In the past, businesses often focused solely on profitability, taking action only when it directly benefited their bottom line. Unfortunately, this short-sighted approach often left sustainability as an afterthought. However, the landscape is changing. To ensure long-term success, businesses must implement effective employee sustainability initiatives. Engaging your workforce in these efforts is not just good for the planet—it’s essential for achieving your environmental targets.
But how can you ensure employees are on board? Here are five proven strategies to help.
1. Create Understanding
A lack of clarity often prevents individuals from embracing change. Research highlights that ambiguity around goals and actions is a key barrier to behaviour change (Steg & Vlek, 2009, Martin et al., 2017).
To overcome this, clearly define your organisation’s purpose, values, and sustainability strategy. Map out your long-term mission and ask: Why does our organisation exist? When employees see how their role supports this mission, they’re more likely to engage in your employee sustainability initiatives.
Additionally, invest in sustainability training to ensure everyone has a shared understanding of climate issues. A robust framework, such as Jump’s Behaviour Change Model, can help guide this process.
2. Create Opportunity
Make sustainable actions easy and visible. Studies have shown that external cues, like clear signage and accessible resources, encourage positive behaviour (Steg & Vlek, 2009). One way to achieve this is by forming a Green Team of staff volunteers to lead employee sustainability initiatives.
Green Teams can organise regular updates through meetings or newsletters, ensuring sustainability stays front and centre across the organisation. They can also promote collaboration, gather feedback, and recruit new members. By making these efforts visible, you’ll encourage engagement from the entire workforce.
Explore how Jump’s How It Works platform simplifies sustainability engagement for businesses.
3. Create a Reason
Many people fail to see how sustainability affects them personally or why their actions matter. Address this by connecting employees’ actions to tangible outcomes. For example, showcase how their efforts have saved waste, conserved energy, or reduced emissions. Using platforms like Jump, you can translate these impacts into relatable metrics, such as trees saved or homes powered for a day through employee sustainability initiatives.
Additionally, provide context for these metrics. Explain how reducing waste impacts the environment and society at large. Making sustainability visible and meaningful can motivate employees to stay committed. Learn more about how Jump can help you achieve this on our Engage Employees page.
4. Create Incentives
Rewarding sustainable behaviours is a proven method to drive engagement. Research reveals that companies offering incentives see a 79% success rate in achieving their goals when rewards are well-aligned (Think Smart). Incentives can include financial rewards, team lunches, or extra time off.
Gamification is another powerful tool. By gamifying your initiatives, you make participation enjoyable while fostering empowerment and behaviour change (Taylor & Wolmarans, 2021). Jump’s platform integrates gamification features to track progress and reward success, helping organisations create lasting habits and drive employee sustainability initiatives.
5. Create a Community
Building a sense of community can significantly boost engagement. Allow employees to participate in team volunteering days focused on sustainability, such as conservation projects. This not only fosters collaboration but also strengthens their connection to the organisation’s sustainability goals.
For a global perspective, consider joining the B Corp community. With over 6,200 companies worldwide, B Corps focus on addressing critical challenges like climate change. Becoming a B Corp shows employees that your business is serious about making a positive impact—an increasingly important factor for today’s workforce.
How Jump Can Help with Employee Sustainability Initiatives
At Jump, we specialise in designing and delivering effective <strong>employee sustainability initiatives</strong>. Our platforms combine gamification, tangible impact tracking, and team collaboration to drive meaningful change.
- Join our mailing list to receive expert tips on employee engagement in sustainability: Sign Up Here.
- Request a demo to see how Jump can support your organisation’s goals: Get Started.
By taking action today, your business can lead the way in sustainability while building a more engaged and motivated workforce. Let Jump help you turn your sustainability goals into measurable success with our employee sustainability initiatives.
