Many facilities roll out sustainability programs expecting that everyone will follow them. Unfortunately, there’s more to a successful sustainability program than putting up signs and flooding inboxes with sustainability program rules.
To make sure your sustainability initiative goes off without a hitch, follow these tips.
Have Clear Goals
Be upfront and transparent with your employees by making it clear why sustainability helps them and the company. Creating simple, easy-to-follow guidelines can help motivate workers to join in the effort.
Reward Success
Positive reinforcement is a much better method than shaming your workforce into complying with your initiative. When we feel good about doing something—that we feel we’re not being forced to do—we’re much more likely to keep doing it in the future.
You can recognize the employees who shine in many ways. Company-wide contests are a great way to get employees onboard. For example, the person in the company that collected the most plastic containers to be recycled wins an extra day or week vacation. Make it fun, and people will be much more likely to get onboard.
Patience
Don’t give up or lose hope if you don’t see noticeable changes right away. Humans are creatures of habit, and it can take time to break habits.
Make sure to include employees in the conversation through planning, implementation, and rollout, along with alterations the policy might need down the road. When workers feel like part of the conversation, they’re much more likely to conform to the rules.
