Many businesses have adopted an environmental, social and governance (ESG) approach as a priority to mitigate future risks, attract customers and retain talent. But how many of these are actively engaging their employees to reduce emissions in their own lives?
At Energy Saving Trust, we’ve seen more companies demonstrate leadership in sustainability by supporting their employees to reduce their carbon emissions, both at work and home. While there are several reasons driving this shift, from our perspective, these are the top four:
1. Aligning company culture to sustainability goals
For companies with net zero targets and a Carbon Reduction Plan in place, the next step is to engage employees with this mission. This means motivating employees with the ‘why’ – explaining what reducing emissions means for our planet, the company and their own lives.
Demonstrating how individual behaviours and actions contribute to your organisation’s ESG targets can unify your employees under a shared goal. It also shows customers, stakeholders and anyone who engages with your company that staff are ambassadors of your values.
2. Showing employees you care about what matters to them
With more than half of adults concerned about climate change, empowering employees to adopt more sustainable practices can be a powerful way to attract and retain talent.
This is a top concern for Gen Z and millennial employees. A recent Deloitte study found people in this demographic want more employee education and training to help them be more sustainable in their own lives.
Offering your employees trusted, impartial energy saving advice is an effective way to enable them to act sustainably. For employees who rent their homes, this can include advice on energy efficient appliances and behavioural changes. For homeowners, this can extend to guidance on home energy efficiency improvements.
If you’re looking for a way to provide comprehensive and up-to-date advice, consider using a digital tool. Our digital advice tool, Homewise, can help your employees make energy efficiency improvements to their homes. Employees can create personalised action plans, tailored to the specific characteristics of their home and their needs and budget.
When employees feel their personal development is valued and they’re encouraged to enhance their skills and knowledge, their engagement and productivity levels tend to increase.
3. Supporting employees’ financial wellbeing
With the number of Living Wage employers doubling since 2021, supporting employees’ financial wellbeing has rightly become a priority for employers who care about their workforce. With gas and electricity wholesale prices remaining high and the energy price cap increasing from October, household energy bills are forecast to stay above pre-crisis levels.
You can engage your employees during this time with advice to lower their energy bills and enhance their financial wellbeing. This includes guidance on low- and no-cost ways to reduce their energy use, selecting the best tariffs and accessing funding for home energy efficiency improvements.
4. Complying with environmental standards and net zero commitments
Effective communication with staff about sustainability is an essential part of ISO14001 requirements. Many companies also commit to showing continual improvement and staff engagement as part of their Carbon Reduction Plans and reporting (such as ESOS and SECR).
Demonstrating that staff have completed sustainability training throughout the year can help you to comply with legislation. By leveraging the reporting efficiencies of digital learning, you can make this process seamless. Our new e-learning platform and courses cover topics including saving energy at home and at work, sustainability and net zero. With bite-sized courses and questions to measure progress, you can use it to create a sustainable culture at your organisation.
Companies with staff working from home can take steps to enable them to save energy and carbon emissions in their homes. This comes under the ‘Commuting’ category in Scope 3 of the widely used Greenhouse Gas Protocol.
At Energy Saving Trust, we support employers to empower their people to live more sustainably with expert and impartial energy saving advice. As a profit for purpose organisation trusted by local and national governments, householders and businesses, we work with organisations of all sizes to embed sustainability into their practices.
If you’re looking to engage your employees with energy efficiency and sustainability training or advice, speak to us today to find out what we can do for you.
To find out more about our services, please get in touch.
