It's all about YOU.

If you haven't noticed, sustainability is all about YOU. If you aren't getting engaged, motivated, or inspired, you're not paying attention. The messages are out there. They can be confusing at times, but sometimes they're pretty simple. For example, one company’s latest fair trade coffee advertising is pretty good. A simple message printed on some of their cups promoting the effect that YOU, their consumer, is having on their goal to purchase 100% fair trade coffee. They're giving you credit for making it happen. That type of messaging creates awareness and has the potential to generate an emotional response to drive behavioral change.

It's showing up in business too. YOU as part of the collective that makes a difference in the workplace and is a company's most important asset, can influence sustainability. Beyond individual workplace initiatives (which can be very effective), businesses - as consumers - are demanding more of their suppliers to ensure that they are receiving sustainable goods and services. It's not just about feeling better that we're doing something for the environment or our fellow man, it's also about ensuring that these goods and services will continue to be available and cost effective – i.e. can be sustained/renewed over time.

The choices YOU make on a daily basis are some of the most powerful influences on the road to sustainability. We must strive to relay that message and its benefits to everyone, every day.

The Eco-Pragmatist: 5 Steps to Promote and Leverage Grassroot Efforts

In the drive toward developing more sustainable business practices, many companies are leveraging internal, grassroot efforts.  However, many MORE companies are not - and they are missing out on a major opportunity.  The desire and energy is there.  Today.  Inside your company.  So how do you harness it?  Here are five steps to take:

1. Leverage an existing venue, such as an Employee Council Meeting - OR create a new venue, such as a brown bag lunch session.
2. Promote the initiative with open, transparent communication from Senior Leadership on why it's happening - part of the why SHOULD be to help develop more sustainable business practices.  This communication should touch on a definition of sustainable business practices to make sure the general context is set.
3. Build awareness in more depth around sustainable business practices and why they are important from the organizational to the individual level.
4. Brainstorm.  Provide a framework for the brainstorming - or don't.  There are no wrong answers in brainstorming, and for these grassroot sessions there's really not a wrong way of facilitating it.  Ideally, when brainstorming is complete, the group should attempt to map the various options against two scales: 1) How tightly does it align with organizational strategic goals, and 2) How 'individually actionable' is it.  The items ranking high on both dimensions are your 'low hanging fruit'.
5. Incent the right behaviors.  Intrinsic rewards are going to be most effective here - it's all about recognition: company newsletter, email from leadership, and/or a personal 'nice job' from the CEO.

- by Randy Hale, The Eco-Pragmatist