Employee engagement programme records one million positive actions
More than one million positive actions have been recorded by an employee engagement project which encourages workforces to carry out behaviours that boost sustainability and wellbeing.
The Jump scheme motivates employees to undergo activities such as energy saving and cycling to work. Clients include a number of top UK universities, borough councils and the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). According to Jump (Green Rewards), these organisations have collectively reduced energy usage by an average of 8% and sustainably travelled an average of 307,590km. Jump’s (Green Rewards’) co-founder Graham Simmonds described a positive step change in the behaviour change agenda. “We are seeing a definite shift amongst companies and universities with management teams taking a more serious approach to employee engagement in sustainability and wellbeing,” Simmonds said. “In recent years facilities managers have tended to focus on kit and infrastructure and now we are seeing a realisation that softer people-focused initiatives are also needed.”
Changing behaviours
Just under two-fifths of the FTSE100 now offer rewards and incentives to their employees for engaging in sustainable behaviours. One of these companies, RBS, has rolled out the Jump scheme across the UK and Ireland after a successful pilot led to a 5% average electricity reduction and 500,000 disposable cups being correctly recycled. Bournemouth University has also signed up after a six-month trial helped to reduce energy consumption in select departments by 14.6%. Other higher education institutions to join the programme include Swansea University, the University of Chichester, the University of Winchester and Brunel University. Companies looking to engage with employees on sustainability as a way of driving change are looking at innovative behaviour change routes that appeal to individuals. Some firms are mastering the art of individual persuasion. Sainsbury’s, for example, uses internal competitions to motivate its workforce on sustainability. Birmingham-based Aston University has taken a holistic approach, with the University singling out individuals as ‘Green Champions’, while also relaying information on what those Champions and entire departments can change to enhance reductions.
