Creating motivation for sustainability in the company

Sustainability in companies is not realised through technical innovation or management systems alone. It requires people who make sustainable day-to-day decisions and behaviours in the company on a daily basis. Understanding and motivation for sustainability is needed to scrutinise unsustainable practices and make suggestions for improvement. When a company takes on the challenge of embarking on a sustainable development path, the questions arise:

How do I motivate my employees for sustainability?

And:

What good approaches and positive examples are there to get employees excited about sustainability?

We want to explore these questions and present practical approaches.

Contents

• How do I create motivation for sustainability in the company?
• Our 15 examples: Measures and approaches to get employees excited about sustainability
• Take time, give time, allow time
• Set the right topic focus
• Conclusion and further contributions

How do I create motivation for sustainability in the company?

Motivation is already intrinsically present in some people. Seemingly without much effort, these people are always well informed and motivated to take care of sustainability in their day-to-day work. They do their research, proactively contribute ideas for improvement and take extra time. In this way, they find more environmentally friendly or socially positive alternatives for the company.

However, it is more typical for motivation to be awakened first. This is definitely possible, but it requires a few prerequisites.

Requirements for motivation:

• Understanding in favour, what sustainability means and where the connections to everyday working life are. Here, it is important to recognise the significance of sustainability issues for your own company or to know where your own company has a relevant influence on environmental, social and societal aspects. "Breaking it down" to the department or daily work tasks helps to make the big word sustainability tangible and applicable.

• Resourcesto be able to engage with new topics and thoughts. This includes Time and budget for the realisation of sustainable ideas. If you are under constant stress, you will have no capacity for new tasks. The constant battle for every euro also slows down initiatives and is at odds with trying out different approaches or learning new behaviours.

• KnowledgeWhat are the levers for sustainable action in the company or which rules of thumb can be used for sustainable decisions? Checklists or comparative figures can help here, so that you don't have to analyse the exact effect of a measure in every professional situation, but still have orientation.

• Exchange and opportunity to ask questions are important for reflection or for queries in the event of uncertainty. Like any new topic, the implementation of sustainability also brings with it resistance or previously unknown hurdles. Sharing ideas with others in a similar situation helps. Experts provide support through their outside perspective and make it easier to quickly find sustainable solutions, which facilitates continuous progress.

• Working environment and a corporate culturewhere sustainability is promoted and the commitment to it is recognised. What lies behind a Corporate culture of sustainability we have already HERE described in another technical article.

These aspects lay the foundations for motivation for sustainability in the company. It also consolidates existing motivation and strengthens the company members who are already committed.

Our 15 examples: Good measures and approaches to get employees excited about sustainability

The basic requirements are now known. In line with this, we have Exemplary approaches and possible measures compiled.

Creating an understanding of sustainability and a connection to everyday working life

• Motto of the month: Each month is organised around a theme. Saving water, reducing packaging, social responsibility in the supply chain with business partners, etc. Employees are made aware of the topic in a short briefing at the beginning of the month and are then asked to note down for a month where they recognise points of contact and opportunities for improvement in their day-to-day work. After one month, the results are collated. Employees can now see the many connections and initial solutions to the selected sustainability topic.

• Competition for sustainable behaviour: In the example, in the first month, the waste produced in the office is collected in a way that is clearly visible to each department (e.g. with bin bags). In the next month, an attempt is made to avoid as much waste as possible. The team with the highest percentage reduction compared to the previous month wins. Of course, you can use more than just rubbish as a measure here. You could also use electricity consumption, tonnes of CO2 saved or people supported through fair procurement as a competition parameter.
  
• Eco-mapping: On the floor plan of the department, on the factory premises or along the production line, employees are asked to mark weak points and potential for sustainability during a tour. This can, for example, focus on environmental issues such as electricity, paper, material consumption, waste heat, etc. Such a mapping can also be carried out along social aspects (social mapping). This includes questions such as where stressors and health hazards such as noise, dust and dangerous situations lurk or where social interactions are enabled or inhibited. Mapping raises awareness of where sustainability issues are present in the working environment.

