Getting staff and team members behind sustainability programs is something every organization can do to help reach its carbon neutrality targets. During my time as Head of Go Green, I managed and promoted DHL eCommerce’s sustainability programs and encouraged my colleagues to take an active role in achieving results.
Using special days to promote Go Green activities was a useful way to get new hires involved and for employees from different departments to get together. For example, the Thai country team organized a tree-planting competition to celebrate World Environment Day one year. A month prior to the event, all employees received a tree sapling that they were to care for. Some people were experienced gardeners who took to the task with ease; but for many, it was a brand new challenge. On planting day, everyone brought in their plants and shared with each other their experience. At the end of the day, all the saplings were planted in a reforesting area on the outskirts of Bangkok.
Meanwhile, I used a different tactic to get employees in the Singapore offices involved in Go Green activities. I wanted to do outreach and raise awareness of Singapore’s own biodiversity by providing a wildlife guide service to the community. I recruited a group of DHL colleagues to sign up as volunteer Go Green Rangers, who underwent four sessions of field training with a professional nature guide and master nature educator to gain hands-on knowledge about the native fauna and flora. After we completed the training, we provided free guided walks in our nature reserves and parks for DHL staff, as well as other commmunity members from a local charity.
As Head of Go Green and implementer of the program, I naturally took part in the ranger training, which felt like I was returning to school again! The group of volunteer rangers learned lots of facts, took dozens of photos, memorized all the names, and we even did training drills with each other before hitting the field.
While encountering wildlife was always exciting, I was more amazed by how little we knew of the hundreds of plants around us. Are they native? Can I eat that? What makes that plant special? We learned as much as we could and shared our knowledge with those who joined our guided walks. They all seemed happy to listen.
I in particular enjoyed taking children on our guided walks. We live in a concrete jungle and many kids don’t have many opportunities to experience the “wild” side of Singapore. On one walk, the group of primary schoolers were impatiently putting up with our plant stories and looking uninterested … until they saw turtles in a pond! Then they were hooked and seemed genuinely mesmerized. Neither the water monitor swimming around, the fish bobbing up to the surface, nor the several brilliantly colored dragonflies could distract them from the cute green swimming turtles. It was during moments like that that I felt I was really helping to make a connection. I hope in a small way I have instilled a sense of wonder and appreciation for mother nature in the children.
These are just some examples of how companies can involve more employees and increase their interest in sustainability programs and activities. The important point is to get people out and make a physical connection with mother nature!
If you need ideas on how to engage your employees in meaningful sustainability activities, I can help!
#sustainability#employee development
