In today’s blog, we’ll be sharing strategies on how businesses can effectively engage their employees to create a resource-efficient culture.
When considering ways to enhance a company’s environmental performance, it's easy to assume that significant capital investment in green technologies, like solar panels or electric vehicles, is necessary. However, some of the most impactful ways to reduce energy and resource consumption can be achieved by cultivating an environmental mindset and harnessing the motivations of your workforce.
Why You Should Create an Environmentally Friendly Workplace?
Here are some of the advantages:
Employees will feel more engaged with the business.
You can achieve quick, easy cost savings with minimal to no investment.
It helps showcase your green credentials to customers and stakeholders.
It may have positive impacts on other areas of your business, such as your quality policy or social value initiatives.
With consistent reinforcement the potential cost savings can be significant. On average, businesses can see savings of 5-20% on their bottom line through simple and straightforward actions. For many organizations, this can be as easy as reminding staff to turn off equipment, implementing a first-in/last-out policy, properly using recycling bins, or promoting video conferencing over business travel.
Consult with the team
Engaging with and seeking input from your staff is more effective than simply giving orders. Employees should have plenty of opportunities to contribute, such as through formal consultations, surveys, suggestion boxes, team meetings, or an open-door policy with senior management.
For example: You could create an in-house ‘environmental committee’ made of representatives from all levels of the organization. This committee can meet regularly to track progress and brainstorm new ideas. Meetings can be scheduled monthly or every three months, depending on your preference.
Secure management support
It’s essential to capture management’s attention when proposing any employee engagement initiative. After all, if management isn’t interested, why would the staff be? When presenting the idea to management, emphasize how taking action can lower costs, enhance operational efficiency, reduce risks, ensure regulatory compliance, or provide the business with a competitive marketing advantage.
What Drives Employee Motivation?
An environmentally conscious workforce is a great start, but to truly change behaviour, it’s important to understand what drives people. This motivation can often be linked to their job roles and interests. For instance an employee in the finance department might be motivated by the prospect of reducing costs, while others may not be as invested in this aspect, as they aren’t the ones footing the bills.
Employees in sales might be driven by the opportunity to stay ahead of competitors and utilize environmental credentials to differentiate themselves. Others may be motivated by the chance to lead innovation through the use of new technologies and gadgets. Additionally, some will naturally be inspired by their desire to protect the environment and ensure a healthy planet for future generations—taking pride in working for an employer who shares and supports their values.
A useful way to categorize people is by classifying them as ‘settlers’, ‘prospectors’, and ‘pioneers’:
Settlers are driven by safety, security, and a sense of belonging. They tend to follow the crowd and will be more likely to participate if they see influential leaders and peers getting involved.
Prospectors are motivated by success, self-esteem, and the recognition of others. They respond well to competitions, KPIs, rewards, and financial incentives.
Pioneers are driven by ethics, innovation, and new ideas. They want to be actively involved and contribute to campaigns in order to feel engaged and valued.
Understanding the motivations of each group early in the consultation process is key to tailoring your approach effectively.
How to deal with resistance
In every workplace you will inevitably come across some resistance from members of staff. This can come in a variety of forms, the common ones being:
I’m too busy to do this right now
It’s inconvenient/will make my job more difficult
It’s not my responsibility
The key is to uncover the underlying cause of resistance, understand what drives the individual, address their concerns, and adjust your strategy accordingly.
Effective communication is essential, and it should be clear, consistent, and frequent. This can be achieved through team meetings, newsletters, online platforms, email footers, payslips, notice boards, or even posters and stickers.
Regularly assessing feedback and progress, and adjusting your approach if engagement begins to decline, is crucial. Sometimes the signs are obvious, like noticing lights being left on again—this is when it's time to reinforce the changes.
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