BBC’s Leader Board spoke with Great Forest recently about how managers and other decision-makers can start a “green revolution” in the workplace.
If you’re wondering now how to begin, that’s where someone like Anna Dengler of New York City-based Great Forest comes in. Her company consults with companies on how to become more sustainable.
The first step is to analyze the environmental impact of the resources you’re using, Dengler said. Then drill down into waste, like after-hour energy use or spikes in water supplies.
The article goes on to note that change happens by “challenging the existing process.”
It offered the example of a Great Forest client that had a corporate rule requiring special requests, like a car service for top clients, to be made on paper. Getting them to make a simple change – to switch their requests from paper to email – was effective but difficult because of the company culture.
“Usually the problem of company waste is obvious, but it’s the solution that’s challenging because it changes the office culture,” Dengler said.
Read the full article here with examples from Puma and Walmart, including the story of how the chain saved a reported $1 million a year just by switching off vending machines lights at night when no one was around to use them.