Because most adults spend a majority of their waking hours at work, a sustainable working environment is critical.  The work site, organizational culture and working environment are powerful influences on behavior.   Wellness programs have been uses as instruments to address weight reduction, reduced stress levels, improved physical fitness, health, and well being.  They may include fitness, recreation, social activities and programs to enhance intellectual and spiritual development.

If you think about it, you can’t help but notice the link between wellness programs and business sustainability programs.  However, wellness programs have traditionally been an add on program offered to employees whereas, business sustainability, at its highest level, is executed and embedded in the core business operations.

Notice the benefits cited for wellness programs and see if these don’t ring true for corporate responsibility executed in the workplace.

-  Enhanced recruitment and retention of healthy employees
-  Reduced health care costs
-  Decreased rates of illness and injuries
-  Reduced employee absenteeism
-  Improved employee relations and morale
-  Increased productivity

Sustainable business strategies embedded in the core operations of a business captures the benefits a wellness program aims to make and more.

-  Improve Business Reputation
-  Create Brand Differentiation
-  Capture Industry Synergies with other Sustainable Businesses
-  Reduce Business Cost
-  Improve Employee Satisfaction and Retention
-  Lead Your Industry in Best Practices
-  Improved Stakeholder Engagement
-  Respond to Consumer Eco-Preferences
-  Proactive Measures regarding Environmental Legislation

Providing employees with wellness programs not only provides them a way to improve their health, but it also demonstrates corporate social responsibility.  Businesses taking it to the next step are integrating sustainability plans into the core business.

Take for example the benefits of a bike commuting program for business.  It qualifies as alternative transportation, a contributor to a wellness program and also reduces emissions addressed by a corporate sustainability plan.  There are benefits to the bike commuters as well.  Not only are employees expanding eco awareness in the community and within the business, they are also elevating their moods, saving money, and improving well being.  Explore the ways your organizations worksite wellness programs can extend your sustainability initiatives to provide greater value.

To begin, what is a carbon offset?  A carbon offset is a financial instrument aimed at a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.   For instance, a carbon offset is used to balance out the emissions one cannot reduce by funding an emissions reducing project elsewhere.

It is not uncommon to consider carbon offsetting as a tool to live green, yet continue with unfavorable environmental habits.  Quite the contrary.

Offsetting is not a substitute for reducing or eliminating emissions or other environmental impacts. Nor should it be a mechanism that allows people to continue to indulge in destructive lifestyles.

Living green means applying sustainability concepts such as Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.  Carbon offsetting addresses the end of this series; whereas, the initial focus should be placed on reduction and new habits.  Ultimately, it’s best to first reduce emissions.  Developing new environmentally focused habits through a personal sustainability plan yields reductions in emissions.

There is a time and a place for carbon offsetting.

• - Offsetting can be a partial solution that complements other approaches
• - Offsetting can be seen as part of maintaining the balance of life
• - Carbon offsets offers a path to eco action and raises eco awareness
• - Offsetting schemes can be used as an interim measure until other solutions are developed – efficient emission-free fuels and renewable energy sources.

Offsetting has its role and a favorable one at that.  One to be considered as a responsible approach if other sustainability concepts are being addressed.   Singlehandedly, it may not be the best approach in a sustainable lifestyle.

In building corporate sustainability, it’s encouraged to have a comprehensive business sustainability program.  While that may be the preferred path, there are other steps you can take as well.

“Green Teams“, are formal or informal groups of people in a company who are passionate about environmental issues.  They are gathering in offices across America to brainstorm solutions and promote ways in which their company’s practices can become more environmentally sustainable.  Green teams, blessed with management’s approval can be effective in spearheading sustainability initiatives: reduce paper use, initiate or increase recycling programs, promote energy conservation efforts, and more, making a huge difference within a department or building.

Link eco awareness programs to existing company offerings, as in wellness programs.   Wellness programs have been uses as instruments to address weight reduction, reduced stress levels, improved physical fitness, health, and well being.  They may include fitness, recreation, social activities and programs to enhance intellectual and spiritual development.  Providing employees with wellness programs not only provides them a way to improve their health, but it also demonstrates corporate social responsibility.

Create individual employee sustainability programs: The basic premise of a personal sustainability program is to reduce your carbon footprint, lighten the load on the planet as well as reap the benefits of living a more sustainable lifestyle.    Eco actions taken in a personal sustainability plan can be anything from riding a bike to work or eating organic healthy meals or recycling.  It can also be about achieving a personal goal, sustaining it, and building from that platform.

