One of the most rewarding aspects of working with Great Workplaces is seeing all of the fantastic CSR work undertaken by clients. Communities at home and abroad are positively impacted through the contributions, time, and effort of organisations, often in unique ways. However, charitable giving is but one aspect of corporate social responsibility, with environmental sustainability becoming an increasingly prominent focus area. How are Ireland’s Best Workplaces helping to create a more sustainable world for future generations? In this article, you will find out.
An excellent way to promote sustainability amongst colleagues is to set up an employee-led Green Team, just as Fáilte Ireland have done. The thinking behind the initiative was to create a positive change in behaviour among staff when it comes to sustainability and to influence and guide others in advocating for change. With their first task being to establish the initiate in a remote context, this creative bunch were certainly busy as they:
AbbVie’s EcoChallenge was launched on Earth Day and offers a perfect example of how to engage employees through fun activities. The well communicated initiative urged employees to join teams and complete challenges, such as swapping driving for cycling, creating less food waste, and being more energy efficient at home and in the office.
In 2021, 3,684 participants in 343 team completed 115,907 sustainability actions including saving 46 tonnes of carbon, 159,100 minutes of being mindful, and 1,712 advocacy actions completed. To cap it all off, AbbVie hold a yearly event to celebrate the impact that colleagues have made in areas such as volunteering and protecting the environment. What an excellent way to encourage and reward helping the environment.
Mainstream Renewable Power, a global company with its group headquarters in Dublin, has a clear and simple mission to lead the global transition to renewable energy. They have set out to achieve this by developing, constructing, and operating utility-scale renewable energy plants around the world. But it isn’t just their tireless efforts to create a world electrified by renewable energy that catches the eye; they are also ensuring that their employees can commute sustainably by putting in place the following initiatives:
What better way to create a more sustainable world for generations to come than to show kids the importance of helping the environment through fun activities? Pre-Covid, Cisco Ireland did just that, through their “Bring Your Kids to Work Day”, with a sustainable twist. 110 children were educated and entertained with prizes for the children who had to colour in their recycling posters, and guest speakers helping them understand the different ways to recycle at home in a fun and engaging way.
Check out our podcast episode with Grow Remote's John Riordan speaking on how to create a culture of resilience through remote working 👇
Poppulo make sustainability simple for their employees through education and ensuring options for recycling waste are readily available. They conducted a 5-month sustainability campaign to increase awareness and promote sustainability, involving monthly newsletters, weekly mobile posts, and several events to drive awareness.
The campaign was closed out with a follow-up pulse survey to measure whether the campaign had been effective. What’s more, Poppulo’s Sustainability Team made it easy for their staff to act sustainably and reduce the amount of waste to landfill by:
6. They are developing long-term sustainability plans
On a grand scale, Tesco Ireland’s Little Helps Plan is a framework through which they shape their long-term approach to sustainability. The plan sets out how Tesco will make a positive difference to customers, colleagues, communities, and the environment and enables them to monitor and improve performance, both within their own operations and the wider supply chain.
Their long-term approach to sustainability has seen them receive two awards at the Chambers Ireland Sustainable Business Impact Awards. Excellence in Environment, reflecting their work on reducing their carbon footprint and Excellence in Marketplace – for collaboration with suppliers to reduce plastic packaging.
Great Workplaces aren’t just creating a better environment for their employees through culture, they are creating a more sustainable world for future generations. Fittingly, this topic has become increasingly important to the youth of today, who will undoubtedly be looking to join organisations with a strong commitment to sustainability. We commend the organisations that drive meaningful change in this area, we can’t wait to see what impact your next initiatives have.
Check out more resources on how you can foster a great organisational culture through innovative Great Practices like those above:
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