20 Ways to Promote Sustainability in the Workplace

  • Jun 10
20 Ways to Promote Sustainability in the Workplace

Sustainability in the workplace has become something of a hot topic in recent years, though businesses have been conscious of it for decades. Loosely speaking, sustainability refers to the preservation of natural resources as businesses operate. However, it goes beyond that, touching on environmental, economic and social aspects as well.

Essentially, sustainable businesses seek to minimize the negative impacts they make on the world. Instead, they opt for various solutions that allow them to leave as small a footprint as possible. That way, they can continue operations far into the future without fear of harmful effects.

Of course, not every business necessarily cares about sustainability in the workplace. Some blatantly spit in the face of environmentalism by falsely claiming to champion sustainability. However, this greenwashing – as it’s called – can land those companies in hot water with activists and the law alike.

You can’t force a company to care about sustainability, but there are plenty of reasons why it’s important. So, if you’re looking to really give your business a more green-oriented outlook but don’t know where to begin, don’t worry. We’ve got you covered below.

Methods for Promote Sustainability in the Workplace

1. Make It a Company-Wide Practice11. Use Eco-Friendly Packaging
2. Make Sustainability Enjoyable12. Recycle Resources as Possible
3. Reward Employee Efforts13. Purchase Sustainable Supplies
4. Prioritize Sustainability Early14. Assess Your Byproducts
5. Create a Formal Plan15. Donate Instead of Trashing
6. Keep Track of Your Progress16. Use Space Efficiently
7. Forge Corporate Partnerships17. Reduce Energy Consumption
8. Join an Existing Initiative18. Go Digital Where Possible
9. Involve the Public19. Use Eco-Friendly Vehicles2
10. Source Materials Locally20. Implement Remote Working

1. Make It a Company-Wide Practice

First and foremost, one of the best steps toward promoting sustainability in the workplace is making it a company-wide initiative. It’s easy enough for executives to adopt different policies that help their company to operate with environmental consciousness. However, the issue is most executives don’t work on the ground floor. They aren’t “in the trenches”, so to speak. So, even if they recognize the importance of sustainability, they can’t monitor every practice on a personal level.

Moreover, even if they could, heavy oversight would likely make employees feel micromanaged. Instead, organizational leaders should take steps to help workers recognize the benefits of sustainability. That way, they aren’t trying to force a program or initiative that few others understand.

In essence, if you can demonstrate why employees should care, you’ll have a far easier time actually turning the business around. After all, you’ll have company-wide buy-in, which automatically makes the efforts more achievable in the long-term.

Now, this is obviously easier said than done. Some sustainability practices seem uncomfortable and disrupt the normal flow of the workday. So, while some employees might seem eager to adopt a new paradigm, others might strain against it. But don’t give up – continue showing your support and understanding. Listen to their frustrations so you can effectively and compassionately discuss solutions.

2. Make Sustainability Enjoyable

One of the best ways to achieve company-wide buy-in for a new sustainability initiative is to make it exciting. Sometimes, the changes can feel overwhelming, so start small and work your way up. That way, you don’t make employees who fear change feel like the world has crumbled beneath their feet. But moreover, actively seek out opportunities to show employees that it can be fun.

These sorts of activities don’t have to be immense – just enjoyable things sprinkled into the new normal of work life. For example, instead of using disposable coffee cups in the lounge, have employees bring their own mugs. This automatically instills a sense of home and normalcy that workers might find comforting. But moreover, introduce something positive about it. Have contests to see who can bring the most unique mug, and reward that individual in a small way.

The point is, you can likely come up with creative ways to make a push for green business more enjoyable and less daunting. If you can achieve this, you might find the transition a bit easier for the organization at large.

3. Reward Employees for Their Efforts

Achieving wider acceptance of sustainability throughout a company might require rewarding those who participate. And if the effort is truly important to you, this shouldn’t come as a major setback. Some individuals might struggle to get-on-board with new changes, but motivation through rewards can help. For example, if one employee constantly pursues green initiatives with vigor, you might give them a half-day off. Others who see that might be inspired as well, and then begin putting more effort into the project.

