Business Links: What in the Green World is Going On?

Business organizations over the past decade have outsourced, gone global and international, have added to their assets through mergers and acquisitions to enhance their productivity and cost savings, and are now taking on the business of “going” green and becoming a sustainable business. Thanks to technology innovations, human consumption rates have accelerated to a level where the planet can’t support it. In addition, our crucial resources (eco-system) are shrinking fast. There has been a paradigm shift, but the beauty in this deal is it’s still in its infancy, so there’s time to catch on to the business of going green for a sustainable business outcome.Wikipedia defines sustainability as the capacity to endure. In ecology, the word describes how biological systems remain diverse and productive over time. For humans, this is the potential for long-term maintenance of wellbeing, which in turn depends on the wellbeing of the natural world and the responsible use of natural resources. Therefore, sustainability development puts your company on the map that links to ecological success.

As your business engages in the development of a green business, here’s some “food for thought”- first think about your human capital. Employees will most likely execute those green policies and create the green corporation culture, so begin the discussion by having team/department meetings. The focus should be to make the case that sustainability makes $ense and that it is an emerging trend. Encourage participation- have green bingo games, have a scavenger hunt within the company to find green savings and practices that the company may be currently doing. Do a sustainability interest survey.

Align HR Policies with sustainability goals: the passion for a green culture should turn into actions and business systems needs to be aligned with the company green culture. Research shows that young professionals in particular, want to make a difference in their chosen professions. A 2007 poll on green employment done by Monster/Trak.com found that 92 percent of students and entry-level applicants preferred to work for a sustainable company and 80 percent of young professionals were interested in securing a job with a positive impact on the environment.

Other considerations include tying compensation to sustainability, incentives and training. As noted in USNews.com,/Entrepreneur.com a company’s CEO deducts $10,000 from the price tag of a purchase of a hybrid car. This CEO also provides free reusable grocery bags to clients or employees and provides free-in-office lunches every day so no one has to drive to eat! Now that’s a commitment with a price. But, this is an example of the commitment it will take for gaining substantial rewards for humanity, our planet and stakeholders. In addition, today’s workforce of Generation X-ers and Y-ers will know when they are being “green washed”, so your green practices should be reflected by employing a “doing” commitment.

Stay tuned for a more indepth conversation on aligning HR policies with sustainable goals.

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Posted by Vanessa Chandler-Brown on Mar 4 2010. Filed under Business, Viewpoints. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.