Jennifer Myers
Globe and Mail Update Published on Friday, May. 21, 2010 5:44PM EDT Last updated on Friday, May. 21, 2010 6:12PM EDT
It’s easy to be green in good times, when a company’s coffers are full. But what happens when the economy tanks and business begins to slide? Does the green focus fade?
Turns out that as the buzz surrounding green continues to grow so, too, does the corporate commitment to eco-friendly practices.
More than half of U.S. employers now have a formal green program in the workplace, according to a recent survey – up from 43 per cent a year earlier.
What’s more, 79 per cent of Canadian chief executive officers say that their company’s investment into climate change was either unaffected or increased during the recession, according to another global poll of chief executive officers in 52 countries by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.
Further, 10 per cent of companies added environmentally focused jobs in the last year, and another 10 per cent plan to add green jobs in 2010, according to a Careerbuilder.com survey of 2,700 hiring managers.
“Absolutely. we’re strides ahead of where we were even three or four years ago in terms of interest. We’re seeing a huge appetite for information from companies,” says Randi Kruse, manager of community building at the David Suzuki Foundation.
That interest can be attributed in part to employees. Ms. Kruse says employees, especially Generation Y workers who grew up with a belief in protecting the environment, are increasingly looking to align themselves with companies that share those values.
And savvy companies are quickly learning it pays to respond. “It’s a competitive advantage. And companies that aren’t participating will quickly be left behind,” Ms. Kruse says.
Special to The Globe and Mail
Cost savings: 94 per cent
Community goodwill: 82 per cent
Improved stakeholder perception: 59 per cent
Source: Buck Consultants, 2010 survey of 100 U.S. businesses
1. Mindless printing resulting in increased waste (40 per cent)
2. Leaving lights on (37 per cent)
3. Lack of recycling bins (33 per cent)
4. Excessive air conditioning in summer and heat in winter (29 per cent)
5. Excessive use of paper products, like cups and plates (27 per cent)
6. Co-workers not recycling (27 per cent)
7. Co-workers not printing double-sided when they can (24 per cent)
8. Too many cover sheets when faxing or printing (24 per cent)
9. Having to store paper copies of existing electronic files (24 per cent)
10. Leaving computer on and not powering down when going home (23 per cent)
Source: Harris Interactive for Xerox, 2008 study of 1,569 U.S. and Canadian office workers
Recycling: 47 per cent
Using less paper: 43 per cent
Controlling lighting: 40 per cent
Powering down computers at the end of the day: 29 per cent
Purchasing office supplies made from recycled materials: 25 per cent
Source: CareerBuilder.com survey of more than 2,700 U.S. hiring managers
Some companies go beyond the recycling and reduction in paper use in their efforts to go green. Here are two that have won recognition for their eco-friendly workplace programs.
BAYER INC., Toronto, 500 employees
Green initiatives: Under a program called “Green Matters” that Bayer started in 2007, it invested about $70,000 on a green roof, planting a 10,000 square-foot area of its head office rooftop with vegetation designed to absorb carbon dioxide, provide insulation and reduce the company’s reliance on heating and air conditioning. This year, the firm added a “white roof,” painting another 6,000 sq. ft. of its rooftop white in order to reflect heat, says Ernie Springolo, Bayer’s senior country representative, material science, who oversees Green Matters.
The company has also implemented a zero-waste policy, which will see Bayer divert 80 per cent of its head office waste from landfills by the end of 2010. So far, the firm has successfully diverted about 54 per cent of waste, Mr. Springolo says.
Bayer also hosts an annual wildflower planting day, in which staff and community partners plant native wildflowers in the firm’s “Outback”, four acres of natural woodlands adjacent to head office that includes walking trails, marshes and rest areas for staff enjoyment.
Payoff: Mr. Springolo says Bayer is currently doing a cost/benefit analysis on its green roof, but he expects the firm to come out ahead on reduced heat and air conditioning. The company also wins when it comes to its reputation. “Millennials are our target audience for new hires and they want to see a green aspect, they want to see companies who have a good environmental record. What many of our employees are saying is ‘That’s why I chose to work at Bayer.’ ”
Green initiatives: In 2007, ISL struck a sustainability committee that developed a plan targeting five specific areas where the company could improve its sustainability record: carbon footprint, paper, energy, waste and operations and purchasing, says ISL president and chief executive officer Rodney Peacock.
The company recruited 25 green-minded employees from its eight offices to steward its sustainability efforts, and allows these champions to spend up to 10 per cent of their time each day researching environment-related projects, attending green conferences and networking with other green businesses, says Terry Myles, ISL’s sustainability co-ordinator.
In addition to implementing such basic measures as paper recycling and energy-efficient lighting, ISL was Edmonton’s first corporate office to divert its waste to the city’s compost facilities. Last year, the firm started a car-share program, purchasing a Smart car for employees to use during the workday to travel to off-site meetings.
This year, the company brought in The Natural Step, a non-profit that helps businesses become more sustainable, to help it craft a strategic sustainability plan and educate both management and employees through a number of workshops and seminars. To date. nearly all of the firm’s 260 employees have completed The Natural Steps’ sustainability 101 online course.
The payoff: “Besides knowing it’s the right thing to do, when you align your corporate philosophies with your employees’ values, you get happy people who do great work. This is a happy place to be,” Mr. Peacock says.
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Green jobs
The talk in governments on both sides of the border is to create green jobs for the new economy. It’s a focus of employers, too. One in 10 companies added environmentally focused jobs in the last year, and another one in 10 plans to add green jobs in 2010, according to a survey of 2,700 hiring managers by job site CareerBuilder.com.
Where is opportunity knocking? Here are the five hottest green jobs in 2010, according to Eco Canada, a Calgary-based non-profit staffing and HR consultancy specializing in environmental careers:
1. Conservation officer
2. Waste-management specialist
3. Aquatics/marine biologist
4. Environmental assessment analyst
5. Meteorologist
Many companies start out on going green with a big bang, but fall short when it comes to keeping up the momentum. Here’s how to stay the course to green success:
1. Get employees involved. Gather green-minded staff together to brainstorm ideas and champion initiatives.
2. Make a commitment. Give staff the time and resources they need.
3. Set targets. Measure performance.
4. Communicate your progress. Let staff know how they’re helping to effect change. Be upfront with any challenges you face and how you intend to overcome them.
Source: Deborah Carlson, David Suzuki Foundation, Vancouver and author of Doing Business in a New Climate.
53%
Portion of organizations that have workplace green programs.
86%
Portion with a dedicated leader for their green efforts.
Portion of office workers who say their buildings are environmentally friendly.
30%
Portion who say the lights in their office buildings shut off at a set time each evening.
27%
Portion of people who work in office buildings that can automatically sense when people are in a room and adjust lights and/or temperature accordingly.
14%
Portion of office workers who said their buildings use solar energy or other renewable energy sources.
70%
Portion of office workers who say they regularly conserve resources such as water or electricity.
Portion of workers who believe they are personally greener than their employer.
77%
Portion who say it’s important for them to have an employer that was going green in a significant way.
Portion of Canadian CEOs that indicated their investment into climate change was either unaffected or increased during the recession.
70%
Portion of Canadian CEOs will focus on preparing for the effects of climate change initiatives in 2010.
Has your workplace gone green?
32
Percentage of respondents who said yes
68
Percentage of respondents who said no
Globe and Mail online poll of 3,836 respondents
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