Of course, you’ll have to be careful, because the goal isn’t to make employees expect a reward. Instead, you need to walk a careful line that entices them into a position of care. After all, the objective is to achieve wider buy-in, not create a Pavolvian system. So, make sure you manage your rewards wisely and that they, themselves, remain sustainable.

4. Make Sustainability an Early Priority

Some organizations might be a little too late to take advantage of this tip, but for new startups, make sustainability a priority from the outset. In fact, making it a part of your overall business model helps incorporate vital practices that will keep you competitive long into the future.

It’s much easier to keep environmental consciousness a core competency if it’s built into the organization from the start. That way, it becomes a larger aspect of your corporate culture, something employees know to expect and champion rather than fear and disparage. That way, you don’t come to a crossroad later on where you have to decide between a painful shift and compliance with new regulations and laws.

5. Create a Formal Plan

Now, whether you’re a new startup or a decades-old organization, part of success in sustainability is drafting a formal plan. If you simply throw out a few initiatives and expect them to run effectively, they probably won’t. And even if they do, you won’t have any metric for measuring your changes.

Instead, you need to come up with both short-term and long-term SMART goals. Determine how you aim to achieve those objectives, help employees become aware, and set out with a plan in-mind. If you do anything less than that, you might as well start over from the beginning.

Naturally, it’s difficult to draft a plan for something you know relatively little about. So, creating this sort of document will likely take a good deal of research. But in the end, knowing exactly how you aim to achieve results will allow you to determine whether your efforts are paying off or not. And if the latter, you’ll have the opportunity to course correct before you waste more money and time on a failing model.

6. Keep Track of Your Progress

In the same vein as planning, sustainability in the workplace requires a good deal of tracking and measurement. You never want to start a business project without any metrics to measure your success, and the same goes here. After all, some of the changes your organization makes can become expensive, and if they aren’t actually helping, you might be wasting your money for no reason. And similarly, activities can require a time commitment. So, if you fail to measure, your employees might be spending precious minutes or hours for no return.

Exactly how you decide to measure your sustainability performance will probably look somewhat different from other businesses. Because, understandably, your organization isn’t the same as others. So, don’t worry if the way you track changes doesn’t exactly match up with others. As long as it brings in accurate information that allows you to measure your success or lack thereof, you should be covered.

7. Forge Corporate Sustainability Partnerships

So far, the majority of what we’ve discussed has involved your organization alone. However, sustainability in the workplace isn’t an individual or company issue – it’s a worldwide endeavor. And to that extent, it helps to have ongoing partnerships that spur you toward success. For example, find another business in your area with similar goals, and help hold each other accountable to being better.

These sorts of corporate partnerships allow you the opportunity to build economic ties while jointly pursuing goals that benefit both. In fact, the organizations you partner with don’t have to be anywhere near the same industry you operate in. For example, a coffee shop and a thrift store next door might have nothing in common apart from existing on the same street. However, they could jointly work together to achieve better green practices, and in doing so, drive additional business to each other.

So, while these partnerships should be altruistic in that they’re meant to help keep you accountable, they also have direct benefit.

Different workers picking up trash in a park and contributing to sustainability in the workplace

8. Join an Existing Initiative

More than likely, you’ve heard of some green initiative that a business has implemented. And we’re here to tell you that sustainability doesn’t require reinventing the wheel. Sometimes, the best thing you can do is jump into an existing initiative, whether it’s nationwide or local, and participate. The challenge might be specific to your region or a generic objective.

For instance, businesses in your area might have a specific plan in place for recycling and sustainability at corporate events. But in a more general way, many organizations around the world have committed to going paperless. The point is, whether you jump into something specific to your location or implement a wider practice, you don’t have to come up with it yourself. Find initiatives that make sense to your company and learn how to get started with them.

9. Involve the Public

Whether you join an existing initiative or start one of your own design, it helps to involve the public in your efforts. Especially those living directly within the vicinity of your organization. That way, the impact of your sustainability efforts surpass the boundary of your company and benefit the larger community. In such instances, you might challenge your city to reduce their energy consumption over a specific period of time. Alternatively, you could invite community members to a large event to educate them on the importance of going green.

