ALMOST THREE in four (73%) adults who take part in environmental and social responsibility efforts at work are more likely to make sustainable choices at home as a result.
However, many employed adults reveal a gap in, or express uncertainty about, their own company’s practices. Just one in five (21%) believe that a majority of businesses are committed to “going green” – which is defined as “improving the health of the environment by implementing more sustainable business practices and/or offering environmentally-friendly products or services”.
The results come from a survey of US employees by communications firm Gibbs and Soell as part of its annual “sense & sustainability” study.
“There is a lot of research around motivating consumers to make more sustainable purchases from the perspective of product marketing, so we decided to investigate the opportunity to influence them in the workplace,” said Ron Loch, principal and managing director.
“We found that the ripple effect of engaging employees in sustainability activities means they are more likely to practice sustainability at home and encourage neighbours to do the same. However, too few employers seem to be taking advantage of this opportunity to create green consumers.”
Two-thirds (67%) of employees, for instance, are not sure whether there is anyone at their company who is responsible for sustainability, or they say no one is responsible for sustainability at work. Nearly one-fifth (19%) of employees say their company does not promote sustainability at all.
The majority of employed adults are interested in learning what companies are doing in terms of sustainability (74%) and wish their own company or employer engaged in more sustainability business practices or social responsibility initiatives (68%).
- See February’s Footprint to find out about employee engagement on sustainability issues