Green at work

It was just a load of old rubbish. But when it got dumped on the workplace floor, it took on a whole new perspective.

This was the first step in forming an office green team – a journey started by NZ Post as part of a plan to introduce staff to sustainability issues. When the company first set up its waste programme, it asked volunteers to conduct waste audits – which involved them collecting rubbish over three days at 100 NZ Post sites across the country. The gathered material was then tipped out and sorted into categories.

“Based on what we found, 80 per cent could be recycled,” says Debbie Summers, worksite sustainability manager. Seeing was truly believing for the employees. “It wasn’t until people actually participated in this that they realised they could make a difference.”

And what a difference it has made: NZ Post has reduced its waste to landfill volume across the group by 45 per cent over the last three years. The group plans to achieve a further five per cent reduction this year. Many people are actively involved in trying to minimise waste to landfill, says Debbie. “A lot of it is about staff engaging, and relying on them to separate waste properly. The results are reported monthly, so it’s quite visible.”

A growing movement

Such is the growth in sustainability that some corporates have people in full-time roles dedicated to ensuring it’s incorporated into the business. Peta Fraser is sustainability manager at IAG – the country’s largest general insurer. The programme extends to every part of the business, starting with a new employee’s induction and extending to results of their efforts being published in the company’s Annual Report. The company’s ‘sustainability champions’ are all volunteers. “They are passionate about sustainability issues and making a difference,” she says. Initiatives include:

• Car pooling
• Encouraging people to cycle or use public transport
• Migrating to hybrid and diesel vehicles, and using low-rolling resistance tyres for fleet cars to cut petrol costs

IAG has also worked its sustainability focus into some personal coverage options under its NZI business.

Workplace green initiatives are becoming more evident wherever you look. Auckland property group Samson Corporation has embraced the concept and incorporates sustainability projects into its buildings. It won the New Zealand Institute of Architects sustainable design award for the Ironbank building in Karangahape Road and in recent steps has provided Hungry Bins (see ‘useful sites’ below) in its buildings across the city.

A green support network

The rubbish-tipping trick at NZ Post had, in fact, been used some decades before, at the-then Waitakere City Council. It was the late-1980s, and although green offices were in their genesis, the far-thinking council had committed to becoming an eco-city. As part of that plan, rubbish was deliberately delivered to the council chamber so the senior management team could inspect it. What they saw was enough to kickstart immediate change – starting with the removal of paper towels and disposable cups and then instituting a council-wide shift to sustainability.

Rachel Brown was then employed to manage ‘cleaner production’ for Waitakere. Now she’s founder and chief executive officer of the Sustainable Business Network – a group that offers advice and support to help businesses succeed through becoming more sustainable. If going green was a radical departure from the norm all those years ago, it has now become a prerequisite for many firms, she says – both big and small.

“A lot of businesses are realising sustainability matters are enormous; they pervade all aspects of business operations, and high-performing staff members are having greater expectations of sustainability activities happening.”

Green team, sustainability team: whatever you call it, the standard systems for setting up an environmentally-conscious organisation within the workforce remain the same. “You still need leadership, you still need across-the board buy-in and you still need to make it active, and report back regularly on what you are doing.”

It pays to lead by example, which is why the Sustainable Business Network has committed to practising and demonstrating sustainability in action. Their approach includes:

• Enabling staff to work from home, as well as measuring the business’ CO₂ emissions each year, and offsetting those through a day’s tree planting
• Establishing a purchasing policy which ensures all office supplies are from a green range
• Minimising, re-using or recycling all their resources (including reusing waste paper and recycling ink cartridges)
• Aiming for a zero waste target in every office, as well as maintaining a worm farm that converts food waste into soil

Rachel says young people in particular now expect to take part in green efforts in the workplace. “There’s a much greater expectation the business they work for will have a strategy in place and they will be able to engage with that strategy or an in-house sustainability team in some way. It’s moved well beyond an alternative, and is now pretty much mainstream.”

How to start a green programme at work

From Rachel Brown, CEO of the Sustainable Business Network.

Step 1: Get inspired

It’s important to create an inspirational vision for the business, says Rachel. This overarching vision will set the tone for the internal programme.

