T-shirt for your thoughts. . .

A reader recently approached The Green Workplace for some recruiting ideas.  We thought it would be a great opportunity to open a discussion that would benefit all of our readers.  The benefits don't stop there, however, we will give away 100% organic t-shirts for the best ideas you post to the discussion!

Question:  Our company has really strong environmental policies and is actively recruiting for a number of positions.  We really want to reach candidates who think Green.  Our company gives free bicycles to employees, recycles, uses organic materials in production, and the roof of our factory is covered in solar panels.  So far, these programs haven't really become the selling point for applicants that we anticipated.  Do you have any advice?

Answer:  Your current employee base is always going to be your most potent recruiting tool. Think of things they may choose to discuss about your company while at happy hour, at Thanksgiving dinner or while they are chatting with another parent while watching a Little League game. Are your green policies going to be among the headlines?  
Here are some other ideas that are likely to prompt personal testimony:

• Implement flexible schedules, like 4 day work weeks or part time work from home
  
• Inspire some teams to start desk sharing or working anywhere
  
• Consideration of video conference as an alternative to business trips
  
• Reduce quantity of office equipment by increase the ratio of employees to printers or removing select computer monitors
  

Readers:  Please let us know what you think!  Submit your ideas by posting your responses and send me an email with your mailing address, t-shirt selection and size if you wish to claim your 100% organic t-shirt.

Pay as you Drive Insurance

Progressive Insurance is now offering "pay as you drive" or PAYD insurance. Progressive will put a little tag on your car and it knows how often you drive - which, in combination with your safe driving record - determines your premium. Here are some potential benefits from our friends at Wikipedia:

• Commercial benefits to the insurance company from better alignment of insurance with actual risk. Improved customer segmentation.


• Potential cost-savings for responsible customers.


• Social and environmental benefits from more responsible and less unnecessary driving.


• Due to the 24/7 aspects of vehicle location, it enhances security - both personal security and vehicle security. The GPS technology could be used to trace the vehicle whereabouts following an accident, breakdown or theft. [1]


• More choice for consumers on the type of car insurance available to buy.


• The same GPS technology can often be used to provide other (non insurance) benefits to consumers,e.g. satellite navigation [1]


• Social benefits from accessibility to affordable insurance for young drivers - rather than paying for irresponsible peers, with this type of insurance young drivers pay for how they drive.

What interests me about this is the potential companies have to encourage green behavior. Think about it. If you drive less, you not only save gas, but also your premium. For some, this may be enough incentive to get them to bike or walk to work one day a week. It may also encourage parents (paying those big premiums) to encourage their children to drive less. If this product is successful, Progressive will win kudos for setting a new standard for risk mitigation in their industry and for changing their customer's behavior. Wow, that's pretty powerful.

So what other behavior changing ideas are out there?

Image from BBC News

How to Increase Participation in Go Barefoot Day

As you read in Greenette’s post a couple of days ago, HOK is making a push to reduce its carbon footprint (and that of its employees) by hosting Go Barefoot Day on Earth Day this year.

The question is how many employees will buy in? In a firm of over 2,500 folks, spreading the word is tough. Here are some of the ways the firm’s sustainable champions are hoping to encourage participation:

• Firm-wide survey
• Firm-wide email
• Go Barefoot blog
• Word of mouth
• Posters and panel displays
• Stickers for those who participate
• Discussion at firm- and office-wide events
• Local office events such as ice cream party
• Bribery with “green happy hour” for office with greatest participation

What are your ideas for behavioral/change management/employee enrollment?

For more articles about Barefoot day, check out the following links:

• Treehugger
• Environmental Graffiti
• Today’s Facility Manager
• Contract Magazine

Image source: http://www.letscurbpesticides.ca

How to Go Green

What is it that makes us, as humans, willing to change our behavior to be more green? At what point do we decide, yes, I'm going to re-think my life, my work, my outlook, and consider the greater good of my decisions today. I think deep down it comes to three things.