Regardless how you choose to handle this aspect, involving the public in your campaigns helps align them with your vision of environmentally-conscious enterprise. While sustainability in the workplace matters, understanding how to take it outside the walls of your office is likewise vital. And sustainability in any amount benefits the world at large, it only makes sense to get those outside your company involved and active.

10. Find Locally-Sourced Materials

Local sourcing for materials used in manufacturing is one major way businesses can promote sustainability in the workplace. After all, using resources from the same area where the business is based provides many environmental benefits. For example, reduced emission from vehicles, since it doesn’t require cross-country transportation. Additionally, it requires less packaging, since it doesn’t have to go through different channels, eliminating additional waste.

However, this practice also surpasses the environmental and has positive impacts economically as well. By investing in resources from local providers, you boost the economy through support of local businesses. This might lead to job creation and employment opportunities, creating a thriving community. Thus, if you have the option of local sourcing for raw materials, it’s a concrete way of contributing to both environmental and economic sustainability.

11. Use Eco-Friendly Packaging

If you sell any sort of physical product, you’re likely going to have to use packaging of some sort. Especially if you ship your goods anywhere other than where they’re produced. Unfortunately, this process often creates a good deal of waste, particularly with the packaging itself.

That’s why it’s advisable to start using eco-friendly packaging, such as recycled boxes, envelopes, tapes, and even stretch wrap. You can also purchase various biodegradable packing wraps and wadding to protect your items as they move.

Of course, this might initially take more funding than usual with general, non-environmentally beneficial packaging. However, the long-term gains are often worth the cost, since it can make customers more loyal and help you stay ahead of legal regulations. Furthermore, various incentives from suppliers might help reduce the overall cost anyway, making this sort of investment extremely attractive.

12. Recycle Resources Where Possible

Naturally, recyclable material far exceeds that used in the shipping process. So, rather than limiting your business’ use of such resources, determine where it’s possible to begin using eco-friendly options and begin implementing them.

In truth, you might be surprised at how many types of resources align with environmental concerns. Just to name a few:

  • Cardboard
  • Cork
  • Straw
  • Wood
  • Wool
  • Bamboo
  • Energy
  • Plastic
  • Paper

And the list could go on. Of course, you’re business processes likely look different from other companies. So, determining what products and resources you can recycle will naturally be an intensely internal process. However, it’s worth taking time to determine how you can contribute to better sustainability in the workplace through this option.

13. Purchase Sustainably-Sourced Supplies

Beyond recycling your own supplies after use, it’s great practice to begin purchasing sustainably-sourced materials as well. Whether from local providers or not, you should consider the methods those companies use – not simply your own. In essence, sustainable companies should purchase from other sustainable companies. Because at the end of the day, if your suppliers aren’t acting with environmental interest, the products you make aren’t entire sustainable either.

Sometimes, it might seem unavoidable to purchase from non-sustainable providers. However, you still need to research the various options available to ensure the most environmentally-conscious choice.

14. Assess Your Byproducts

An interesting aspect of sustainability in the workplace you might not have considered is use of byproducts for alternative means. In other words, discovering new ways of using materials created as “waste” during the manufacturing process. Sometimes, what’s thought of as trash has additional positive applications if you take the time to think through various solutions. Of course, this might not always be the case. And it will vary heavily from one business and industry to the next. However, always remember to take stock of your outputs and recognize where they can play a productive part.

Even if you end up unable to use material byproducts, chances are another company can. This could lead to potential partnerships and even new revenue streams, instead of waste ending up in the landfill. So, make sure you also evaluate opportunities for byproduct use internally and externally to your own organization.

A glass globe sitting on the ground next to a small tree sprouting

15. Donate Instead of Throwing Away

In a similar vein to assessing the byproducts of your various processes, you should also consider donating unnecessary resources instead of throwing them away. Of course, some things are, simply put, trash. If they don’t work or become completely ruined during manufacturing or other processes, you don’t necessarily want to give them away. But other things, like hardware and equipment, can be donated when they’ve run their useful life to your organization.

