I'm as environmentally conscious as the next guy. Uh no, let me take that back. Most people are so average that they don't think about the environment until someone tells them to think about it. So no, I guess not. I am not like the next guy. I think for myself which leads me to my thought here today: why would an organization launch an environmental initiative when their corporate culture is stagnating, their mediocre service sucks and their apathetic staff turnover rate is high?
I mean, before you clean up an ocean, wouldn't you want to first clean the beach?
Organizations are focusing on environmental policies and bringing eco-speakers into their organizations. Now, I don't have a problem with protecting the environment. In fact, I applaud it. But if you are going to tackle the environment, shouldn't you make sure you've cleaned up your environment first; your work environment - your corporate culture?
Aren't there a whole lot of more important issues that need addressing during an economic downturn? Have your people been reassured about their future? Have you halted the waning morale eroding your corporate culture? How about stopping your high-turnover or helping management find a direction? What about your incredibly ordinary customer service? Shouldn't you be developing a sense of greatness that changes people's lives (both your employees and your customers) before you attempt to change the world?
Come on, focus on the crucial things first: making sure there are jobs to go to tomorrow so that you are able to lend a hand to the environment. Make sure you are operating from a position of strength with your eco-program so that you don't have to slash the eco-program budget later because you were focused on the wrong things for survival.
This could end up as a colossal resource waster: trying to pursue an eco-friendly direction for a company with a bad attitude - people who bring plastic water bottles to work each day and still toss them out instead of recycling but don't care that they do it. You've got to change the unworkable attitudes inside the building before you can convert them to eco-evangelists. Don't get ahead of yourself. Make your people "service evangelists" first. Clean up problem areas before you create new ones. Fix the attitudes that will undermine your eco-program before you try to establish an environmental Attitude of Connectedness.
I agree all should be on-board the environmental bandwagon. But if your organization is achieving mediocre results, shouldn't your focus be on becoming an organization of greatness first - an organization whose example others will follow? Face it, if the culture stinks, you'll end up with an eco-program of mediocre results too.
Launching an eco-program while your people fear for their future makes you look completely out of touch with what your people want and need. That's not a message you want to send if you want to attract and keep good people, increase your customer base and become an organization of greatness.
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