Step 2: Convince the boss

It’s critical that the CEO supports and leads staff action. Their support gives any changes or new practices weight and significance when it comes to adoption.

Step 3: Make a plan

Once you’ve made a commitment, decide on the first area of focus for the programme – for example travel to and from work, or community activities. Whatever it is, it should be something that people will be able to engage in.

Step 4: Measure results

It’s really useful to be able to report on your progress, so capturing baseline data can be very handy.

Step 5: Tell the world

Finally, once the programme is wide-reaching you may like to report on your progress publicly – to staff, to stakeholders and to customers. If you are a large business you should consider employing someone to verify any claims you make.

Tips for starting a work green team

Rachel Brown, CEO of the Sustainable Business Network, highlights some areas to think about:

Travel

Public transport: Making sure your staff have access to public transport information is the key. Let staff know how to find public transport journey planners on the web, for example MAXX (Auckland), Metlink (Wellington) and Metro (Christchurch). Keep a topped-up office HOP, Snapper or concession swipe card handy in your office so that finding change or reimbursements aren’t an issue. Remember, a single public transport trip to the city centre is often just as quick as driving if you include parking time, and you can text to your heart’s content!

Cycling: Making your work place cycle friendly is easy. Ensure there is a secure and dry place to store bikes. Try to give your cyclists access to a shower room and keep a bike multi tool and puncture repair kit at reception. Tip: get a shared cycle or two for your office; this can eliminate many local car journeys.

Walking: Let staff know where good local walking routes are and report any major issues with footpaths, crossings and trees to your local council.

Tip: try using walking meetings for those big idea and concept meetings; the fresh air and exercise can do wonders for inspiration.

Ride sharing: Encourage ride sharing and give the best parking spaces to ride sharers. Setting some targets for reducing parking spaces and shifting commuting and business travel to other modes of transport can be a great cost saver. Share some of the reduced parking costs with staff who change modes, or offer a guaranteed ride home (eg taxi) to overcome anxiety about being stranded at work.

Purchasing

Kitchen supplies: Make them Fair Trade and organic.

Office furniture: Look for recycled desks (NZ made) and check Trademe for used office furniture, which is often much cheaper.

IT: Before you purchase any IT equipment consider leasing. Make sure you are leasing IT equipment that meets sustainability criteria. There is a good online resource for this: www.tinyurl.com/d4t9vqn.

Office supplies: Ensure wherever possible they are from a certified source, e.g. FSC for paper, environmental choice for other products.

Office equipment, e.g. photocopiers: Buy them from companies with sustainability policies and frameworks such as Ricoh or Canon or companies committed to sustainable design, e.g. Formway desks and chairs.

Waste

Prevention: Learn to avoid printing unless absolutely necessary. If printing is unavoidable, use double sides. Upcycle blank sided sheets before putting them into the waste stream or use a local company such as Love Notes to recreate them into note pads for the team.

Recycling: Take the rubbish bin away and only allow for a recycling system.

Worm farming: Check if you have someone in the team who loves gardening. The product generated from worm bins is great for gardens.

Community

Encourage your staff to get involved in community projects, for example, get involved in Transition Town activities – there’s always lots going on in local communities.

Greening your workplaces: some useful sites

Tuturu Products collect coffee grinds to produce 'fodda' – an organically certified soil enhancer and general fertiliser. “Any office could contribute to this,” says Mike Murphy – owner of the organic Kokako Coffee Company and winner of the Sustainable Business Network’s small business award in 2012.

We Compost collect food scraps, coffee grinds, paper towels and compostable packaging made from PLA, Potato Pak and cornstarch. They deliver to a fully consented composting site, using a process that does not produce methane. The finished product is used by local growers to help rebuild soil biomass and increase crop yields.

Hungry Bin “The best worm farm ever,” says inventor Ben Bell. Hungry Bins have a continuous flow system and are more efficient than stacked trays.

Labels to look for

Respected eco-certifier Environmental Choice New Zealand has launched a new standard for offices. Interested companies can access a free checklist detailing the new standard here – the checklist is also a handy manual for those beginning a sustainability journey at work.