. Check the current limits and lists on the official portal.
- Learn the tax regime that fits your size and write down which taxes you will collect and pay, and when.
- Find the sector rules for sustainability management: licences, inspections, professional registers. List each with the office that issues it and the renewal date.
- Personal data of customers falls under Brazil's data protection law (LGPD). Collect only what you need, say why, keep it safe, and name who answers questions.
- Consumer law gives buyers clear rights on information, returns and complaints. Put your terms in plain Portuguese.
Worked example. Checklist for a new sustainability management trader: 1) legal form (CNPJ, or MEI only if your activity is on the official list); 2) city operating licence; 3) sector licence or register; 4) tax set-up; 5) privacy notice; 6) written terms. Each has an owner and a date.
Second worked scenario. Scenario: a neighbour says registration can wait until the first R$ 45.000 of sales. Question: what do you do? Model answer: do not delay; write the compliance table first, confirm the register, tax and sector licence with the official office, and start only where the table shows no open blocker.
Activity. Build your own six-line compliance table for your first location. Mark what is done, what is pending and who confirms it.
Standard to meet. Cite an official source for every line, assume nothing, and date every pending item. Local law always wins over this course.
Module 3 Design the offer 4 hCreate
An offer states what the customer gets, how well, by when and at what price. For a measured plan to cut waste and emissions, the offer must make the quality visible and the next step easy.
- In sustainability management: Offer a baseline, a target, a plan and a yearly report.
- Describe the core offer in three lines: what is delivered (a measured plan to cut waste and emissions), the standard it meets, and the time it takes.
- Add one proof for each promise: a sample, a test result, a guarantee or a customer record.
- Price from cost upward and from customer value downward, then pick a price inside both.
- Write a simple one-page terms sheet: what is included, what is extra, how to cancel.
- Create two options at most, so choice stays easy.
Worked example. Offer: 'A measured plan to cut waste and emissions, delivered within agreed time, checked against a written standard, price R$ 9.000 per assessment. Proof: a dated record the customer can check and sign. Changes or cancellation by written agreement before work begins.'
Second worked scenario. Scenario: a customer asks for a discount from R$ 9.000 to R$ 8.100 per assessment. Question: decide with numbers. Model answer: contribution falls from R$ 5.500 to R$ 4.600 per assessment; offer an extra of value (for example faster service) before cutting price, and accept only if the lower contribution still clears break-even.
Longer notes. Begin with a baseline for a small bakery, clinic or workshop: copy twelve months of electricity, water and waste bills into one sheet and read the meters on a normal day. Find the three biggest costs and the hours they run. Pick two or three actions with a short payback, such as efficient lamps, door seals on cold rooms or a sorting corner for recyclables. Compare each by cost, installation time and expected saving in kilowatt-hours. Report results in reais and in units, never in vague green words. Print no 'low waste' claim on a loaf label until the current environmental and labeling rules have been read.
Extra worked example. Your assessment of one client site is priced at R$ 9.000. Field work and reporting cost R$ 3.500 per assessment, so contribution is R$ 5.500, 61,1 percent. With 6 assessments revenue is R$ 54.000 and contribution R$ 33.000; after fixed cost of R$ 15.000 a month, profit is R$ 18.000. Break-even is 3 assessments. A client that cuts 18 percent of an R$ 8.000 electricity bill and saves R$ 560 in waste (worked-example figures, not market data) gains R$ 2.000 a month and gets the R$ 9.000 back in 4,5 months.
Activity. Write the offer card, the proof list and the terms sheet. Test them with three customers and note every point where they hesitated.
Standard to meet. Check that promise, proof and price are consistent, fit the terms on one page, and record three customer reactions.
Module 4 Run the work step by step 5 hApply
Good operations make results repeatable. For sustainability management, write each step so a new person could follow it on their first day, and measure each step.
- In sustainability management: Measure energy, water, waste and emissions monthly; use the same method each time.
- Map the process from first contact to paid and closed. Typical stages: enquiry, quote, preparation, delivery of the assessment, check, payment, follow-up.
- Name the key resource at each stage: a measured baseline. Note what happens if it is missing.
