Making moves to be greener in 2021
Nowadays, all businesses have a responsibility to think about the environment and use sustainable business practices. This is both a legal and moral obligation. However, it can sometimes be difficult to be more environmentally friendly when your employees aren’t on board. This is why part of your going green plan should focus on increasing employee awareness. Read on to discover some top tips for doing so.
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Place recycling posters around business premises – If you don’t have recycling procedures in place, you should. This does not only relate to basic recycling policies, i.e. putting different materials in different bins, but you also need to consider recycling concerns in direct relation to your business. For example, warehouses and factories use a lot of pallets. Once a pallet starts to lose its quality, it’s important to engage the services of experts in pallet recycling so that they can create a new pallet from your discarded one. It’s important to ensure that all employees are aware of this and that they know what to do once a pallet is cracked, weak, or damaged.
- Start tracking important metrics – One of the best ways to ensure that your employees care more about sustainability is by tracking their performance. Tools like Norstar are ideal. There are many tools available today that will enable you to track your employees’ travel-related carbon footprint with ease. You could even consider implementing a recognition program whereby those who are making a good effort will be recognised for their sustainability. You could hold this on a quarterly basis.
- Ensure there are constant reminders – It is also important to make sure that there are constant reminders around the office that will encourage employees to take the correct course of action. For example, you can place small stickers on computers and peripherals so that people are constantly reminded to turn them off when they are not being used.
- Be more open with your employees – One of the biggest challenges when it comes to sustainability awareness is that employers expect their staff to care when they don’t give them the full details. You need to explain why sustainability is important, the damage of existing actions, and how making changes can make a massive difference. It is also wise to conduct a waste audit and to include employees in the process.
- Send newsletters on sustainability – It is also a good idea to send your workforce monthly emails regarding sustainability. This could include a link to your company’s latest sustainability report. It could also include useful and interesting content for your employees to read. After all, if you make this more interesting, your employees are going to be more engaged.
- Make sure your goals are evident – How can you expect your employees to act in the best interest of your business and the environment if they don’t know what they are supposed to be working towards? You need to make your sustainability goals and priorities evident. Don’t only verbal reiterate these, but have posters printed and place them around your premises.
