Ohen it comes to supporting their employer’s climate program, there is a difference between what workers want and what they get. On the one hand, employees’ thirst for more climate-friendly workplaces is undeniable: around 70% of employees and job seekers say that a sustainability program makes an employer more attractive, while 44 % of executives rate their company’s climate initiatives as effective. recruitment and retention tool.
On the other hand, several surveys have shown that a significant number of workers believe they need more information about their employer’s climate objectives, as well as training on how to help the company achieve these objectives. Goals.
One way for employers to bridge this gap: think like a customer experience manager.
As more and more consumers consider a company’s climate policies when deciding how to spend their money, organizations are increasingly designing customer journeys that put sustainability first. “If you really want to grow your business, it’s about creating an emotional connection with your brand,” says Jon Chorley, director of sustainability at Oracle. He cites the company’s “No Planet B” study, which found that 70% of consumers would stop supporting a brand if they deemed their sustainability initiatives inadequate.
“Besides saving the planet, this is one of the most important aspects of sustainability for businesses: aligning your goals as a business with your customer’s values,” says Chorley.
Similarly, employers looking to maintain and deepen employee engagement on their climate goals can start by viewing their employees as customers and borrowing best practices from their CX leaders to drive this values alignment. Here’s how.
Tear down information silos.
Chorley points out that integrating sustainability into the customer journey requires two key traits: authenticity and transparency. “If you can communicate good information to your consumer that can support sustainability goals,” he says, “you are much more able to create meaningful alignment between sustainability, your brand, and your relationship with the consumer.” Clients should be able to easily find and navigate a company’s sustainability goals and results, ideally organized according to an established sustainability reporting system.
For employees, who spend far more time interacting with a company than customers, the need for transparency is even greater. Workers must have a clear and easily accessible path to understand not only what their company is doing to fight climate change, but also why they are doing it. Deloitte’s internal climate learning program, for example, was created to give employees a foundation in climate science and insight into the company’s environmental initiatives; the course, delivered to all members of Deloitte’s 330,000 employees, is now also part of its onboarding process.
Rely on labels.
The vast choice available to customers when it comes to most products can make it difficult to properly weigh the environmental impacts of seemingly indistinguishable versions. This lack of information can be crippling: in a recent survey, around half of UK consumers cited lack of information as a barrier to adopting a more sustainable lifestyle.
Many brands have solved the problem with simple, readable labels, both physical and digital, that help customers compare products and make more informed decisions. Google Maps, for example, now uses a green leaf icon to signify more eco-friendly routes. Apparel companies like Patagonia and Pact have specific labels to indicate fair trade practices, organic or recycled materials, and carbon offsets.
What does the labeling look like when applied internally? One tactic is internal carbon pricing, which organizations such as Microsoft and Yale have adopted, to put a price on each metric ton of carbon emissions generated by the organization. Business activities – from heating physical office space to storing data to ordering supplies – are then given a corresponding dollar value to be taken from the team or company budget .
Another lower-impact practice is a company-wide carbon emissions tracker for work-related travel, such as business travel and commuting, with the aim of making the environmental impact of employee transport choices – opting for a walk rather than a taxi on the way to a meeting with a client, for example, may seem more appealing when the climate benefits are quantified. At Charter, we use a modified version of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Emissions Calculator, but a number of third-party apps can provide employees with real-time energy usage data for instant benchmarking.
Design for lack of effort.
A proven rule of human behavior applies to the customer experience: opt-out is more effective than opt-in at driving the desired action. Using an opt-out rather than a framework has been shown to increase the adoption of green electricity, the reuse of hotel linens, and the use of electronic rather than paper bank statements.
All of this means that the simplest and most effective practice of CX managers is often to make the environmentally responsible option a default option for consumers. “When the onus is on the consumer to add carbon offsets at checkout or choose the most sustainable product on a website, an opportunity is missed to build sustainability into everything on offer,” says Clarke Murphy, the former CEO of the consulting firm Russell. Reynolds Associates and author of Sustainable leadership.
As Chorley says, “Fundamentally, it’s about making it easy for people to do the right thing.”
Or, at the very least, make it attractive. Clothing brand Reformation, which has attracted a younger consumer base with its sustainably and ethically made pieces, has invested in initiatives in recent years that push customers to adopt more sustainable practices outside of their clothing choices. The brand offers in-store credit for the purchase of renewable energy subscriptions and runs apparel exchange and recycling programs.
“The success of our sustainability initiatives is determined by the ease with which they are adopted,” says Kathleen Talbot, director of sustainability and vice president of operations at Reformation. That’s why, she adds, the company “gives[s] our customers as many touchpoints as possible to make an impact.”
Applying the same line of thinking to employees means guiding the company’s sustainability programs in the most fluid direction. Prioritize virtual meetings when possible to reduce emissions from air travel. Reframe commuter benefits to emphasize public transit, bicycling, and walking rather than driving personal cars. Choose office spaces based on energy efficiency and subsidize home sustainability upgrades for remote workers. (And, most importantly, accompany each initiative with an explanation of why it’s the default, which helps foster a sense of common purpose.)
Make people feel heard.
One of the easiest ways for organizations to give their customers a voice on sustainability (or, really, anything)? Ask them what they want to see, with tools like surveys and social media engagement.
But giving people a way to express their needs is one thing. Making them feel like their voice matters is another. As a 2020 Deloitte report pointed out, this means proactively communicating a company’s actions on social and environmental issues, not just on a corporate blog or website, but on social media platforms. and other digital spaces where customers actually hang out. “Disengaging from outside debate on important issues will mean indifference and the loss of loyal customers,” the report notes: some 55% of consumers want companies to actively promote awareness of environmental and social issues, while 75% say that consumer brand CEOs should work harder to reduce their organizations’ carbon emissions.
Within companies themselves, employee environmental resource groups (ERGs) are solving both challenges at once, giving workers both a place to be heard and a space to act on what they want. that the organization accomplishes. ERGs can help define a company’s climate agenda, communicate progress on that agenda internally, educate colleagues, and hold the company accountable for sustainability promises.
As we’ve written before in our guide to ERGs, the key to their success is investing in the work they do and the people who run them. Environmental ERGs, like any other well-resourced ERGs, should have a budget, influence over corporate policy, and compensation and recognition for its leaders. By doing so, companies signal to employees that sustainability is a priority and that all employees can take ownership of the organization’s climate goals.
