'Green' workplaces: Good for your bottom line and the planet

A new website designed to make UK workplaces more environmentally friendly launches today.

Sustainable Workplace aims to offer both employers and employees "inspiration, motivation and practical assistance," according to Paul Noon, general secretary of Prospect and co-chair of TUSDAC, one of the two groups behind the creation of the site. The other is the Advisory Committee for Business and the Environment (ACBE).

The site provides case studies of workplaces that have successfully lessened their environmental impact, as well as additional resources relating to educating workers on environmental issues, reporting workplace violations or getting funding for workplace development.

Noon points out that going green isn't just good for the environment; it can also be good for a company's bottom line. "Companies realise it's in their immediate self-interest" to conform to environmental standards, he said.

Energy inefficiency, for example, wastes money. A case study on the Sustainable Workforce site explains how the Scottish Agricultural College in Edinburgh cut its annual electricity bills by three per cent, or £12,000, by encouraging its workers and students to turn off lights and other electrical appliances when not in use.

Government, too, has a stake in the issue, as it's required to meet more and more stringent environmental guidelines. Thus, says Noon, creating sustainable workplaces "has the twin approach of being financially beneficial to companies as well as enabling government to meet objectives".

The site's creators hope it will also speak directly to employees who want to make changes in their workplace. Environmental issues are a key concern for union workers, according to Noon and a 2002 TUC study. The study showed strong support for the government increasing its effort to end global warming and road congestion and for unions to do more to protect the environment.

"You can only do so much by appointing managers," says Noon. "You have to give people of every level knowledge [about the environment]. That's what will make the difference in the long term."