What is a Sustainability Champion?

So, you’re a Sustainability Champion, but what does that really mean? You’re responsible for influencing culture, motivating people to take action, and showing people how easy it is to be sustainable in their daily lives. Champions like you help change behaviours and engage people with sustainability by making your organisation’s goals real and relatable. But it’s not your official title, and you’re juggling so many other responsibilities, so how can you make sure that you’re staying motivated to empower your team? Let’s jump in.

Recognising Your Strengths

Perhaps you’re a sustainability champion, but you’re not a sustainability manager. That doesn’t mean you don’t have the skills to lead. In your ‘day job’ you might be a finance executive, so use find the real financial costs of wasting energy. Perhaps you’re the marketer and you can see consumers moving towards more sustainable products, use that to convince your department to get involved with sustainability. Even if you’re a general administrator, you have skills that got you in that role, so use them. Leading by example, staying creative, and persisting even when challenges arise are qualities that can inspire entire communities. Recognise strengths in yourself and use them to inspire others.

Building Your Skills as a Sustainability Champion

You already care deeply about sustainability, but the more knowledge and tools you have, the bigger your impact will be. Push for training, connecting with other champions, and learning how to adapt ideas to fit your organisation. Make the business case for sustainability and use that to get leaders on board with your strategy. Many businesses have learning and development funds to help their employees advance. Use that to improve your carbon literacy and help you make the case to your teammates.

Staying Motivated for the Long Term

Your commitment will make the difference between a side project and lasting culture change. While recognition is important, research from Trellis shows that intrinsic motivation (your personal connection to the cause) is what keeps you going. Keep track of the positive changes you inspire and share stories that show the real-world impact of your work. You’ll not only stay motivated yourself, but also inspire others to join you.

Connecting Across the Organisation

You’re not alone. There are plenty of people who share the same concerns as you and want to do something about it. They’re just waiting to be told how. You’re most powerful when you collaborate across teams and departments. By linking up with other champions, you can break down silos and help everyone feel ownership of your sustainability goals. Networks of champions can swap ideas, co-create initiatives, and build momentum together. Build a network, one department at a time and use them to get sustainability into their team’s daily life.

Making the Most of Support Structures

A good champion programme gives you a roadmap for success. There are some basic engagement campaigns that you can use to get you started, such as:

• Starting a competition to encourage behavioural change 
• Hosting lunch-and-learns, dispelling common sustainability myths 
• Making one day a week into a vegetarian lunch day
• Organising a company-wide clean-up day at a local park or beach 

That being said, if you want a real culture change, you can’t rely on a one-time campaign. Develop these ideas into a full strategy and programme. In our own programmes, we make sure you have the tools, clear expectations, and regular check-ins you need to keep moving forward.

Celebrating Your Wins as a Sustainability Champion

Your achievements deserve to be seen. Sharing them in newsletters, meetings, or even award submissions helps show the value of your work and encourages others to act. Recognition programmes like the Green Gown Awards, have been a great motivator for organisations to increase their sustainability efforts. This can work on a micro-level too. Even just sharing in your company Slack or Teams board how much energy you’ve avoided, or how many people have taken part in your campaigns can give the social credit you need to start a trend!

Take Care of Yourself

This is an uphill battle. There will be times when you want to give up, and when you feel like what you’re doing isn’t making a difference, but the important thing is that you’re doing something. Six out of ten sustainability professionals experience burnout because they simply aren’t getting the support they need. The only person that can look after you, is you! So make sure that you’re giving yourself the mental headspace to know that you’re doing the right thing, go for walks, meditate, allow yourself moments of unsustainability to enjoy the things that you enjoy, so that you can fight the big fight.

Using Digital Tools to Amplify Your Impact

With a Team Jump programme, you can log actions, track progress, and create friendly competition that gets the whole team involved. We can help you run challenges, share the results, and see the real-world impact of your work in numbers and in visuals as people share photos on the activity feed. This makes it easier for everyone to form lasting sustainable habits and embed sustainability into their culture.

As a Sustainability Champion, you are at the heart of change. By using your building your skills and connecting with others, you’ll help create a culture where sustainability is part of everyday life. We’re here to give you the tools and support to make it happen. If you want to take your champion journey to the next level, you can start by booking a free sustainability engagement health-check.