Regardless of the industry your company works in, it’s important to make sure your business and your employees value sustainability. More and more companies are working on becoming more sustainable, but a great place to start is by also educating your employees. Show them ways they can be more sustainable at work and at home. Finding ways to cut back on waste at your company, in big and little ways, benefits everyone. Take the time to educate employees on the importance of sustainability at work and how you can all work together to achieve it.
Hold seminars
An easy way to try to educate employees on sustainability is through holding a seminar or similar to the basic six sigma experience, organize regular employee meetings. You can meet with and ensure the same information is distributed across the board. You could even make a series of seminars held once a month or every couple of weeks to highlight new information about sustainability or different ways to utilize it. Speaking with everyone at once gives people the opportunity to ask questions or share their own ideas.
Share useful information
If you want your employees to care about sustainability, make sure the information you’re sharing with them is actually useful. Think of what they can do to be more sustainable that requires minimum effort and share those tips. Offering information, such as resources to learn more, clear steps for sustainability, or general tips goes much further than simply telling them to do it.
Hang up signs
If you want to keep sustainability at the front of people’s minds, take the time to hang up signs around the office. Put reminders near light switches to turn them off and get multiple recycling bins. Share tips for reducing waste in the kitchen and other common areas. When your employees have steps they can take and reminders for sustainability in the office, you’ll see better results.
Send straightforward emails
If you’re having a recurring issue, such as lights being left on or too much waste being generated, try motivating your teams to participate in a purposeful way and starting active exchanges of information. Send emails with clear instructions on what the issue is and how it can be improved is usually not appreciated by an adult, it feels too patronizing.
Offer incentives
If you company can afford it, offer employees incentives. You could even go further than small steps in the office and offer incentives to people for things like walking or carpooling to work instead of driving alone. You could offer a bonus, give away gift cards, or offer extra PTO.