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ByLeo Victor

How to help your employees go green

Companies are learning that green business practices can not only improve employee morale but also improve the corporate bottom line. More and more, consumers are tracking the environmental “health” of their goods and services providers. Those companies that consistently demonstrate environmentally sound business practices are likely to see their profit margins improve as a result. Your employees are critical to ensuring that your customers know how your business is looking out for their planet. These five tips might help you to get, or keep, your staff on the “green” path to a healthier, and more profitable, work environment.

Set up a company recycling contest

Whether it’s an appliance or your favorite shirt, life’s stuff wears out or breaks down. Hold an annual contest to see who best recycles or “environmentally appropriately” discards their old stuff. Have the company participate as the good corporate citizen that it is. At the end of the year, tally the value of the resources saved from the landfill and celebrate how well your people worked together toward the environmental goal.

Gather community partners

Ask your workers to inform you when they encounter a community resource that is also environmentally minded. If appropriate, encourage all your employees to use those services and commend the business for sharing your “green business” goals. Some companies have developed strong, collaborative partnerships with neighboring enterprises, improving the outlook for both companies.

Reduce paper usage

Each year, 42 percent of the global wood harvest is used to make paper. That’s a lot of deforestation, a condition that threatens planetary oxygen levels by reducing the number of the planet’s oxygen producers — trees. Inexpensive thumb drives can be used to store and share documents, spreadsheets, images, video, music and anything else your team needs to communicate its work. Encourage sharing thumb drives, not printing paper.

Reduce electricity consumption

Electricity production causes significant air pollution, as generators transport and consume fossil fuels as their power sources. Have your employees connect all their devices to a single power strip and switch it off every night. Scan the office for, and turn off electricity vampires — devices that draw power even when they are not in use. And encourage your staff to use energy saving appliances at home while you show your commitment by using them at work.

Reward and record your employee’s successes

Public acclaim does great things for employee morale. Track overall environmental goals on a chart in the staff break room and celebrate when your company reaches interim or annual goals. Post the names of your staff’s best recyclers in a place where they, and customers, can see it. Include your environmental successes in annual and semi-annual reports. Create a culture that expects and rewards responsible management of the planet’s resources.

Enterprises that espouse and implement environmentally sound business practices attract consumers who both need their product or service and also appreciate their corporate consideration for the planet. Your employees are critical to ensuring your customers understand your company’s commitment to the environment. Help them excel in the endeavor by identifying and rewarding their “green” activities.