Engaging Employees to Create a Culture of Sustainability In Your Organisation

by Sophia Young, owner of Content Studio and HRHQ contributor

Over the past few years, sustainability has become more than just a hot topic or a buzzword. Consumers nowadays expect the brands and businesses they patronize or even simply interact with to be environmentally and socially responsible. To address this, a lot of companies talk extensively about sustainability. However, only a few actually walk the walk. 

Corporate sustainability management is critical for every business, but any effort on your part will be futile if not everyone in your company is on board. Sustainable strategies such as energy reduction all increase employee retention, productivity, and general engagement.

However, even though your employees care about the world’s sustainability, it can be a little difficult for them to operationalize sustainability goals. The issue is that not many businesses have found out how to connect their workers’ ideals and commitment to sustainability to their everyday work and operations. The gap isn’t in the why, but in the how of integrating sustainability.

For your employees to take part in your organization’s sustainability goals, it is important to revamp your work culture to engage them in your mission. Listed below are ways in which you can carry this out effectively:  

Put Your Goals Into Writing 

Policies express your company’s principles, clarify expectations, and help your employees make better decisions. Ensure sustainability practices by including social and environmental goals in your corporate values. 

For accountability, publish your “green” objectives on your website. Create rules and regulations as well as codes of conduct that will help you achieve your objectives. Last, incorporate “green” achievements into your yearly report.

Don’t forget to add these policies to your employee handbook! This is so that when you hire a new employee, they are more likely to engage in the company’s sustainability culture when they see it as part of their job description. This will also serve as a reminder to the trainer of the company’s commitment to a green culture.

Start At The Top

Put your senior people in charge of initiatives to emphasize the relevance of environmental and social obligations. Make sure that senior staff members are represented on company-wide environmental committees. You can also assign big tasks to the most senior operations person, such as creating plans to turn carbon neutral or conducting environmental audits.

Create a Dedicated Green Team and Designate Your Champions 

Of course, creating a green culture that really engages employees’ needs does not stop at executive leadership. Enthusiastic individuals from all levels and departments inside the company can take part and become major players in your company’s sustainability mission. This is less intimidating than having only your senior staff members aboard, which would prompt other employees to participate. 

Educate Sustainability and Company Goals 

It’s critical that your employees understand not just the notion of sustainability and the green culture that the company is attempting to develop, but also why the organization is focusing on it and how they plan to achieve it. 

The clearer the message, the more aligned and engaged the employee will feel with the company’s goal.

Welcome Observations and Recommendations 

Individuals will seek methods to incorporate sustainability into their everyday routines and business operations if they have the tools and resources to do so. This will eliminate any unwanted disruption of regular company practices and instead promote a gradual shift to a green mindset. 

Your primary goal here is to make employees feel that they can contribute to and influence corporate actions based on their firsthand observations. Let this discourse happen by letting employees feel that they are more than welcome to speak up. 

Hold Regular Meetings 

When implemented across departments, meetings will enable cross-collaboration across different parts of the company that may have different resources or knowledge of a problem. This creates an impression of permanence and directs responsibility for continuing concerns. 

Maintain a regular schedule of meetings, whether it’s weekly, monthly, or quarterly. This will help maintain momentum and participation.

Take Part In Your Local Community’s Initiatives

There may be some employees that are not interested in participating in your sustainability efforts from the get-go. What you can do is to participate in local community activities that may give them a sense of purpose. 

After successful participation in community initiatives, employees are more likely to participate because they can see tangible results. In any case, the goal is to achieve objectives that have an impact on your employees’ everyday lives outside of work.

Communicate Results and News Whenever Possible 

Keep staff informed on the company’s green and local initiatives, as well as the company’s overall sustainability goals. Concentrate on how these activities and initiatives are helping the environment, the company, and the local community. 

You can include general news on sustainability efforts and trends throughout the world. This can spark fresh ideas and lead to including every employee in your company’s sustainability effort.

We’re All In This Together 

Employers must make it obvious to employees that sustainability is not just a fad, but a responsibility shared by all businesses and individuals. The challenge here is not how you start your programs, but how you find ways to re-engage your employees on a long-term basis. 

Even the best-laid plans lose their luster with time, and any energy, carbon, or water savings suffer as a result. But one thing is certain: workplace sustainability programs would never thrive in the absence of employee participation.

About the author

Sophia Young recently quit a non-writing job to finally be able to tell stories and paint the world through her words. She can also easily kick ass with a thousand-word article about the latest marketing and business trends, finance-related topics, and can probably even whip up a nice heart-warming article about family life. Sophia also loves talking about fashion, weddings and travel