Companies ranging from large corporations to small, local business are all making an effort to be green. Sure, as Wal-Mart’s former CEO pointed out, a lot of that is just because We’ve talked previously about how it can be harder for people to be green at work than it is at home. So how do you get employees, who don’t have the same passion about life in the office as they do about life at home (unless you work at TGB. Right?) to make the extra effort that can come with going green? Here are some tips.
First, you have to live it! You need to make sure that green is lived in the office the same way that you hope that your employees are all speaking your brand! That starts, obviously, with you! You can’t tell people to reduce paper when you yourself print a ream a day! Make sure all of the tools are there. You’ll need to stop buying plastic utensils for the break room, even though the financial reality is that real flatware, which sometimes walks away, may be a bigger line item in your budget. When possible, buy organic and fair trade office snacks. Like anything else, the more your employees see green in the office, the more they’ll absorb it. And, not surprisingly, they’ll start to be happier.
Make it something to bond over! There are lots of ways that you can do this. Set up “committees” or “teams” that pair employees who wouldn’t normally interact together with the charge of promoting and monitoring areas of your green effort, like paper reduction, recycling and energy use. They’ll get to learn about elements of being green, feel invested and responsible, and you’ll get the benefit of cross team communication in your company! You can also set up competitions between departments for who can achieve certain green milestones, which also can lead to tons of office fun.
The carrot. And, of course, there’s always the popular tool of incentivizing. From going as extreme as making it a factor in determining bonuses to simply having a “green employee of the month” recognition program, give your employees a chance to be recognized for their efforts to be green. You get the added benefit of showing everybody that you’re serious enough about green initiatives that you’ll give something up to reward people for achieving them!
As employers, there’s a great opportunity to impact not only your business but the individual lives of your employees by taking green initiatives in the work place seriously. Lead the way! Your employees will follow, because it’s a cause worth following!
