Inspiring your Employees to Go Green
January 18, 2009 by Allison Boyer
Filed under Business
Recently, Burt’s Bees made the news after an innovative exercise in which their employees donned hazmat suits and waded through two weeks’ worth of company garbage. They worked to sort out everything that could have been recycled, and what they found was an annual savings of, potentially, $25,000 or more if they are more careful with there trash.
Undoubtedly, when you’re wading through old lunch remains and dirty tissues, you’re going to sit and take notice more so than if you just get a memo about the need to go green.
So what are you doing to inspire your employees? Sometimes, a memo just doesn’t cut it. Here are some suggestions:
- Have prizes for departments that meet green goals. For example, maybe the employees who make the biggest effort to go green are the people chosen to go to conferences or to telecommute once a week.
- Keep a recycling chart (or energy usage chart or whatever) posted that tracks individual progress. Trust me, people don’t like to see their name on a board as a loser!
- Have very real consequences for not following green policies. At Burt’s Bees, if you are caught not recycling three times, you face disciplinary action.
Show, don’t tell. That’s what the dumpster diving achieved. You don’t necessarily have to go to those lengths, but the more hands-on you get, the better!
What are you doing to help your employees remember to go green?