Educate: Offer ongoing workshops, training, lunch and learns, and educational activities to educate workers on the environmental issues (energy, water, waste, and others) and the associated actions causing the problems.  Identify new behavior and eco actions that individually workers can take to create new patterns of behavior and choices that support environmental solutions and are aligned with the company’s overarching sustainability plan and values.   The key to success?  Education.  Ongoing education, and education targeted at different levels within the organization helps create lasting change.

Create a sustainable work environment: The benefits of a sustainable work environment include a healthier more sustainable workforce; a more productive workforce; attracts quality employees and helps to reduce turnover. It also reduces lost work time related to health issues.

These efforts enable proactive businesses leaders to capture the benefits of sustainable business: reduce business costs, improve business reputation, and attract and maintain top job candidates.

Stay tuned to SocialYell for more information on how to bring sustainability into your business and to find sustainable businesses.

I like businesses.  I particularly like start-ups and their ability to re-invent the way business operates.  I think that is important when we begin to consider companies based on their 360-degree impact on our lives (that is, not just the benefits of the products and services they create, but also the potential consequences they produce).  The auto-maker Tesla comes to mind as a startup that is pushing electric vehicles into the mainstream with new energy and vision.

However, unlike well-run businesses, the federal government has a chance to make decisions that are short-term losses (well, maybe even a long-term losses) and not worry about quarterly reporting and firm-level ROI.  If they take a loss to change the cost, technology, demand or resource efficiency of the transportation industry – or even other industries – it can still be a success for the country and economy.  Whereas, if a private sector shipping company loses billions of dollars buying electric vehicles as an early adopter, it is held accountable while its rivals benefit from the advances in the market.  FedEx, UPS, Coca-Cola Enterprises and every other company that delivers products or goods can benefit from the USPS expenditure.

I am not saying that this is how it will work out.  There are challenges and no bill or initiative is perfect.  But it is how it could work out with the proper planning, execution and support.  To get more efficient government and corporate fleets, improved electric infrastructure and lower-cost, more efficient consumer transportation, it seems worth the cost and effort.

Living green often means different things to different people.  For those well versed in sustainability concepts, a green lifestyle may be very different compared to someone just beginning to make sustainable life changes.

First, why are people attracted to a green lifestyle?

• Families go green for their children
• It saves money
• Living with eco awareness protects the planet for future generations
• Participation in neighborhood or community eco awareness
• It feels good
• It is healthier-investing in your body means less toxins and less illness
• It’s easy to go green now: more options and alternatives available

Some seek to live a sustainable lifestyle but are discouraged by thoughts that it’s an all or nothing approach.  Not so! The very principals of sustainability or green living rest on the fact that it’s a continuous improvement mindset.  So, wherever you are on the green living continuum is just fine.  In fact, it’s okay to focus eco action in particular areas of interest or inspiration first and later address less interesting areas of eco awareness.  If you like fashion, go for eco friendly clothing.  If you think recycling is fun and energy efficiency is boring, then start recycling.

It’s important to remember that living an eco friendly lifestyle is not a single cookie cutter solution that applies uniformly to everyone.  Each individual has to find the value in it for themselves.  The magic is in how each person integrates environmentally friendly choices in their day to day activities.  Simple habits add up to powerful eco actions.

Curious how to get started?

• Start by rethinking consumption patterns for energy and water needs and identify ways to curb unnecessary consumption.
• Eliminate food waste.  Pre plan your meals, buy in bulk, and prepare what you need.  Compost and turn your old food into healthy soil.
• Purchase items with the eco awareness in mind.  Purchase products with minimal packaging or sustainable packaging.  Products that can be reused before recycling offer more environmental value.
• Use SocialYell to find, support and promote socially responsible businesses.  Your discussion and participation provide the transparency for others to live green, too.

Being conscious of sustainability concepts when you shop, work and play, raises the level of eco awareness in your day and contributes to living a sustainable lifestyle.

According to a recent study, top performing organizations view sustainability as a “must have” strategy for long term business viability and success.  A differentiating aspect of these organizations is a recognition and response to ‘pressures from stakeholders’.

While executive support is a critical key component to business success, it is not the only form of leadership present in an organization.  Business sustainability leaders understand the value in leveraging their internal resources as well as their key business relationships.

Whether led by a sustainability executive or traditional management, the pursuit of long-term business sustainability enables:

• Employees: Create incentives to lower costs, initiate process improvements, and stimulate innovation.

• Customers: Establish expectations that are defining products and service attributes.

• Suppliers: Align supply chain expectations to drive sustainable material requirements and efficiencies.

