New guidance helps businesses engage staff in a sustainability strategy

While any far-seeing organisation might develop environmental and corporate social responsibility initiatives, it is important to ensure employees are fully informed and committed to their employers’ aims. The Global Environmental Management Initiative (GEMI) argues that while the leadership may set expectations, it is employees and managers who make it happen. To aid this process, a new toolkit, the  GEMI Quick Guide for Engaging Employees in Sustainability: has been designed to advise corporations on how to successfully engage and motivate employees to participate in their sustainability strategies. The guide explores potential ways of fostering employee connections to sustainability, implementing an engagement strategy, and understanding the role of corporate culture within it.

It also suggests that managers should consider examining and adapting these various facets to meet their own organization’s unique circumstances and needs.

“Establishing a meaningful connection with employees is critical to the success of a company’s sustainability program,” said Bill Gill, Assistant Vice President, Environmental Affairs, Smithfield Foods and GEMI’s Chair.

“The methods for making this link are varied, and organizational leaders should give considerable thought as to how they choose and adopt approaches to engage employees.”

“Engaging employees across an entire organization can prove to be challenging. Companies vary in size, complexity and sustainability strategy,” added Roland Mostovy, Sustainability Program Manager, Ashland Inc., and GEMI’s Membership Chair.

“This guide explores strategies for fostering employee connections to sustainability, implementing an engagement strategy, and understanding the role of corporate culture within an engagement strategy.  It can be used to help design an approach that makes sense for your organization,” Mostovy added.

GEMI represents Director and Manager level corporate sustainability leaders dedicated to fostering global environmental sustainability excellence through the sharing of tools and information.

To this end, it has introduced a Quick Guide series that take a closer look into the methods leading corporations use to address sustainability topics.  The GEMI Quick Guides incorporate members’ experiences and support GEMI’s mission of “collaborating for sustainable business solutions”.