1. Recognize it's a personal choice. Ask anyone to tell you why going green is important and they will tell you the story of something deeply personal. It could be a parent who instilled these values in them as a child, a vacation they took to a third world country or the fear that “their children need a better world to grow up in.” You will almost never hear someone say that the reason they think the environment is important is because their company told them it was a priority. I've come to think of it almost like religion - it's something that can be taught, but will not be acted upon until it becomes a personal value.

2. It must improve your life. I believe at its essence, solving our environmental issues is one of the most complex problems of our time – but it won’t be solved out of the kindness of our hearts or out of a sense of guilt. Going green has to save us money or make our lives easier in some way – preferably both.

Green strategies that stick address environmental benefits, yes, but they must be bundled with other benefits to us personally. The triple bottom line (people, planet, profit) is one way experts have described this importance of being all-inclusive. It's a very nice business model, but in some ways, it's a trite way of describing a very human issue. The green movement is at it's heart (I believe) about self-preservation: preserving our financial and environmental resources; our quality of life; our access to clean air, water and energy; and our overall health and wellness.

3. It's a slow evolution, not a spontaneous transformation. Going green is an evolving thing. Because caring about the environment is a value, and not a goal or something to be "achieved" per se, it takes time to figure out how it fits in our lives. Most folks I've talked to (and companies for that matter) that are successful going green start small. They find one thing, like biking to work, starting to recycle, buying veges from a co-op or changing their lightbulbs. They make the change, measure it, and celebrate the benefits to their health or checkbook. Starting small is really important, because 1) it's more likely to happen and 2) you really notice and absorb the benefits. Seriously, don't try and go whole hog on day 1. You have enough projects going on in your life!

What happens next? Well, once you conquer that first project, the second one is much easier to do, but again, don't go nuts. It's kind of like losing weight. Benge dieting doesn't stick, so why should going green? Make sure whatever you do, it benefits you and/or your family in some way - then you know you'll do it forever. I know we have big problems, but they won't be solved overnight.

Slow and steady wins the race.

Go Barefoot Day at HOK

In preparation for Earth Day, HOK challenged all of their 2500 employees to "go barefoot" by taking a tangible step toward reducing their carbon footprint by altering their transportation, travel and work habits on April 22.

They invite others to join them, and have created a PDF with a number of suggestions for getting to work and what you can do when you get there, showing the impact of each, with links to more information.

"We hope "Go Barefoot Day" builds momentum beyond the walls of HOK and inspires our clients and communities to walk alongside us" says Sustainable Design Director Mary Ann Lazarus.
They have a link at the bottom of the PDF to a spreadsheet that shows all of the assumptions and sources for their data, which will prove to be a very useful resource. ::HOK Go Barefoot

Your Green Grade

Last week some colleagues and I met with an well known organization to work through ways to green their real estate portfolio. We all came armed with lots of ideas, and at the end of the day walked away with a list of solid projects that they could start on tomorrow. Very productive. Afterwards, the sustainable champion asked me a question that I get every once in a while... he asked, "What grade would you give my company on their sustainable practices?"

Thinking of an answer for him made me think carefully. I mean, a grade is effectively a comparison score. Should I compare this organization against all other firms globally? Or just companies in the same industry? Or should it really a comparison against other companies in the same region? This organization participates in the Carbon Disclosure Project (at least their parent company does) and so I could look there for answers, but I chose a different tack.

I decided my "grade" for this real estate group should be based on the following:

• Size and volume of projects they were actually doing versus talking about,
• If they had a vision statement or mission to share with the organization,
• Whether they had a set of green guidelines that outlined their specific priorities and goals for the organization,
• How much the company at large really knew real estate's green initiatives (sign of a communication or change management strategy),
• Whether they were coordinated with other groups in the organization like HR, IT, Communications, Social Responsibility or Sustainability executives, on the green front and
• If they were fully leveraging their "sphere of influence" with brokers, developers, contractors, architects, food service providers, carpet manufacturers, furniture dealerships, etc. by greening their vendor contracts, RFPs and leases.

