Green X Prize was founded as a solution to the usual barriers to innovative development. The non-profit works assiduously to encourage socially-conscious entrepreneurs to develop products and services that would go on to serve a greater good, making an impact that is unmatched in the conservation of the Earth’s natural resources. Dubbing themselves as a “Green Global Community”, Green X Prize incentivizes community building in a way that makes it easier to make a fundamental difference in the world.
According to the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), the deleterious effects of climate change, for instance, affects humans, animals, plants, weather patterns, and land alike. From increasingly warmer atmospheric temperatures, to rising levels of ocean acidity due to an excessive amount of carbon dioxide emissions ending up in the Earth’s water, climate change has continued to fundamentally alter the structure of the aspects of nature that we once thought unchangeable. The world’s leading independent conservation organization, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), places a special focus on promoting sustainability as one of their six pillars of operation. They recognize that the small choices we make on a daily basis, that may not seem very important in the moment, will eventually compound to have lasting effects on the health of the planet, and by default, the survival of all living species that exist on and below its surface.
It can be difficult as individuals to make enough of a change to move the needle on attitudes and behaviors that have a significant impact on global sustainability and environmental preservation. However, using the example of the Green X Prize mission of building a community that works together to shift the discourse on what it means to be environmentally-friendly, here are three ways that companies can engage their individual employees in living sustainably for the long haul:
- Make It A Healthy Competition.
There are a number of ways that you can go about engaging your employees in sustainability, and one of the most effective, and fun, ways to do that is to create an atmosphere of healthy competition. Whether it is dividing different departments into teams, or encouraging individual activities, you can develop a simple rewards system that will mobilize your employees to taking on tasks that will make their direct, as well as the global, environment a better place. Making it a family affair with a company clean-up day one weekend each month, for example, can also help to bridge the gap between the work space and family life, bringing even more people on board to achieve what is really a singular mission: leave the world a better place than you found it, while having fun and gathering nifty rewards along the way.
- Define & Develop A Sustainable Business Model
It is not at all uncommon for employees to lose a bit of the fire in their eyes after working within a company for a significant amount of time. While they may genuinely enjoy the work that they do, it is likely that the monotony of their daily tasks within an equally uninspiring environment can make it feel like a chore to complete what was once a delight to do. Companies, such as UniLever, who have adopted what can be considered a “sustainable business model”, have found themselves winning against a battle with employee disengagement and dissatisfaction. When a company places comparable importance on environmental and social concerns as with growth and profits, it taps into the concept of a higher sense of purpose that we have as individuals. An absence of a higher sense of purpose can leave employees feeling unimportant and just like another cog in the wheel of the figurative Machine, and developing a sustainable business plan where a company literally puts its money where its mouth is, can help to fill that space.
- Encourage “Green” Champions In The Workplace
We all like to get involved with the things that matter to us the most, so by encouraging employees to become directly involved on day-to-day basis in running your business in a more sustainable-friendly way can boost morale and engagement tenfold. Developing a system where a committee of forward-thinking individuals in the workplace work together across departments and levels on the corporate ladder to physically manifest ideas in how the company can play its part in ensuring that there is a future for the world to look forward to, can make a huge difference. ‘Green’ Champions or Earth Warriors (or whatever quirky name that you can come up with) can help to implement and enforce simple changes in the workplace that can be the beginning of making a big difference. Encouraging the use of recycled paper, for instance, as well as making a conscious effort to begin introducing more sustainably-sourced products into the company break room, can be the first step to making the work environment the best place that in can be. Who knows, this may spill over into implementing similar changes in individual family homes, and at the end of the day, isn’t that the ultimate goal?
Green X Prize is not shy about its mission to corral a large membership of like-minded socially-conscious entrepreneurs who have the passion, drive, and skills necessary to make the world a better place for us all. Independent thinkers are encouraged to not only join and share ideas, but to enter into a healthy competition with other members, encouraging family, friends, and acquaintances to vote your product/service solution into winning the $10,000 monthly prize. The monetary reward is undoubtedly significant on its own, especially for aspiring entrepreneurs who face intersectional barriers to funding, but the fact that the outside world is heavily engaged as well helps to spread the message that we are all important players in this game of life. Sustainability matters to us all, and with working together for that greater purpose, the Earth will thank us in beautifully unexpected ways.
