Green Is the New Black!

by Debbie Hatke, MA, PHR and Laura Cranston

As my favorite amphibian is known for saying "it's not easy being green". But it is becoming easier as more companies embrace green technology and are providing more options and products to help us go green. No longer just a fad of the 1970's, it's now in vogue to be green; in fact, it's been recently reported that "green, is the new black".

So what exactly is being "green"? A green company is one that is socially responsible when it comes to choosing and using resources within their organization that may impact the environment; such a company is said to have a "green culture" or is, more simply put, "environmentally friendly". But this concept isn't necessarily "new", as many organizations have been using "green" practices for many years. Recycling is more commonplace than ever before and as consumers we have been seeing more options when it comes to choosing environmentally friendly products. This includes everything from making recycling readily available (i.e. through recycling programs and curb side pick-up) to providing items for purchase that are made of post-consumer waste, or items we have already used once and remade into items to use again. This is an exciting time for the environment.

Defining the elements of "green" can be boiled down to three things: reduce, reuse and recycle.

Reduce: do what you can to reduce the use of some products (i.e. taking your office paperless to eliminate costly paper, storage systems and filing time/labor).
Reuse: take steps to reuse, or allow someone else to reuse, a resource that you have already used (i.e. washing dishes versus using disposable paper or Styrofoam products).
Recycle: separating items for reconfiguration into something that is useful again. (i.e. using bins for recycling common products like paper, plastic, glass and aluminum).

If some of this sounds familiar to you, your company may already be "green" and not know it. If you've heard about efforts to create a paperless office, that's a step toward being green. Buying recycled office products to take advantage of post-consumer waste is an easy way to start a green program in your company. Offering benefits to employees who carpool or otherwise try to save resources via their commuting style (by biking, taking public transportation or telecommuting) is a green benefit. Conserving energy by changing out the light bulbs in an office building from incandescent to compact fluorescent is another green initiative. Turning down thermostats and turning off computers when not in use are all ways we can conserve energy and help our companies become green (and save money).

But today's "green" isn't just all about the practices involved with being green, it's also about instilling a green culture and creating an environmental statement that incorporates "green" into everything a company does. A green company will create policies that direct the purchasing of environmentally friendly products or raw material for use within the organization. Such a company might create an environmental plan that includes water and energy conservation or prevents pollution and reduces waste in the products they produce. Being green permeates the organization and is present in everything that the company does. This includes marketing and promotion, as what a company does to uphold being environmentally friendly is becoming as important as actually doing it. As you surf the Web it's increasingly easy to find companies that tout their "greenness". Green companies are quick to show their allegiance to the green movement by showcasing their environmentally friendly efforts for the public. The color green in print is being used to indicate environmentally friendly initiatives and websites are literally "green" with copy and are decorated with the well-known symbol for recycling.

Not only are companies telling environmental groups, consumers and investors about their environmentally friendly initiatives, but it is becoming increasingly important to share that information with future employees during the recruitment process. Today's employment branding includes "green speak" and targets those potential employees that look to a company's environmental policies as starting points in the job search process. Sharing green initiatives appears not only on employment Websites, but is also included in other recruitment materials such as in brochures and offer letters. While not all job applicants put as much emphasis on a company's greenness, it is estimated that one third of US adults would prefer to work for an environmentally sensitive company and an increasing number of Generation Y applicants demand it as they grew up environmentally conscious. On a more global scale, when recruiting overseas a much larger portion of the applicant pool views environmental policies as favorable due to many more years of environmental sensitivity in Europe and Asia.

Kudos to your organization if they have green policies in place. As HR professionals we can do a lot to help our organizations get the word out about the important things we're doing to be green. As members of senior leadership, HR managers can help initiate green policies and practices and further develop those already in place into a more formalized green strategy. As change agents, HR professionals are instrumental in creating a green culture. We can create green teams to help formulate a plan for taking the company forward with their environmentally friendly changes. And HR is instrumental in the development of communications, programs and training for the new green initiatives. More significantly it's important to realize that the green movement is becoming more than just a movement - it's becoming an acceptable, and maybe someday perhaps requisite, way of doing business and companies need to adapt to this trend or be left behind.

Debbie Hatke, MA, PHR is a Senior Human Resources Management Consultant and Talent Strategy Manager and Laura Cranston is an HR Consultant with Strategic Human Resources, Inc. If you have questions or comments about this article, you can contact Debbie at Debbie@StrategicHRinc.com.