Get Down to Business, Every Day
From
taking a cup to the office to paying for personal carbon emissions, workers can
make a difference, writes Thea O'Connor.
Leaving a computer on when not in the office can produce as much greenhouse
gas each year as driving a car from
These are two
of the messages contained in the Australia Post publication Footprint,
which raises staff awareness about the effect of their daily habits on
workplace and personal carbon emissions.
"About 60
per cent of Australia Post's emissions come from energy use," says Andy Trott, the environmental manager for the postal authority,
which joined the Federal Government's Greenhouse Challenge in 1998.
"Approximately
25 per cent of energy consumption lies in the hands of the user. That's a
target you want to get hold of. And it's cheap to do so, involving only the
cost of educating staff to do simple things such as turn off computers, lights,
photocopiers and air-conditioners when not in use.
"When
these actions are undertaken across the 1500 sites of Australia Post
nationally, it certainly leads to significant savings in both emissions and energy costs," Trott says.
In March,
Australia Post was a major supporter of Earth Hour, when more than 2 million
individuals and businesses turned off their lights for an hour to show their
commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
"Australia
Post supported the Earth Hour initiative, particularly in all our CBD
facilities, and where possible turned off other non-essential lighting," Trott says. "The experience played an important role
in raising the already rapidly increasing awareness of environmental issues.
"The
energy-saving ethos that Earth Hour instilled amongst Sydneysiders
has encouraged Australia Post to continue with many of our current environmental
projects."
Trott adds that Australia Post will be a supporter of next year's Earth Hour on
March 29.
In their book True
Green @ Work - 100 ways you can make the environment your business,
Kim McKay and
The book, which
is soon to become an e-learning program for workplaces, begins with the small
things any employee can do.
Asking for
organic, fair trade coffee, for example, and using your own cup can make a
difference. Over its life of about 3000 uses, a cup is associated with 30 times
less solid waste and 60 times less air pollution than if the equivalent drinks
are consumed from disposable cardboard cups, the authors say.
Matthew Jessup, the Sydney director of the engineering firm Lincolne Scott, which claims to be the first Australasian
company to have become carbon-neutral, also suggests workers begin with the
personal.
"If you
want to influence the wider policies of your workplace, you need to own the
issue first. Be a walking advertisement for environmental sustainability. If
you're personally committed, you'll be more believable," he says.
When Jessup
offered his own suggestion of employees salary
sacrificing for their personal carbon emissions to his managing director, Che Wall, last year, he didn't get an immediate
"yes".
But the idea
was well received. Wall says: "I had to think about how best to do it. No
other company had done it at the time, and I had to check out legal
implications, and have it approved by the board."
Six months
later the idea became a reality, and today Lincolne
Scott staff members submit evidence of their personal carbon emissions (via
electricity bills, for example) before paying for offsets from pre-tax income.
There has never
been a better time for employees to exert their influence, says Molly Harriss Olson, the convener of the National Business
Leaders Forum on Sustainable Development and former head of
"General
public awareness about the impact of climate change is now so high that
business leaders are likely to be receptive to ideas for taking better care of
the environment," Olson says.
She encourages
employees not to get stuck in traditional models of organisational
change, which say change needs to start at the top. "The spark for change
can come from anywhere within the organisation. If an
employee presents a good idea with a sensible basis, it's likely to be taken
up."
Westpac's green
credit card is one example. The idea for this new service came from the Westpac
Graduate Sustainability Group, where graduates develop responses to issues such
as climate change. Altitude credit card holders can use their reward points to
offset their greenhouse gas emissions and become carbon-neutral.
For more junior
employees of a company that has not yet embraced environmental sustainability,
trying to make a difference can seem daunting. Developing skills in
"managing up" can increase the chances of getting a good hearing.
Wall's
suggestion to young staff with green ideas is to find a senior executive within
the organisation who is supportive and can act as a
mentor. "Ask them how to put your ideas into a language that's meaningful
to managers."
Jessup advises: "Make your green suggestion a 'no-brainer', something
that's small, easy to do and that initially costs nothing to implement, such as
encouraging staff to recycle or form a green committee."
When discussing
benefits, calculating the cost savings is bound to appeal. But savings are no
longer the primary business motivation, Jessup says. "Businesses aren't
going green to save on their electricity bills anymore. They're doing it
because it's the right thing to do. It's all about corporate social responsibility,
branding opportunities and attracting good staff."
A
"No staff
has left [Lincolne Scott] to [go to] a competitor in
the last seven years," says Jessup, who attributes the company's ability
to retain staff largely to its green values, which align with staff values.
Scepticism about climate change remains. "Don't try and beat scepticism
by arguing, but by demonstration," says Wall, who had to deal with
cynicism from senior managers when he first set his company on the path to
sustainability seven years ago. "When our other offices began to see
improvements in the profitability and quality of staff in our
When employers
fail to take their environmental responsibilities seriously, Olson encourages
employees to exercise their power of choice: "Choose an employer where you
can take your conscience to work."
Coffee: drink organic,
fair-trade and use your own cup.
Paper: proofread on screen,
print double-sided, choose recycled paper.
Pens: use long-life
refillable pens made from recycled materials or fully biodegradable bioplastic (derived from cornstarch).
Computer: program to go into
sleep mode after 10 minutes of inactivity. Choose models whose life can be
extended through upgrades and repairs.
Mobile
phones: organise a workplace collection to recycle
unused phones (www.mobilephonerecycling.com.au
or www.mobilemuster.com.au).
Meetings: use tele-,
web- and video-conferencing to reduce road and air travel.
Mailing
lists:
keep up-to-date to minimise unwanted correspondence.
Switch off: all electrical
equipment at the end of the day wherever possible.
Source: True
Green @ Work