Better Business: How to go greener with staff to improve performance

Introduction

This practical guide offers help and advice for businesses and other employers who want to reduce their carbon footprint. It's been developed from research with businesses, local authorities, and support agencies - so the advice it offers is based on real-life experience. We hope there's something in here for everyone - for employers who've already taken action and for those who are looking to take the first step.

We know there's a lot of information and advice already out there, but this guide is different because it focuses on people. And, in particular, what the critical success factors are for involving staff to drive change and how staff engagement offers real benefits that are much broader than just carbon savings. Innovating, building staff morale, cost-cutting, and being viewed as leading the pack on sustainability are just some of the key reasons to get involved. But perhaps the most important reason of all is that cutting carbon in a collective way makes great business sense - socially responsible business is something that staff, customers, suppliers, and other employers instinctively recognise and want to buy into. And the good news is that our research has shown that there are lots of simple or no-cost actions that make a big difference.

We would like to extend our gratitude to the case study organisations who took part in this research. They are: Aberdeenshire Council, British Telecom, Coca Cola Enterprises, Commercial Group, EAE, Halcrow, Hilton Edinburgh Grosvenor, InterfaceFLOR Europe, Scottish and Southern Energy, and Wiles Greenworld.