For example, if you decide that you need a system upgrade and purchase a whole set of new desktop computers, don’t just throw the old units to the dump. Leverage your connections to find a recipient who could benefit from them, even if they need upgrading. That way, you keep from wasting precious resources and clogging up congested landfills with more reusable items.

As with most items on this list, what exactly you can give away will vary from one industry and company to another. And it might take a bit of effort and research to determine the most appropriate places for your used equipment to go. However, it’s one great method for promoting sustainability in the workplace and simultaneously aiding another organization.

16. Use Space Efficiently

Now, efficiently utilizing your space might not be the first thing that comes to mind for creating sustainability in the workplace, but let’s parse it out. Particularly if you’re a manufacturer or any sort of organization that requires storage space, optimizing that area can help reduce the amount of space you actually need. Perhaps this is an extreme example, but better use of storage space might mean the difference between needing one or two warehouses. And with more space comes greater:

  • Energy consumption
  • Utility bills
  • Overhead costs
  • Impact on usable real-estate

Of course, other impacts follow those listed here. But the point is clear – by utilizing your space optimally, you can reduce your overall effect on the environment while minimizing your own costs. Furthermore, utilizing space efficiently helps pay more attention to other issues in sustainability, such as waste removal, recycling, and so on. So, while this issue might not always come to mind immediately, it’s worth your close attention.

17. Reduce Your Energy Consumption

Sometimes, it might be difficult to understand how seemingly intangible aspects of sustainability like energy consumption impact the environment. After all, depending on the generation method, electricity is a renewable resource. It’s far better for the environment than other sources of energy powering devices and equipment. However, generation methods still require other processes that can impact the environment. For instance, gas emissions, water use, and so on.

Perhaps we could belabor this point, but there’s no need. The fact stands that energy consumption does still impact sustainability, no matter whether the resources are renewable. So, learning how to optimize your processes and expectations for usage can help immensely with fostering a more environmentally-friendly enterprise.

18. Go Digital Where Possible

More than likely, you’re already familiar with this push into greener practices. Many companies now opt to go entirely paperless, and rather than sending physical bills or letters, they utilize email. This is one way they’ve transitioned into more of an environmentally-conscious culture. After all, it reduces paper waste while also implementing more effective communication methods. So, it’s a win-win scenario.

Furthermore, digitization of company records helps reduce the amount of physical space taken up by paperwork and other important documents. This allows organizations a greater amount of usable space for other aspects of their business. Again, transitioning to more of a digital, paperless format benefits both the company itself as well as the world around it.

19. Purchase Environmentally Friendly Vehicles

Reducing carbon emissions is one primary way your company can help develop a better sense of sustainability in the workplace. And one admittedly expensive but effective method for this is purchasing more environmentally-friendly corporate vehicles. Now, this doesn’t necessarily mean you have to go out and sell your brand-new corporate fleet. But obviously, vehicles have a lifespan, and eventually they wear out. So, whenever this occurs, consider replacing them with others that are rated for better environmentalism.

20. Implement Remote Working Policies

Besides the fact that many employees might enjoy the opportunity to choose remote work, it can lead to decreased environmental impacts. After all, when employees can work from home, they don’t have to continue the daily commute. That releases less carbon emissions and preserves natural resources. Of course, your company might not be able to move to a full-time remote schedule. And perhaps you really do have a need for office time. However, even if you can partially implement such a policy, it might be worth considering.

Start Deciding How to Promote Sustainability in the Workplace

We’ve covered quite a few tips for how you can implement better environmental consciousness in your organization. But one of the worst things you can do is feel like you have to make dozens of drastic changes all at once. If you do this, you’ll probably burn out or alienate employees who fear shifts in their day-to-day processes. Instead, make these changes over time, ensuring you do them correctly and effectively.

In other, simpler words, don’t bite off more than you can chew.

And if you need help figuring out how to make some of these alternatives possible for your company, make sure you seek out other resources that can guide you. For example, if you’ve never touched remote work before but feel like it could help, take our course that covers various tips for working from home.

Making these changes can seem daunting, but in the end, they’ll contribute to greater sustainability both for your company and the world at large.





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