• Local Community: Defined framework for initiatives carried out at the local level through partnership with community groups, local businesses, and governing bodies.

In both a corporate culture which encourages stakeholder engagement and a traditional setting, there are opportunities to further facilitate eco awareness across any organization.  By creating an openness to new information and a business model to respond, a company enables itself to explore the value of business sustainability.

It is essential to build a focused business sustainability plan which incorporates sustainability concepts into core business practices.  Additionally, include business leaders to engage employees and other key stakeholders in business sustainability strategies that add specific value and promote company growth and success.

I have been to a lot of weddings. While most of them were beautiful and meaningful events, and a few were indescribably fun, a wedding last weekend was perhaps one of the best I have ever attended.

It wasn’t just that the bride was beautiful and overflowing with happiness (she was) or that everyone seemed to have a great time (they did).  What separated this from other weddings was that more than any other, this one was a true and perfect reflection of the happy couple.  It was authentically them.  In everything from where the reception was held, to the readings at the ceremony.  From the band selected to their first “dance.”  And, most importantly, to the public commitment they made in front of us, to us and with us.  And, because all of those things reflected and amplified who they are, it was a wedding that all who attended will never forget.  I was honored to be a part of it.

Why am I using my first posting here at Social Yell to write about a wedding?  As I sat down to write this, snapshots of the wedding floated through my mind, and I began to see parallels between this wedding and socially responsible brand marketing.  Like this couple, a socially responsible brand strives for authenticity in everything it does.  And, like this couple, that leads to those that participate with the brand to be loyal and have a sense of inclusion with it.

When brands express who they are, it is not enough to state it in a print ad, or on a website.  Everything that brings the “who we are” claim to life must be consistent.  In a word, authentic.  Take Patagonia for example:  The company’s mission to build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis is reflected and amplified in everything they do.  It is in how they design, manufacture and distribute their products.  It is in how they construct and work in their buildings.  It is in the information they provide to their customers on how to recycle their Patagonia products when they are done using them, and through the organizations they support.  And it is in one of the most impressive things they do – track the journey each item of clothing goes through from the raw materials to manufacturing to distribution.  As expected, they take credit for the things they do well.  But what is wonderful about Patagonia, is that they admit what improvements they still have to make.  And, by publicly stating that there is still work to be done, they have made a commitment in front of us, to us and with us.  As a result of this public commitment, Patagonia enjoys loyalty, passion and commitment from their consumers.  Isn’t that what every brand wants?

Authenticity and transparency is scary for many brands.  Brand leaders sometimes feel that if they open the doors, people will see that they are not perfect, or that they will get “caught” on the inconsistencies and the not-so-great things they are also doing.  So, how do you convince brand leaders to move forward to more authentic marketing?

1. Gather information:  Pull a team together and have an honest discussion about the good and the not-so-good you are already doing.  Put a plan in place to eliminate the not-so-goods.  What are the ways that you can “get the job” done in ways that you don’t need to conceal?

2. Define the “going forward rules”  – what do you strive to do?  What won’t you do?

3. Start small.  Pick a small brand or a product line and communicate your intentions: what you are trying to do, what you have already done and the work still do do.

4. Reach out to others for guidance and support.

– Who are the influencers in this area that can help stretch your thinking to “do good” and help you get the word out?

– When thinking about cause marketing or partnerships, what organizations make sense to solidify and enhance your message?

– When thinking about new products and new communication campaigns, how does this new thinking get integrated?

This is  a short and seemingly simple list and that is the point.  This does not have to be big, bloated and complex.  It does, however have to be well intentioned, purposeful and authentic.

Blog Action Day is an annual event held every October 15 that unites the world’s bloggers in posting about the same issue on the same day with the aim of sparking discussion around an issue of global importance.

We have seen examples of blog coordination to create positive social change before.  A few of my favorites were started by Rob Reed through his  Max Gladwell blog.  His 10 Ways to Change the World Through Social Media post was syndicated simultaneously on many of the most influential sustainability and green blogs around the world and it really put SocialYell on the map as a way to rate and review organizations based on corporate responsibility.  And we were lucky enough to participate in the next “10 ways” post and use our blog to get the word out on 10 Ways to Support Charity Through Social Media.  I bring this up not just to relive old times, but to point out that there are at least 2 important things going on here.

One, clearly, is to raise awareness about climate change.

