Sustainability in the workplace isn't simply an impressive buzz phrase. This kind of corporate social responsibility is attractive to customers, rewarding for staff – and lures in potential new employees and builds strong industries.
In Wythall, Birmingham, the Phoenix Group spent last year focusing on cutting down their use of paper. Now it is planting 1,000 oak saplings thanks to a new partnership with the Heart of England Forest – just 15 minutes away from the office.
"We appreciate how much paper we use," says Lucy Symonds, corporate responsibility manager, "so we thought it would be really good to replant some trees for a future legacy."
With 600 employees on the Wythall site, and 1,200 across the company, Phoenix also wanted to cut down on staff travel to the office and to meetings, and has been encouraging remote working and investing in teleconferencing facilities. These initiatives have had a profound effect on staff as well as the environment.
"In 2013, for the first time, we included corporate responsibility questions in our annual engagement survey," explains Symonds. "Sixty seven per cent of staff said they take personal responsibility to support corporate responsibility; 75% said they believe it's important to support the local community. Corporate responsibility is becoming embedded culturally."
And she says it's not just appreciated by current staff: "I think being a socially responsible employer certainly contributes as an attraction too. We do a lot of promotion about the community and environmental partnerships we're engaged with, and it shows we offer opportunities and engage our staff along the way. We're not all about work."
Business mobility specialists Alphabet, with centres in Leeds and Hook, Hampshire, is leading the way in encouraging organisations to add electric and hybrid vehicles to their company car fleets through its AlphaElectric initiative.
The scheme not only makes environmental and business sense – helping to build a strong UK sustainable transport industry – it is also something which is appreciated by employees.
As part of the initiative, Alphabet is keen to show companies that the switch to a green transport fleet is an environmentally aware action that is valued by staff.
Mark Gibson, head of marketing and business development, says: "We are a practical commercial business, and just saying, 'Take an electric vehicle because it's great for the environment,' is not good enough. It needs to have a proper thought process behind it and support; that's what AlphaElectric does."