This particular company fell short on many of these items, but I have to commend them on their willingness to roll up their sleeves and get started. Many companies are still overwhelmed by the whole idea of "getting green" and have not even made the first step by asking, "What should we be doing?" And most companies haven't even budgeted for the time it takes to think through the full range of issues that come up. My question to these gun-shy companies is... How long can you afford to resist getting green? Let me warn you, I'm a harsh grader. It's time to up your score.

The Snowball Effect

I’ve always been an avid recycler, but three years ago my boss recommended that I take the USGBC's LEED exam. Studying for the test took some time, but I learned some great things that I’ve been able to apply in my daily life in addition to what’s required to commission HVAC systems.

The one thing that stood out to me was how much my newfound knowledge has “snowballed”:

• Writing articles for my Homeowners Association Newsletter – sharing simple ideas in a large forum can make a big difference – I’ve seen lots of small measures taken in the community, and some large ones too.
• Joining the community Architectural Control Committee – and making recommendations as to how to make the community’s guidelines more environmentally-friendly. I’m now receiving calls about composting, solar panels, energy efficient window replacements and more.
• Turning my husband into a recycling, reuse, and conservation Nazi – sometimes a little bit more than I can handle, but it’s all for the cause, right?
• Thanks to his newfound environmentalism, my husband has been making major steps with his company, including starting a recycling program and harassing the boss for transit incentives (see my post on Greenwashing Hits Home for more info). His latest endeavor is a Six Sigma project – green initiatives, starting just with his project, but hopefully spreading company-wide. Quick update on the transit: still hasn't talked the boss into paying for transit instead of (or even in addition to) parking - maybe the Six Sigma will help.

It’s amazing how just a little bit of sharing and education can make a big difference. I encourage everyone to share the small ideas (the big ones too) and let us know your success stories!

Greenwashing Hits Home..and My Wallet

The term “greenwashing” has been thrown around for many years, usually referring to companies claiming that their products are green/sustainable/organic, when in actuality they are not. Refer back to Greenette’s post on greenwashing for more info.

Greenwashing has really hit home in the last couple of months: my husband works for a large defense/aerospace contractor (over 70,000 employees and over $20 billion in annual sales), that according to its Corporate Stewardship report, is very committed to reducing its impact on the environment. He is contracted to a government agency that is very interested in climate change, an agency that the public puts immense pressure upon (think protestors outside with inflatable whales, etc).

My husband takes public transportation to work, both because it is the right thing to do for the environment and also because commuting by automobile to his workplace can be terrible. Until very recently, he was reimbursed monthly (to a standard upset amount) for his public transportation expenditures.

A couple of months ago, the program director approached him and told him that the company would no longer be reimbursing his expenses – that the reimbursement was for PARKING ONLY. If my husband wanted a parking pass, he was welome to have one, at the company’s expense, but public transit was not an acceptable use of this money.

My husband was outraged (rightfully so). He has been in contact with the Corporate Stewardship representatives, the project lead, and the environmental health and safety contact for his group. While his boss supports him (in principle, if not in action), the environmental people have merely pointed him back to the stewardship report.

I promised him that I wouldn’t name his company, but it’s now been a few months and with no progress – it seems like it is time to start talking about this type of poor environmental behavior. Companies this large cannot afford to be hypocritical in their approach to environmental stewardship.

Has anyone else had similar experiences?

Green Profiling

I work with a number of organizations to make their workplace greener. I spend much of this effort on change management activities. After a while I've started to see patterns in the ways in which people approach going green. I've even started to categorize an organization by what I call their "green profile." The green profile is the unique mix of people in the organization made up of four types:

Greeniacs. This portion of the population will say “yes” to anything when it comes to helping the environment. They have already purchased their solar backpack, are using geo-thermal energy to heat their home and have an electric car (better yet, they bike to work). When it comes to creating a green workplace for this portion of the organization, they are ready to go and probably impatient for their organization to “get with the program.” This group is not afraid to practice what they preach and share with others what they are doing. Organizations like the Nature Conservancy, the EPA and the Natural Resources Defense Council have large portions of their population that are comprised of this group.