- Write a one-page standard procedure per stage: who, what, tool, time, record.
- Choose three measures: speed, quality (errors per 100) and customer rating. Review them every week.
- Fix the cause of a defect, not the symptom. Ask 'why' five times and record the answer.
Worked example. Stage record: 'Prepare. Owner: lead. Time: 30 min. Tool: checklist. Record: signed sheet. Defect found on 1 of 2 assessments last week; cause: missing check on a measured baseline; fix: add check at start, review next Friday.'
Second worked scenario. Scenario: of 6 assessments last month, 1 had a defect traced to a measured baseline. Question: what is the defect rate and what is your first action? Model answer: about 17 defects per 100; stop the cause (add a check at the start), correct affected customers, log the cause, and re-measure next week.
Activity. Draw the process map and write procedures for the two riskiest stages. Run each once and time it.
Standard to meet. Write procedures a stranger can follow, record weekly numbers for each measure, and trace one defect to a root cause.
Module 5 Safety, quality and risk 4 hEvaluate
The most serious risk in this field is claims that cannot be proven. A calm, written risk routine protects people first and the business second.
- In sustainability management: Greenwashing is the key risk; every claim needs data and a source.
- List ten things that could go wrong. Score each for how likely (1 to 5) and how serious (1 to 5). Multiply and sort.
- For the top five, choose a control: remove the hazard, replace it, guard it, train people, or use protective gear, in that order of preference.
- Write who does what in an emergency, and rehearse it once a quarter.
- Keep an incident and near-miss log. Near-misses are free lessons.
- Check that insurance and legal duties match the risk you actually carry.
Worked example. Risk row: 'Hazard: claims that cannot be proven. Likelihood 3, severity 5, score 15. Control: written check before each assessment, trained staff, log sheet. Owner: site lead. Review monthly.'
Second worked scenario. Scenario: a near-miss occurs: claims that cannot be proven nearly happened but no one was hurt. Question: what do you do in the next 24 hours? Model answer: make safe, record the event, ask the five whys, add or tighten one control, brief the team, and set a review date; near-misses count as lessons, not blame.
Activity. Build a ten-row risk register and a one-page emergency plan. Run a ten-minute drill with a peer and note two improvements.
Standard to meet. Rank controls by preference for the top risks, run the drill, and start the log. Where a regulation applies, follow the official rule.
Module 6 People, skills and service 4 hApply
People deliver the promise. Define roles, train to a standard and give feedback in the open.
- In sustainability management: Train site champions to read meters and log data.
- Write a role card for each person: purpose, five tasks, the standard for each, and who to ask for help.
- Train by showing, doing with support, then doing alone with a check. Record sign-off per task.
- Set service rules for answering customers: reply times, tone, how to apologise and fix.
- Hold a ten-minute team check each day: yesterday's problem, today's plan, one risk.
- Build a growth path: what a new person can do in week 1, month 3 and month 12.
Worked example. Training record: 'Task: process a complaint. Shown 2 May; done with support 4 May; done alone 8 May, checked: apology, fix, follow-up call. Signed by lead.'
Second worked scenario. Scenario: a new hire completes training but a customer complaint shows a skipped step. Question: whose gap is it? Model answer: first the system: check the role card, the training sign-off and the checklist; then coach the person and fix the document so the step cannot be skipped.
Longer notes. Name one champion in each team: a cook, a driver, a cleaner, a clerk. Give each a single weekly task, such as reading the water meter on Monday or emptying and weighing the sorting bins. Walk the premises together with the team and ask them to point at every tap left running, light left on and bin mixed up. Count rather than guess: kilograms of waste, liters of water, kilowatt-hours. Thank the team in the Friday meeting when a number improves. Tailor the message, since drivers control fuel and cleaners control detergent. Draft a one-page guide in plain words and revise it after feedback.
Extra worked example. In a worked example, not market data, one assessment takes 40 field hours at R$ 87,50, which is R$ 3.500, close to the variable cost of R$ 3.500. After training two assessors on a checklist, an assessment takes 34 hours, costing R$ 2.975. You save R$ 525 per assessment, or R$ 3.150 on 6 assessments a month. Training two assessors for 8 hours each at R$ 100 costs R$ 1.600, so the checklist pays for itself in 0,51 months of assessments.
