UK organisations need to understand the commercial imperative of “going green”. A new report says it’s not just about saving costs, it’s about engaging with staff and customers and a lifestyle choice for future generations
Research launched by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) reveals that those at director and senior management level risk squandering the enthusiasm of junior and young managers to take action on green issues
The CMI’s “Lean and Green” report shows a striking disparity between senior and junior staff members at UK organisations in terms of their willingness to take action to combat climate change in the workplace. While 81 per cent of managers recognise energy usage is a key business issue, just 26 per cent report that their organisation actively addresses its carbon footprint.
CMI chief executive Ruth Spellman says: “Making green management ‘business as usual’ is a key challenge facing the profession today.
“It’s frustrating that the majority of managers recognise this but are being held back, either because of a lack of leadership commitment, complicated regulations, or inadequate resources.
“We hope the recommendations in this report will give managers the tools they need to stop paying lip-service to green issues and start taking action.”
This inertia seems to stem from the very top. More than half of all directors are identified as “climate change cynics”. In contrast, senior management commitment is recognised by 82 per cent of managers as the most important driver of environmental practices.
This is followed by cost savings and regulatory compliance.
While an encouraging 73 per cent of managers say they would be turned off by an employer with a poor environmental record, fewer than half are proud of the environmental record of their current employer.
This also means that businesses failing to address their environmental impact risk losing out on the most talented recruits.
To encourage managers at all levels to play their part in transforming the UK economy for a low-carbon future, the CMI is calling for all UK organisations to have a green team, led from the top, in place and active by June 5, 2010 – World Environment Day.
These teams will be responsible for harnessing the enthusiasm of the younger generation and using it to engender a carbon-conscious culture in their workplaces.
Other recommendations include assigning green performance targets to individual employees, as well as to the organisation as a whole, adopting meaningful measures of environmental performance and providing sufficient resources to help realise potential business benefits.
Recycling, which 85 per cent of organisations have introduced, remains the most popular green initiative, but just half have introduced energy-efficient light bulbs and fewer still have tried to reduce the energy consumption of IT equipment.
This suggests that in the current economic climate, businesses could be missing out on important cost benefits.
The “Lean and Green” research, which involved a UK-wide survey of 1,500 managers and detailed case studies, was conducted by the Centre for Environmental Strategy at the University of Surrey and the CMI, in partnership with the IET and the UK Business Council for Sustainable Energy, and supported by EDF Energy and the Association of Chief Police Officers Cymru.
