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Green initiatives in the workplace
Hardly a day goes by without a fanfare announcement of the latest green initiative from a major corporation. But in the race to be green it appears one very important consumer is being left at the starting line. The employee, writes Teena Lyons
There are few government-led, financial incentives in place to encourage staff to join in environmental activities in the workplace.
According to Sara Pearce, a spokesperson at the Energy Saving Trust, it is largely up to businesses to make the changes, depending on what suits them.
"It is a little fragmented at the moment," she said. "Another problem is there is no set pattern to whose responsibility it is to get staff involved. Some companies look to human resources, or to the corporate social responsibility director, or even a director from another department who just happens to be interested in environmental issues.
"This lack of communication down the line mean some initiatives get lost.
"Many companies offer the opportunity to trade down to smaller, more environmentally friendly cars, for example, but without a real financial incentive a lot of people think twice about giving up the status symbol of their favourite two litre beast."
The lack of joined-up thinking translates into a huge difference between the way even the most committed eco warrior behaves at work and at home.
According to research carried out by Logicalis, people tend to leave their environmental consciences at home because they are disillusioned by a lack of incentives and leadership in green issues at work.
In its survey last December, the technology group found just over two-thirds of staff said employers should offer incentives for being green in the workplace. More than half said they would be encouraged to act greener if their employer led by example.
This feeling led to the anomaly that while 94 per cent said they switch off lights at home, only 66 per cent do it at work. Plus, while 85 per cent power down their home PCs when they are not in use, just 53 per cent bother in the office.
There are pockets of positive action. For example, there is a Department for Transport scheme where employers can apply for up to five days of free advice on transport plans which can help put together an eco-friendly strategy to appeal to everyone in the workplace.
Another among the few initiatives on offer from the government is the cycle-to-work scheme, which was introduced last year.
It extends the salary sacrifice scheme which allows employees to give up some of their pre-tax earnings in exchange for benefits from childcare vouchers to pension contributions.
The range of benefits has now widened to offer tax and national insurance-free bicycle loans to employees.
Workplaces can also now give employees the opportunity to sacrifice some of their salary in exchange for a commitment from the employer to devote more funds to carbon off-setting.
However, there is, says Emma Howard Boyd, head of socially responsible investment at Jupiter Asset Management, an argument for further subsidies in areas such as public transport.
"Ultimately everyone has a role to play," she said. "Individuals should be badgering their employers to do more, companies should be adopting green strategies and central government has to ease the way."
On the whole though, individual employers are currently leading the way and it has led to some highly innovative schemes.
BSkyB, for example, which announced in 2006 that it had achieved carbon neutral status, has negotiated discounts for staff wanting to buy a low emission hybrid car and provides £1000 towards the purchase.
Sky staff are also issued with a 'carbon credit card' to encourage them to join in with the eco initiatives. Each one has its unique registration number and staff can collect credits for green activities such as cycling to work. A prize draw is held every quarter as a way of encouraging people to join in.
Other companies such as Boots, Marks & Spencer Financial Services and Orange have all implemented schemes to reduce their carbon emissions, including car sharing schemes, free bus travel and paying for cycle tracks.
B&Q has launched a car-mates bingo competition, where car sharers who display a sticker could win £100 in fuel vouchers.
AstraZeneca offers staff who register for 'green commuting', monthly prizes and has seen 2,200 people sign up.
It is an inspiring list, but still by far the norm are companies who fail to take the most basic of steps and, most importantly, fail to harness the willingness of staff to become involved.
Financial incentives are not the only way to get green projects off the ground, but there is a clear need to make sure bold environmental pronouncements are translated all the way down the line.