It seems almost unbelievable that we need more “awareness” that we are contributing to climate change in an unnatural and unsustainable way and that we need to take action to make big changes in the way we live and the ways we use energy, but we do.  The disconnect is a lot like the one we all see when we Cc a bunch of people on an email.  Know what I mean?  When a recipient sees other people in the address field, it is easy for her to think that someone else is taking care of it.  Instead of talking about how “we” need to act now, I’d like to hear people tell themselves “I” need to act now and tell others “YOU” need to act now!  It is like Justin’s dad said (of @shitmydadsays fame):

“You need to flush the toilet more than once…No, YOU, YOU specifically need to.”

There is no CC in Climate Change! Well, um, you know what I mean.

Which brings me to the second important thing going on here: mass coordination over the fastest growing information medium in history to affect change.  Never before have we been able to communicate on a personal level in such a mass way.  I want to take this chance to tell our readers that YOU, YOU, specifically need to act.  YOU need to take the bus instead of drive, YOU need to search for alternative energy options in your area, YOU need to write your congress person, YOU need to read the Blog Action Day posts and learn how to make the changes that need to be made. I do, too!

While I clearly love it when SocialYell and our blog posts get shared to many people, I’d like to encourage people to email or talk with people one-on-one about changing the way they take accountability for climate change.  No Cc’ing.  No guilt trips.  Just honest conversations about how every individual is accountable for climate change.

• Surprisingly employees ranked highest (48%),
• Customers followed closely behind with (44%)
• Local communities, regulators, media and NGOs, all ranked (mid-20%)
• Investors scored the lowest (16%).

Companies are beginning to see the value in providing employees, middle management, and executives with education, tools and support necessary to champion sustainable development in their organizations.  Business sustainability is becoming a key concept in recruiting and retaining top talent.

“Our store partners (employees) are creating relationships with our customers every day.  We believe it matters greatly that they feel Starbucks is a great place to work, and a company that cares not only about their well-being but also about the world we live in.”   — Jim Donald, Starbucks

CEOs across all industries realize the economic value of incorporating sustainability concepts into product development and marketing.  Focusing on customer’s eco awareness and shifting preferences is creating new market segments and opportunity for business growth.

“Our goal: offer our customers an increasing volume of affordable, sustainable products that help them live better every day.” — Lee Scott, Wal-Mart

Executives recognize that transparency and accountability is no longer limited to a company’s financials.  Corporate sustainability plans are providing company disclosure on regulatory compliance and risks.

“A commitment to sustainability recognizes that our company is not measured by financial results alone. We must also be responsible stewards of the environment and responsive to the changing expectations of our stakeholders.”  –Jim Rodgers, Duke Energy

Investors are expecting more from companies.  Business sustainability is now being integrated into traditional investment evaluation process, and this is having real impact on company financials.  Company success and sustainability are becoming more closely linked.

We recognize that opportunities for growth bring real social responsibility challenges. When society changes, business must be proactive in changing along with it. We are doing so, moving beyond dialogue to action.  — Jeffrey R. Immelt, GE

Today’s business environment is changing and leading companies are responding.  Recognizing the need for change and taking action can get you on the track.

One, PBS’s film about America’s national parks, was an inspirational tale of vision and understanding of the value of nature – particularly the value of predatory animals like bears and wolves. At one time in our history, there was an explicit goal to eliminate all wolves from our lands – and it almost succeeded.  It makes sense.  Wolves hunt for the same things we eat, so the initial reaction was to eliminate them.  But, as the PBS film portrays, our outlook gradually changed, thanks to some of our country’s animal and nature conservation pioneers.  Of course a film about the American national parks covers much more than just our interaction with and understanding of animals.  It is well worth a viewing!

The other was a Discovery Channel show: Lion Feeding Frenzy.  In this video, a lion expert and the show’s host study lions and their hunting abilities by baiting them into some tests while observing from a protective box.  They bait the lions with meat hung on a rope from a tree and observe as the lions leap to take the bait.  When more lions notice, one of the observers declares:  ”Any second, this group of aggressive males could attack us from all angles!”

I understand that portraying a terrifying killer probably sells better than educating on the ways of nature and importance of these (and other) creatures.  After all, the first has an audience of everybody and the latter has an audience only of people who care.  Discovery has done a great job over the years of growing the number of people who care, but they also sell media and have to attract viewers.  Terrifying and/or sensational videos such as “Lion Feeding Frenzy”, “Bear Feeding Frenzy”, “Crocodile Feeding Frenzy” and much of the programming during Shark Week (”Missing Limbs”, “Bloody Aftermath”, “Jaws in the Creek”) may attract more viewers, but they aren’t among Discovery’s most sustainable, conservation education pieces.