Business Environmentalists. This group is aware of the environment and active in their community when it comes to green issues. They believe there are environmental problems that need to be solved. They also believe that making good choices for the environment are often good business decisions as well and can save costs and increase organizational value in the long run. This group is already engaged in environmentally-friendly behavior; they may recycle, purchase local foods and drive a hybrid. However, they are not first adopters to green technology or ideas – they prefer to see them tested before they invest time and energy taking on something new. A growing number of people fall into this category.

Couch Potato Environmentalists. This group is willing to try new green behaviors, but only if it is easy for them to do so. They are not interested in going out of their way to try something green, especially if it is disruptive to getting their job done. Green strategies that work with this group are about tackling the low hanging fruit (simple changes that minimize labor or costs to the organization). Strategies that affect them personally and make their life easier are also very effective. An example of this might be providing a campus shuttle to minimize single occupancy vehicles. The shuttle service probably saves these folks the hassle of finding a parking space, so they are willing to adopt a new behavior.

Green Skeptics. This group may be annoyed by the constant media attention given to green issues and feel that even if there are environmental problems, the environment is just one of many very important priorities (and perhaps they are champions of one of the other priorities). This group is a small and a decreasing percentage of any organization, but should be acknowledged, particularly if they are in positions of influence. This group may never enroll in a green strategy or behavior, but will need to be considered when planning for target metrics.

How how do you assess your organization? We'll share that on a later post. For now, know that it's important to acknowlege and listen to everyone (those nay-sayers usually have very good points) and keep your focus on enrolling the Greeniacs and Business Environmentalists - they are more likely to lead the organization into a greener future.

Environmental Messages in Elevator Music?

Remember when you were in middle school and all your friends told you that if you played your tapes (records, 8-tracks, CDs, MP3s for those of you in different generations) in reverse, you’d hear satanic or sexually explicit messages? Well, I never was able to figure out how to get my tapes to play backwards, but the thought struck me that perhaps music could be a way to spread environmental messages as well as more risqué ones.

The idea struck me when I was listening to the radio – 94.7 the Globe – this is a “green-focused” radio station by CBS-Radio. The principles behind the station are to promote green living both on- and off-air. For example, the station purchases wind power offsets. It also encourages listeners to live an eco-friendly lifestyle by providing tips on the air and promoting socially-responsible events.

Lots of offices use Musak or other services to provide lobby or elevator music. Why not look into stations or services that incorporate environmental messages? For example, Sirius radio offers a station called “Lime” that is marketed toward people searching for a “healthier, greener, more balanced life.”Or back to the “satanic” tapes of yesteryear: what about subliminal messaging? Who wouldn’t like to subliminally learn to recycle bottles and cans while listening to some Matchbox Twenty (the Beatles, Justin Timberlake, Miguel Bose, [insert your favorite artist here]).

Growth without Growth

Companies everywhere are asking how they can grow their organization (add people) without increasing their space. Sometimes the reason is minimizing carbon footprint. More often, it's about saving money and mitigating risk. But what does this entail exactly?

1. Doing more with less. That means less space per person. It means making sacrifies and prioritizing what's really important. First to go are things like file or conference rooms, then comes the common strategy of packing people in like sardines aka "dense pack." Finally, the alternative work options are investigated. Can we get away with accommodating only 60% of our staff at any one time? What about telework or work at home policies?
2. Looking at how we really work. In all of the workplace surveys I've done, 100% of the time, people assume they are in the office significantly more than they acutally are. Where are they? They're working alright, but on the move! They're checking email at home, blackberrying while walking the dog, making calls on the road, you name it. Our offices have lovely pictures of our children, but they are vacant a good portion of the time, which is why companies are frustrated with building and managing empty buildings.
3. Trying new things. So you're trying to save space, but this means giving up your office and a permanent address!! Not an easy change - after all, we're creatures of habit and work is our home away from home. But perhaps it's time to think about "the office" as just another place to work. Some companies are designing their offices as large scale living rooms - you plop at a desk or comfy chair - whatever makes you and your team more productive.
4. Managing to different goals. One of my first bosses out of graduate school had a mantra he still professes today... "must be present to win." He believes very strongly that he must see all of his employees to know they are working, and showing up everyday ensures advancement in his organization. But companies that think differently about what they are managing (not bodies, but products or projects) are able to make the leap to alternative work, and to better utilized workplaces that focus on what is needed to get the job done. Of course training and mentorship comes in to play, but is it needed in the same place and every day?
5. Embracing green thinking. What's great about all of this recent investment in alternative work is that it goes hand in hand with green thinking. Often companies that build space for less people (adopting alternative work) are also considering the green benefits of less travel to the office (reduced carbon emissions) and the need to have productive space while you're there (natural light access, good air quality).