Resources

• Agenda item in strategy meetings or team meetingsSustainability is a regular topic and a fixed item on the agenda at meetings. This shows employees and managers that sustainability is important and promotes enthusiasm for it. If there is the opportunity and time to talk about it, the space opens up to regularly address obstacles or opportunities for sustainability and resolve them at decision-making level. This allows for regular, constructive and structured consultation on ethical issues relating to upcoming strategic decisions, current problems with energy-saving projects or planned activities for social responsibility in the company.

• Sustainability events: Sustainable action days with impulses and workshop elements create a period of time to deal with specific issues in a targeted manner and outside of everyday working life. Examples include specialist days with training and practical elements. Also a Workation or a weekend, for example as part of a Global Goals Jamsare possible. Here, the participants work creatively on formulated challenges for the company.

• Innovation budget: A small (!) project outline is used to apply for a sustainability budget to implement small changes in the immediate environment. Eco or social mapping, for example, is a good pool of ideas for this. This is a low-threshold way of promoting pilot solutions that can be transferred to the entire company or other locations if successfully implemented.

Knowledge

• Green board: Information about sustainability in the company is regularly publicised on the information board for employees (notice board).

• Internal expertsOnce the sustainability process has been initiated, true sustainability experts will develop in every company over time. These experts can be invited to share their knowledge and instruct other colleagues in internal training sessions. Alternatively, they can report on sustainable solutions from their specialist area in a video.
  
• Bites of knowledge: Use the company app or your own social media channels to spread discussions, surveys or snippets of information about sustainability. These mini-learnings can also be interactive, such as calculating your own CO2 footprint. Another option is to intersperse sustainable knowledge snippets in the internal newsletter.
  
• Bites of knowledge - now literally: During the joint lunch break or coffee break with colleagues, one person prepares information or an insight relating to sustainability. How to turn sustainability into a conversation during the break.

Exchange and opportunities to ask questions

• Sustainability Channels: Open a channel in the company's own communication tool or open a group on social media where you can post questions and suggestions about sustainability in the company. Either the swarm of knowledge provides answers or there is a responsible person, e.g. a manager. CSR- or sustainability officer who researches answers.

• Stammtisch Sustainability: Those responsible for sustainability come together in a relaxed atmosphere with an after-work drink. They can bring along their own questions, innovative approaches or success stories. The participants are often in a similar situation and can therefore offer each other advice and motivation. The exchange provides new impetus for the implementation of sustainability and helps to overcome setbacks and resistance. There is no fixed agenda, but participants are regularly invited to attend. The reunion of familiar faces, who are nevertheless allies for the sustainable cause, increases trust and the desire to exchange ideas.
  In larger companies or groups, these can be the sustainability officers from different departments or locations. For small companies or SMEs, the regulars' table group can be organised via chambers (IHK, HWK etc.) or an industry association. The regulars' table can of course also take place virtually.

Work environment and corporate culture

• Green Nudging: With a behavioural analysis perspective, it is possible to observe where non-sustainable behaviour is promoted and where sustainable action is hindered. To change behaviour, the "Green nudging" approach should be applied. Green nudging means adapting people's environment or workplace so that they automatically act more sustainably. Simple examples of nudging towards sustainability are Setting double-sided printing as standard; offering covered bicycle parking right outside the entrance or always placing organic fruit and fairtrade products at handle height in the company canteen.
  The procedure as an interactive measure is as follows: The participants are sensitised to nudging with a mini training session. This is followed by a two-week search for sustainable and non-sustainable nudges in each department or along production processes. The participants then collate everything, exchange ideas and implement the sustainability nudges they have found in their working environment.

• Strong role models: If the leadership, i.e. the team leader, management or executive board, takes an ambitious approach, this motivates employees enormously to adopt sustainable behaviour themselves. For example, if the Management Board announces that it will no longer use domestic flights from now on in favour of environmentally friendly business mobility, this sends a strong signal to all company employees.