Activity. Write two role cards and a training plan for one new hire. Role-play a hard customer conversation twice and review.
Standard to meet. Write role cards with measurable standards, show the sign-off steps in training, and write the service rules in plain words.
Module 7 Money: cost, price and break-even 5 hAnalyse
A business lives or dies on a few numbers. Know your contribution per unit, your fixed costs and the volume you need.
- In sustainability management: Show payback of each measure in months.
- Contribution per assessment = price minus variable cost. Fixed costs are paid whether you sell or not.
- Break-even units = fixed cost divided by contribution. Plan to pass it by a safe margin.
- Make a 12-month cash plan. Cash timing matters as much as profit: customers may pay late, suppliers may want money first.
- Keep money for business and money for the owner apart.
- Test the plan: what if sales fall by a quarter, or cost rises by a tenth?
Worked example. Worked example, all figures in reais: price R$ 9.000, variable cost R$ 3.500, contribution R$ 5.500 per assessment. Fixed cost R$ 15.000 a month. Break-even = R$ 15.000 / R$ 5.500 = 2,73, so 3 assessments a month. At 6 assessments a month, profit = R$ 5.500 x 6 - R$ 15.000 = R$ 18.000. These are teaching figures that belong to this example only; later examples and the case study use their own figures. Use your own.
Second worked scenario. Scenario: sales fall to 4 assessments a month. Question: what is the monthly result? Model answer: R$ 5.500 x 4 - R$ 15.000 = R$ 7.000; compare with break-even of 3 assessments and decide whether to cut fixed cost or raise volume first. Teaching figures only.
Activity. Build your own table: price, variable cost, contribution, fixed cost, break-even and a downside case at 75% of sales. Show it to a peer or mentor.
Standard to meet. Calculate correctly, give every figure a source or mark it as an assumption, and show a downside case.
Module 8 Grow, measure and renew 4 hEvaluate
Growth should follow proof. Measure, learn, then add; and keep returning to the customer.
- In sustainability management: Grow by publishing verified results and repeating the cycle.
- Pick one growth lever at a time: new customers, a higher repeat rate, a better price, or a new offer.
- Set one measurable target for 90 days, such as 'raise repeat customers from 20% to 30%'.
- Ask each customer how they found you, and record it. Spend more where the record shows results.
- Review monthly: numbers, defects, complaints, cash. Write three decisions each time.
- Plan the renewal of licences, equipment and skills a year ahead.
Worked example. 90-day plan: 'Lever: repeat customers. Action: follow-up call after every assessment. Target: repeat rate from 20% to 30%. Check: weekly count. Review date: day 45 and day 90.'
Second worked scenario. Scenario: you can add 2 assessments a month by one of two levers: a follow-up call to past customers or a price rise of R$ 900 to R$ 9.900. Question: how do you choose? Model answer: test the cheaper reversible lever first (the call), measure for 30 days, and only then try the price change, so you can tell which one worked.
Longer notes. Record monthly use of energy, water and materials, plus the weight of waste sent to landfill. Divide each by output, for example liters per assessment report produced, so a busy month does not hide real progress. Compare against the baseline year and set the next target only after the last one is met or explained. Put sites side by side and copy the habit of the best one. Review the plan yearly and retire actions that stalled. Say openly which targets you missed. Say 'reduced' only where your own meter readings show it, and read the current reporting and claims rules before printing a figure.
Extra worked example. The proposal counts are worked-example figures, not market data. You send 15 proposals a month and win 6, so conversion is 6 / 15 = 40 percent. A visit to a past client lifts wins to 8, or 53,3 percent. Two more assessments add 2 x R$ 5.500 = R$ 11.000 of contribution. Profit rises from R$ 18.000 to R$ 29.000. On the same fixed cost, revenue climbs from R$ 54.000 to R$ 72.000 once past clients are visited.
Activity. Write a 90-day plan with one target, three actions and a review date. Present it in five minutes and take questions.
Standard to meet. Set a measurable, dated target, break the actions down small enough to start this week, and put the review date in the calendar.