MIDDLEBURY, VT and SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Brighter Planet today released a report detailing the results of their national survey on employee sustainability practices. The paper, entitled “Employee Engagement Survey 2009: An Analysis of the Extent and Nature of Employee Sustainability Programs,” examines the effectiveness and potential of programs that activate employees in fusing sustainability with profitability.
The study, which surveyed a record-setting 1,055 respondents across the country, found that a majority of organizations have begun taking tentative steps to encourage sustainable behavior by their employees on some level. But few organizations had official policies guiding their interactions with staff about sustainability, and similarly few programs were judged to be very effective in converting employee behavior. Two thirds of employees would like their employer to change their stance on sustainability.
“The shift to sustainability is a cultural shift, and it's one that must happen at all levels within an organization to be truly effective,” said Mindy Lubber, Brighter Planet advisory board member and president of Ceres, a leading U.S. coalition of investors and environmental groups. “But institutions that have invested in the right systems and structures find that these are yielding not only environmental and social benefits but also helping the bottom line.”
This Brighter Planet study helps to inform development of employee sustainability programs by highlighting factors that contribute to their success. A recent Gallup study found that companies with engaged employees had earnings-to-share growth rates 2.6 times higher than those without, and suggested that $300 billion is squandered annually in the US due to a disengaged workforce. Yet McKinsey’s 2009 survey concluded that while business leaders believe that sustainability programs can generate substantial shareholder value, they rarely take this into account when making business investments.
“Operating an organization with a commitment to the triple bottom line is a tall order, and taller still under the twin clouds of the recent economic downturn and the impending sustainability crisis,” said Brighter Planet CEO Patti Prairie. “This study sheds some light on best practices for integrating employees – the heart of any organization - into sustainability initiatives, helping to overcome the challenges of our time.”
About Brighter Planet
Brighter Planet (www.brighterplanet.com) provides technology-driven climate change solutions that help people and businesses manage their environmental impact. Its suite of innovative tools range from debit and credit cards that build renewable energy, to crowd-powered community climate projects, to a proprietary technology platform that integrates carbon emissions modeling with business operations. Brighter Planet has engaged over 150,000 customers to date.
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