Incentivizing Recycling in the Workplace

I just ran across an interesting article on the development of a “recycling bank” as a way to incentivize residents of a township to recycle. The program is called Recycle Bank (http://www.recyclebank.com/) and it basically weighs the amount of recycling each household puts out and rewards with Recycle Bank dollars that can be redeemed for coupons to dozens of retailers. I know “dozens” does not sound like a lot, but when I checked out the list, I found a number of retailers that are available throughout the US, as well as some popular online retailers: Jockey, Sharper Image, Discovery Channel Store, ProFlowers, Staples, PetCo, Bed Bath & Beyond, IKEA, ING Direct, and many more.
Maybe offices can use this concept for encouraging employee recycling. I’m not quite sure how implementation would go…and of course, the idea is that we want to reduce waste, so rewarding for pounds of recycling misses the people that aren’t generating as much waste.
Here’s an idea: maybe offices could periodically spot check employee trash cans and give rewards for those that contain no recyclable materials. A $5 Starbucks gift card could go a long way to improving employee morale and encouraging environmentally-friendly behavior.

What are some of your ideas for recycling-related change management?

To view the whole article, visit this link: http://www.enn.com/top_stories/article/26368

Why Milton Isn't Green

I work in a design firm and spend a large portion of my time convincing people to change. Remember Milton from Office Space who couldn't let go of his red Swingline stapler (needless to say his office)? Imagine an entire organization of people, very happy in their current work arragements, being asked to not only move out of their office, but to share an office with someone else or to "telecommute." Their reaction varies from reluctant compliance to outright anger. What's even harder than moving into a new space is the change in behavior that is required to make it work.

As my husband reminds me, people are 99% chimp. Our DNA is just not made to change our minds (or behavior) overnight.

I don't know about you, but most of my projects involve some degree of change management. This involves finding champions in the organization and developing a strong rationale for change that appeals to individuals... otherwise known as WIIFM or "what's in it for me?"

Asking folks to go green, i.e. to print less, recyle more, work at home, use new technology and communicate differently... it just won't happen without a lot of encouragement and the most important measurement, appealing to the WIIFM. How will being green not only help the enviornment, but how will it help me do my job? Cost me or my business unit less money? Cause me less anxiety on a daily basis? The good news is that saving enviornmental resources can easily be tied to saving personal and financial resources. How so?

• Working from home or using video conferencing means less time on the road and more time with family and friends.
• Recycling (or precycling) means buying less paper and fewer styrofoam cups.
• More natural light means we all look more beautiful (skin tones are much more flattering in the sun, don't let those lighting salesmen tell you differently) plus we can just see better.
• Better air quality means less trips to the doctor... the list goes on.

Remember, we all need a little urging to resist our Milton-esque tendencies.

Green Office Leadership in NYC

I really enjoyed this 10/31 New York Times article about the LEED platinum rated Cook & Fox office in New York City:
Architects Go Green at the Office

The story highlights several ideas that could be very simple to replicate:

• Using rows of plants instead of high workstation partitions to provide visual privacy without inhibiting access to daylight


• Using ground up tires instead of gravel to cover planting soil


• A composting program for disposing of coffee grounds and other food waste


• Offering each employee an allowance to purchase a plant and thus play a role in personalizing their space

Greening by Example

Where does the corporate facility role in enabling green behaviors begin and end?
I have been thinking about the numerous requests and suggestions that many facility planners and managers receive to enhance recycling, landscaping and other 'green' facility management practices. Most are usually delighted to observe heightened employee desire for eco-friendly workplace features and are eager to take on new challenges to meet the demand. It seems ironic that when roles are reversed, and facility teams are challenging employees to develop 'green' work habits, the subsequent reactions range from subversive disregard to hostile rejection.

