Lights left on in the office at the end of the day, paper wastage and unnecessary use of technology all contribute to a company having a bigger carbon footprint.
Many businesses would like to be energy efficient, but it is not always easy to get staff to buy into it when everyone is busy enough just doing their job. Some companies have realised that to successfully be energy efficient, the key is to influence employee behaviour.
Taking simple actions, such as switching off lights when not in use, can save small businesses over a hundred pounds a year, according to E.ON. Educating your team about the consequences of poor energy habits – or posting the successes of internal campaigns – is a big part of improving things, as is laying down the ground rules on what should be done and by whom. People need to be encouraged to switch things off, and are sometimes not sure if they’re “allowed” to do it. E.ON has a package of help on their website, which includes downloadable posters for different sectors as well as advice companies can use around their sites to inspire and educate colleagues.
Part of the fabric
For Sue Grant and Jill Coomber, the founders of PR and digital marketing agency onechocolate, being a green company was never in doubt. They say being energy efficient is part of the fabric of the business. “To us it means minimising the carbon footprint of our company without compromising on the quality of our services,” says Coomber. “We take pride in being an environmentally friendly business. Being office based and needing lots of tech to do our jobs, it is key that we are energy efficient.”
They ask staff to commit to this strategy from the day they join onechocolate; green policies are outlined in the staff handbook that new joiners sign and their induction outlines the reasoning behind the policy. Transparency is key. “We have a green plan in place that is renewed every year. Within this we set company improvement targets and assess whether there are new things we can introduce to continue being a responsible company,” explains Coomber. “The targets and our progress towards them are shared with the entire UK team during regular, full company meetings.”
Tackling everyday behaviour
Some companies find that to change the bigger picture, challenging the everyday behaviour of staff is vital.
Ernest Owusu-Bempah from Pentland, says the company introduced a pledging system at Lacoste, which is part of the Pentland Group, after analysing existing practices. “We wanted to enhance the culture by engaging the whole business and ensuring sustainability is at the forefront of decision making and everyday practice,” he explains. Lacoste implemented a system through DoNation, which encourages people to make pledges to change behaviour.
“We felt it was a great way to tackle the everyday practice aspect. The pledging system works by setting up teams, lead by the members of a cross-functional sustainability group,” he says. “Members of the teams were decided by a hat draw and they were then encouraged to make a pledge on our custom web page. The team with the most confirmed pledges won a prize, with weekly updates of the leader board emailed out to the business. Staff were encouraged to stick to their pledges for two months.”
He says staff responded to the challenging system with enthusiasm. “The teams responded competitively. They were encouraging each other and calling each other out when a pledge wasn’t adhered to – for instance taking the lift when a pledge was to take the stairs,” says Owusu-Bempah.
According to Simon Wheeldon, founding member of Cloud Apps, turning the strategy into a game can help to implement new policies. “Many companies find it difficult to engage their employees in their sustainability goals. They struggle to appropriately communicate their intentions or find a way to make their teams participants in their efforts,” he explains. “By turning the process into a game and rewarding employees when they hit a milestone, it creates a positive, fun atmosphere within the team, nudging the workforce to generate even more and better green activities.”
The green charter
Along with keeping a check on the daily energy usage in the office, onechocolate has implemented a raft of policies to keep influence behaviour among staff. They include a rule to use public transport and keeping this to a minimum by organising conference calls instead of meetings. The office assistant is the designated green champion of the office and is there to monitor green behaviour.
But Coomber and Grant have taken it a step further and introduced a green charter, which is renewed every year. “It encourages employees to take responsibility and accountability for meeting as well as promoting the green values of onechocolate communications,” says Coomber. “Each individual re-signs our charter annually after a refresher – usually a fun quiz – on the charter’s wording at our annual company kick off day.”
Wheeldon believes that many employees are already keen to make a difference but unsure how to do this. “Organisations need to realise that their team is already willing to make a positive impact on important issues within the social and environmental arena. They need to understand how to better align their team’s behaviours with the organisation’s needs. Finding the right way to channel these good intentions is paramount to achieving top results for the business as a whole,” he says.
He suggests showing the team the impact their personal activities have an on the organisation’s targets can incentivise employees to try harder.
Coomber meanwhile says a good way to initiate change is by giving thought to the simple and non-costly ways of being energy efficient. “Start by asking people for their ideas to get their buy in to the initiative and make sure senior management are on-board too,” she says. “Next demonstrate the difference this makes. Once they can see they can make a difference, and the little changes they are making matter, they appreciate the importance of what they are doing.”
She believes being a green company has paid dividends on all levels. “It attracts clients who want to work with responsible companies. It also helps us keep costs down and has encouraged a greener way of life for all of us, outside of work too,” she says. “While it is true that when running an energy efficient business, initial costs may be higher, if wisely chosen they soon generate return on investment.”
Content on this page is produced to a brief agreed with E.ON, sponsor of the Efficiency hub.
