What makes a sustainability initiative in the office work?

Posted: September 4th, 2011

It’s not rocket science.

First you need the energy to do it. Someone has to step up to the plate and champion the initiative. You need a leader.

Second you need people support. One person cannot move the mountain. Invite the people who are most passionate to be part of a team.

Third you need budget. The ROI is there. (Want proof?)

Fourth you need to base the program on research, not whim. The research says:

• Start small
• Ask for personal commitment
• Set goals and make it a team effort
• Inspire and empower with an internal communications campaign
• Measure and report
• Celebrate and reward

Finally you need the tools and expertise to make it happen. You’re in the right place.

Your Cuppa Joe

Posted: July 7th, 2011

Ceramic Mugs vs. Disposable Bio Cups – NO CONTEST

Is it better to have ceramic mugs for hot drinks in your office or compostable bio-cups?

We looked at a 300 employee company over the 15 year cycle of the average Energy Star dishwasher. Our findings are pretty staggering.

For those who want the short answer, the ceramic mugs win, hands down.

For those who want the long answer, see below!

WE STARTED WITH ESTIMATES ON CUP USE:

The average disposable cup use for this size organization is a little over 68,000 disposable cups a year for a total of 1,032,330 cups used over the 15 year lifecycle.

For the reusable ceramic mugs, we assumed the company would need 280 mugs and that they would be replaced once during the 15 year lifecycle for a total of 560 mugs used.

THEN WE LOOKED AT IMPACTS

Impact 1: Material Intensity

The material intensity is the amount of ’stuff’ (technical term) in kilograms that needs to be taken out of the earth (ore, coal, clay etc.) to make the Ceramic Mugs and Bio Cups:

Impact 2: Water Use

How many litres of water are used in the production of Ceramic Mugs vs Bio Cups … including the water used for dishwashing over the 15 year period?

Impact 3: Power Use

How many kilowatt-hours (kWh) of power are needed to produce the Ceramic Mugs vs Bio Cups … including the power used for dishwashing over the 15 year period?

Impact 4: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

How much Greenhouse Gas is emitted (in kilograms) in the production of the Ceramic Mugs vs Bio Cups … including GHGs for running the dishwashers and GHGs emitted by killing trees needed for Bio Cup production over the 15 year period?

Canadians want green business

Posted: June 2nd, 2011

I happened upon this article on the Globe-net.com site.

http://www.globe-net.com/articles/2010/april/7/canadians-support-companies-with-green-business-practices.aspx?id=4746

The upshot of the article is that TD Canada Trust just completed a survey in late March with over a thousand Canadians – exploring the importance of “Green business” to them … the results are compelling:

• 38% of Canadians say “they want to buy from a business that cares about the environment.”
• an additional 20% want businesses to know that “if you’re not considering the environment, your business may suffer.”
• Over 25% of Canadians say “would consider paying more for goods and services if the company can demonstrate environmentally responsible business practices.”

Many companies recognize this and are working extensively on external programs to illustrate their commitment to green.

But are they living it in their day to day internal operations?

The general answer to this question is no. And usually for a couple of reasons:

1. There is a lack of people resource, so ‘being green’ either added to the already full job spec or taken up as a volunteer endeavour,
2. There is a lack of budget with the view being that an internal ‘green’ program’ is a cost with little or no return.

Inspire Enterprise is passionate about changing this. We provide the support needed to get programs happening (and succeeding!) and we do it cost effectively.

Our belief (born out through experience) is that changing the world at work makes business sense.

Let us prove it to you. Contact us.

How do you shift attitudes and change behaviour?

Posted: April 22nd 2011

While I’ve spent most of my working life grappling with this question from a marketing perspective, it is in my home life that I’ve learned most of the lessons I’m now using in my efforts to change the world.

As a Father of two, I get daily reminders of what works and what doesn’t in terms of shifting behaviour patterns.

For example, the other day I said to my 5 year old son:
“Don’t stick your arm out of the car window.”

You can guess what happened next.

But I don’t think this reaction is reserved for children. If someone says to you “Don’t think of a pink elephant”, does yours have purple polka-dots?

It does now.

“Don’t do it or else we’re all doomed” has been the primary approach from a majority of environmental and social movements for almost half a century… And, from what I can see, it hasn’t worked that well.

As with my 5 year old, it’s not what you communicate, it’s how you communicate it.

Thankfully, things are changing. Inspire Enterprise is proud to be a proponent of this paradigm shift – A shift from fear, guilt and alarmism to empowerment, motivation and inspiration.

Not only is it more effective, it’s a lot more fun.

Welsh academic Raymond Williams put it best when he said:

To be truly radical is to make hope possible, rather than despair convincing.

Wanna join in the fun?

Then whatever you do, don’t click “Get Involved”

Cheers

Paul