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Most organizations want to be more environmentally friendly, but the success of green initiatives depends on the level of local employee support and commitment to changing the way they work. As a manager, there is a great deal you can do to engage your team with green issues and help your organization become more sustainable. This article outlines some practical suggestions you can use to encourage your team to adopt more sustainable working practices.
Ask Your Team for Their Input
Rather than jumping on the latest green bandwagon, take a moment to consider the views of your team. The best way to get support for green initiatives is to find an issue that everyone feels strongly about, and the whole team can get behind. Consider introducing a sustainability suggestion scheme or notice board where people can submit environmentally friendly ideas for the whole team to discuss, prioritize and tackle. You could also organize a team brainstorming session to identify ways to become greener.
Start Small
Although you and your team may have lots of great ideas about how to become more sustainable, it is important to start with small, achievable goals. Begin with simple projects that have a relatively high likelihood of success, such as:
- reducing and reusing printing paper, e.g. by encouraging double-sided printing
- recycling packaging such as plastic cups and glass
- ink and toner cartridge recycling
- reducing energy use by turning off lights, computers and other office equipment such as printers and photocopiers when they are not in use
Starting small will help you gain additional support and credibility for bigger projects such as car sharing and home-working schemes.
Strike Up a Bit of Competition
There is nothing like a bit of healthy competition to help raise awareness and spark your team’s interest in green issues. You can improve participation by making things fun and enjoyable for your team. For example, you could ask other teams to get involved in setting up league tables to monitor environmental performance, and award prizes to the team that recycles the most or consistently switches their equipment off.
Within your team, ensure that the people who make efforts to improve the sustainability of your working practices are recognized, e.g. by using fun incentives such as certificates, mugs or stickers.
Practice What You Preach
Show your team you are serious about green initiatives by setting a positive example for them to follow. Your team will take their cue from the importance you place on green issues, so help to create a greener working culture by demonstrating your commitment to sustainability.
Make sure you are not guilty of unsustainable working practices such as forgetting to turn your lights and computer off or unnecessary printing. You might also offer to car share, use public transport or cycle/walk to work (where appropriate).
You should play an active role in your team’s green efforts and encourage people to point out examples of poor sustainability, not only amongst themselves but also where you can make improvements. This helps to get everyone involved and encourages individuals to take responsibility for their actions.
Make Sustainability Part of Everyday Life
As a manager, there is much you can do to embed sustainability into your team’s day-to-day working practices. For example, you could start by making sustainability messages part of your recruitment literature and marketing messages to improve your organization’s attractiveness to potential recruits.
You could also make green issues part of the induction process for new employees by outlining your team’s commitment to environmental issues and explaining where they should put recycled materials and reusable paper. You could also consider allowing your team to work remotely and encourage them to organize virtual meetings to cut down on travel costs wherever possible.
Identify an Environmental Champion
You may find it useful to appoint an environmental ‘green’ champion within your team to help you motivate and track the progress of the team’s environmental improvements. Having an environmental champion means that employees have someone to discuss their ideas and suggestions with. A green champion can also act as the organization’s environmental conscience, ensuring that environmental issues are always raised and addressed. The role can also have a practical focus, for example, by monitoring travel expenditure, organizing remote meetings or co-ordinating car sharing.
Communicate The Outcomes
To prevent environmental issues from gradually slipping down the business agenda, keep momentum and enthusiasm up by regularly communicating with your team and highlighting their successes. You could use regular email updates, memos and presentations to let your team know how they are doing.
If members of your team are participating in a particular project, think about giving them a slot to showcase their involvement at the next team meeting or highlighting their achievements in your organization’s newsletter or bulletin. This not only provides a platform to raise awareness of environmental activities but also provides a means of recognizing employee efforts.
