5 ways to engage employees with your sustainability communications

Living a more sustainable life requires us to change our behaviour, make ongoing commitments and sometimes make sacrifices – but despite all this, it’s not always easy to see the rewards of our hard work.

When we recycle or use the circular economy, the planet and the headlines don’t change. We’re still hearing that climate change is going in the wrong direction, despite the collective action we are all taking. And that’s why we’re starting to see more people experiencing sustainability fatigue.

What is sustainability fatigue?

Simply put, sustainability fatigue is a phrase that describes how people feel when, despite making choices that are better for the planet, they constantly see negative environmental news and start to think the changes they are making aren’t making a difference. So they start to make less effort or even give up altogether.

The challenges of sustainability fatigue

Sustained behaviour change is not easy

Humans are psychologically wired to value the things we already have more than those we don’t have. When it comes to encouraging people to embrace more sustainable lifestyles, asking them to let go of something they’re emotionally connected to is a challenge.

Making changes might not be cheap

Humans are facing a dilemma; they want to make changes that positively impact the environment but can’t always afford to do so. With 21% of people saying it is too expensive to make changes, this could be stopping people from living their lives as sustainably as they would like to.

The extent of change required is overwhelming

As people ocellate between taking proactive action and feeling overwhelmed by the lack of progress, it’s no surprise that climate anxiety is rising – more than 80% of British adults say they have some level of concern about climate change. These feelings of concern are as real as climate change itself, so it’s no wonder people aren’t sure where to start, what to believe or where to focus their action.

Whilst people may be facing these challenges in their personal lives, sustainability has scaled the corporate agenda. And many businesses are doing more than ever to have a positive impact on the environment. But have you considered how your communications could provide support to your employees’ personal sustainability journeys?

Strategies for engaging employees with your sustainability communications

1. Change the tone

Remember, people know what’s going on, and many are already anxious. This is especially true for the younger generations who are starting to enter the workforce, with 31% of 16-24 year olds saying they are very worried about climate change. It’s time to try ditching the doom and gloom and lightening up communications, balancing important information with a little fun to raise awareness.

Strategy: Try interviewing your subject matter experts with quick-fire questions or turning educational communications into a quiz-style interview. Giving a voice to real people around your business can help make changes feel achievable and realistic – people need to hear the authentic truth about how colleagues who are similar to them have managed to change their behaviour.

2. Get (and keep) talking

It’s more important than ever to keep the conversation going. Communication can reduce anxiety by reassuring employees that your organisation is taking sustainability seriously. Keep employees consistently in the loop with the progress you’re making and bring to life all the achievements (and failures) big and small.

Strategy: Consider whether you could help your Head of Sustainability or key subject matter experts to publish a diary, vlog or blog to continually share their updates.

3. Get competitive

As humans, we all fall for a bit of gamification, in and out of the workplace. With 82% of employees say that game elements help provide a greater sense of meaning and purpose in their workplace, gamification can be about more than just a bit of fun.

Strategy: How about challenging different offices, locations or departments to see who can collect the most recycling, reduce their digital storage by the most or carry out the most volunteering?

4. Empower your employees

Enabling action is a great way to reduce anxiety and get change happening. How you empower your employees will depend on the kind of organisation you are, but remember your front-line workers might have the answers to make big changes.

Strategy: Try brainstorming ways your employees can practice more sustainable activities at work, from switching off lights to having a digital declutter, give them tangible things they can take action on and possibly implement at home too.

5. Start a movement

Building a growing community of employee advocates and champions is a great way to build up momentum. With 66% of employees rating employee resource groups as an effective way to foster a sense of community, this can provide an opportunity for employees to bond and engage, as well as taking the benefit of taking positive action.

Strategy: Sustainability employee resource groups or Green Teams are a great source of new ideas, from how to reduce waste to setting up recycling hubs, and internal employee swap shops to creating an onsite vegetable roof garden.

If you’re in search of ESG communication experts to engage employees with sustainability communications, then look no further – you’ve found us! We would be delighted to hear from you to explore the possibility of partnering together.