Many of us are making the switch to more sustainable behaviours in the face of the climate emergency. We are opting for plant-based diets, becoming more mindful of our waste, choosing more sustainable travel options and being conscious about our environmental footprint.
This change has come about with a wave of campaigns that are raising awareness of the climate emergency. Fridays for Futures and Extinction Rebellion have raised the profile of what it means to be a climate activist – with more and more people looking to make more sustainable switches.
Climate campaigns
Campaigns such as Veganuary have taken off over the last few years, with over 250,000 people in the UK pledging to adopt a plant-based diet for the first month of the year. People are choosing more sustainable travel when considering holiday destinations; either choosing locations that are local or can be accessible by other means of transport, such as train travel.
Whilst we are ever more conscious of these decisions to become a climate activist in our personal time, how does this translate to the workplace? How does our working environment affect the sustainable behaviours that we develop at home? How can we ensure positive wellbeing for everyone – whether that’s for students at university, NHS care workers, or corporate employees?
Climate activist for businesses
International businesses have been in the headlines at the start of 2020. Microsoft has pledged to go carbon negative by 2030. Unilever has committed to source 100% of its energy across all operations from renewable sources by 2030. This week the UK water industry has also announced plans to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2030.
Whilst these headlines are great for sending a positive message about environmental action, what does this mean for the employees that work in these sectors?
According to a survey by Metro Rod, over a third of employees say they feel no responsibility to behave in an eco-friendly way at work, whilst 45% said that this responsibility should sit with senior management. Encouraging more sustainable behaviours in the workplace requires empowering your people. How do you do this? A good place to start is recognising those small actions (that quickly add up) and celebrating sustainability successes.
Jump for climate activists
Jump is working hard to bring sustainability and wellbeing to the top of the agenda. Over the last year, over 3 million positive actions have been recorded through Jump’s engagement programmes. This has resulted in over 765 tonnes of avoided CO2 emissions which has been achieved all through the small actions. If that’s choosing meat free one day a week, opting for a more sustainable commute, or remembering to bring in a reusable cup. We want people to know that these actions speak loudly when we work together.
Head over to our case studies to find out more about the work that we do.