• Sustainability resolutions: You can, of course, set strict guidelines that contribute to the company's social or environmental objectives. A more participatory approach is to encourage employees to make their own resolutions. This is done, for example, in the annual appraisal interview with the open question of which resolution the person would like to pursue as a contribution to one of the relevant sustainability topics. In this way, employees themselves engage with their own sustainability efforts. They then pursue a self-determined and self-defined project.

As you read, you will no doubt have noticed that we have categorised the 15 examples according to the motivational principles mentioned at the beginning to provide a better overview. However, the examples shown are rarely clear-cut and often have an effect on several points at the same time. A measure can contribute to understanding, simultaneously impart knowledge, enable an exchange or represent a favourable element for a sustainable corporate culture.

Take time, give time, allow time

Particular attention must be paid to the available resources. Above all, the time allowed is often a sticking point. On the one hand, it must be emphasised that the process towards sustainability does not work overnight, but requires staying power. One week of action or two workshops are not enough. It needs to be stabilised. The change towards more sustainable behaviour or learning new patterns of action also takes time.
In addition, working time must be made available for this, as, for example, attending the regulars' table on sustainability or researching a knowledge snapshot is also an effort. If it is perceived as an extra task on top of the often already fully planned workload, motivation will suffer - no matter how innovative and methodically good the measure is.

Increase motivation for sustainability in the company with the right thematic focus

Before starting interactive formats to get employees excited about sustainability, it is essential to clarify the following Where does sustainability play a role in day-to-day operations? What are the relevant responsibility, social and environmental issues in the company? Is it about consumption in the office, in the research department or in the workshop? Does the company's service have a positive social impact? Or is a major lever initially to reduce the negative impact of products and processes on the environment?

Two examples: For a service company, experience shows that the main focus will be on office operations, business mobility and social sustainability in relation to employees. In contrast, a manufacturing company is more likely to focus on the supply chain, including environmental and social aspects, logistics and storage as well as production processes.

Narrowing it down helps to correctly align the example measures shown above thematically, i.e. to set the right impulse for the newsletter or to provide the right questions for a social or eco-mapping tour.

If you want to take a precise approach here, you can use the instrument of a strategic Materiality analysis on. This involves identifying the relevant sustainability issues for the company. The focus is also on the company's business model and core processes, as genuine sustainability must always be aimed at these areas in the long term.

Conclusion

By fulfilling the basic requirements, they awaken and strengthen the motivation for sustainability within the company. These include a fundamental understanding of where the company's activities come into contact with sustainability, as well as time and resources for implementation and an appropriate working environment that promotes commitment to sustainability.
Numerous measures are built on these foundations to get employees excited about sustainability. The approaches can be analytical, such as eco-mapping. It can also be casual and fun, such as a sustainable lunch or a regulars' table for sustainability. More creative measures include invitations to sustainability events with a workshop character or redesigning the workplace according to the green nudging concept. The measures presented are suggestions and are intended to inspire. It is important to develop suitable topics and questions and to adapt the formats to your own company accordingly. There are few limits to the design. We at plant values hope you have a lot of fun and will be on hand to answer any questions you may have!

Further articles and sources:

Internal:

• Culture shapes people - corporate culture for sustainable companies
• It's all about people - sustainability in HR management
• The role of sustainability for job satisfaction and corporate attractiveness
• Interview with psychologist Prof. Brautmann: How to promote environmentally friendly behaviour in everyday life
• Interview with Vaude Managing Director Antje von Dewitz on sustainable corporate change
• Overview: Developing a sustainability strategy within the company

External:

• Specialist article on this: Dr Georg-Suso Sutter "CSR without HR is PR - People make the difference" in Schneider and Schmidpeter "Responsible corporate management in theory and practice" (2015), from p. 647 or can be read online in a similar formin the environmental dialogue(2018)
• Specialist article on this: Prof. Uta Kirschten "Sustainable transformation processes in companies", published in 2021 in the publication seriesSustainability management in Saxon companies
• Specialist article from the perspective of a consultant and practitioner: 5 Basics for motivation

Image sources:

• pexels.com, photos by Cottonbro, A. Piacquadio and Shvets Production