This is not a 'rant,' but an observation that facility management professionals are now faced with learning a new discipline - many are quickly becoming leaders in demonstrating the paperless office and showcasing the benefits of conducting paperless meetings. Why? 'Learning and greening by example' is a potent way to influence the business units we serve. It is no longer adequate to simply identify a business need in the workplace and then supply and support the service - we have to 'drink our own champagne' or 'eat our own dogfood,' depending on the way you want to look at it!

Many corporations are probably comparatively similar in the proportion of employees who have had the technical resources to digitize their office and conduct paperless meetings for years. Often, these are technologies that are hardly ever used.

What does it take to compel usage of these tools? Active use and demonstration - we have to be the first to pave the way. It seems odd to expect real estate professionals to take the lead in a 'technology' category, but here are some ideas:

• When sharing documents, send links to shared drives or intranet location vs. document attachments in email to reinforce a 'think before you print' culture. (Information security teams also encourage this practice.)
• Schedule use of projectors and groupware when conducting meetings with powerpoint presentations to eliminate the need for paper copies.
• When using groupware, go out of your way to demonstrate electronic document markup techniques if possible.
• After taking meeting notes on paper, scan to your email and file electronically. Then recycle the paper.
• Go out of your way to drop recyclables in the appropriate container - it is slightly inconvenient to haul empty water bottles and diet coke cans, but others will notice and follow your lead.
• Capitalize on opportunities to showcase how to use videoconference capability to eliminate business travel or to enhance team collaboration.
• Offer incentives to reward behavior, like a prize drawing for attending training on digital work practices.
• Enhance email auto signatures with 'green' slogans or links to articles that enhance awareness. Some slogan examples:

P Think before you print. 10 fewer pages/week/employee = 3619 trees saved.

P Please consider the environment before printing this email.

q This message is printed on 99.9% recycled electrons.

Please contribute any ideas that you have!

"Output" Awareness

Check out the notices recently placed on every output device on the Sprint campus in Overland Park.

Even the signs are printed on PressAbels so that they are removable and reusable.

Pre-Cycling

Reduce, Reuse, Recyle. It's being taught in elementary schools across the country. But what does that mean for real estate organizations? Basically, it's all about thinking upstream in the procurement process. Do we really need that new building? Do we really need everything we buy? Can we precycle instead?

Here's a small example from a Fortune 500 company in Cleveland. The company's facilities group wanted to remove all polystyrene cups from their campus. Their real estate portfolio included hundreds of break areas and two full service cafeterias, all supplied with non-recyclable cups. Facilities went through all of their procurement contracts and wrote in language that required vendors to provide only ceramic or glass.

To raise awareness of the change, the company created coffee mugs with green logos for all employees. They also found a company that recycled polystyrene in massive hay bails. They took all of their existing cups and gave the hay bails a formal "farewell" party.

What's great about this example is that not only did this company remove disposable cups from their campus permanently, but they used it as a chance to showcase green behavior.

Measuring Your Carbon Footprint

For all of you real estate mangers being asked to respond to the Carbon Disclosure Project, and for those of you who aren't, take a minute and measure your own carbon footprint. It's really helpful for putting everything in perspective. The Carbon Calculator on The Inconvenient Truth website is a good one. It's a fast exercise.

I don't know about you, but I was surprised how travel dramatically affected my footprint. Without it I look really good. The U.S. average is 7.5 tones per year of carbon. Before travel, I'm at a 4.7. I live in a small space with two other people, I share a car with my husband and I walk to work a good deal. But add on travel and I'm at a 8.3!

Most of my travel last year was for work. Though many times its out of my control, I figure it's worth a shot to try and change. For example, I travel from DC to NY several times a year. Turns out I can save over 1 ton a year by taking the train rather than flying. Besides, the train is significantly more pleasant. Also, I'm also starting to change my tune about asking clients to meet virtually. Hey, it can't hurt to ask!