embedding sustainability in organizational culture - Network for ...

Chapter 1: 3: Introduction Fostering Commitment
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engage
This category consists of informal practices that attempt to raise the level of
employee engagement throughout the organization. These practices aim to generate
interest and excitement among employees about the journey toward sustainability
and to encourage the active participation of all employees in sustainability
initiatives. These practices help motivate employees to act in a way that brings
the organization closer to its sustainability goals. The practices that relate to
engagement include educating; challenging; linking; supporting; leveraging;
capturing quick wins; and recognizing.
EducatE: Raise the level of awareness and understanding of sustainability
through the provision of information in informal ways
• Include sustainability information in company newsletters,
on bulletin boards, or in memos
• Bring in speakers to talk about sustainability issues
• Host internal workshops, conferences or trade shows
Practitioners note the importance of providing information about sustainability to
increase the awareness and understanding of the concept among employees. While
little research has explored the role of informal education, Molnar and Mulvihill
(2003) note that inviting in industry leaders to speak to employees can inspire
new sustainability initiatives. We discuss the formal practice of training in the next
chapter.
assessment: proposed but not tested
challEngE: Encourage and recognize good ideas or effort through internal
competitions
• Organize sustainability competitions between business units or
regional units to motivate sustainability performance
• Use internal competitions as a means to generate and identify new ideas
Several practitioners have suggested that internal competitions can be used to build
interest in sustainability, to generate new ideas and to identify and recognize good
ideas. These practitioners suggest that it is important to keep a positive frame on the
competitions, but when done correctly, that competition can be a good motivator
(Ethical Corporation, 2009; NBS, 2010).
In one example, described by Goodman (2000), business units were awarded
additional training resources for energy, water and waste reductions. This initiative
resulted in significant reductions across the company.
More research is needed to explore further the role of competition in embedding
sustainability.
assessment: Weakly supported
link: Bring sustainability down to the individual level by connecting the
impact of everyday actions at work with sustainability at home (and
vice versa); connect organizational sustainability activities to personal
sustainability activities (and vice versa)
• Encourage employees to bring their personal sustainability
behaviours into the workplace
• Encourage employees to carry the organizational sustainability
message into their communities
Bringing sustainability down to the level of individual actions appears to make it
more concrete. Further, linking employee actions at work to their behaviours at
home and in their communities appears to reinforce these behaviours. One senior
manager recommended encouraging staff to bring their personal sustainability
behaviours into the workplace (Ethical Corporation, 2009). A practitioner in
Goodman’s (2000) study suggested that messages about sustainability are attractive
when employees can also use the knowledge in their private lives. Hart (2005)
encourages organizations to allow employees to align their values with their job.
Research by Bansal (2003) in the area of sustainability begins to provide support for
this idea. Her research demonstrates reciprocal links between organizational and
individual actions.
In the quality literature, Blackburn and Rosen (1993) describe how leaders in quality
improvement reinforce a ‘prevention-oriented approach’ by providing personal
health and safety services to employees. Not only do these practices emphasize
the organizations’ proactive approach to problems, but they create a positive and
satisfying environment for employees.
Linking is a practice that has received preliminary support in the literature, but still
requires more study.
assessment: Weakly supported