Topic Guide. Engaging colleagues on product sustainability

Topic Guide Engaging colleagues on product This Topic Guide is designed to provide guidance for motivating colleagues in the workplace to engage with product initiatives, including corporate and supply chain initiatives, at all levels. Key points: Buy-in throughout the organisation is essential to programme success Approaches should be consistent with the objectives and priorities of the organisation Employee-led action & feedback helps to embed product within the organisation Incentivisation of employees can help to drive programmes and support change Overview This Topic Guide serves as practical guidance for engaging employees on product and wider environmental in order to encourage them to contribute to the development and implementation of your product, including any wider corporate and supply chain initiatives. This approach ensures that, rather than being an activity limited to those within the organisation directly responsible for product, employees at all levels are informed about product goals and objectives and are involved in implementation. To achieve this requires working with your employees in a collaborative way; to assist your company to meet its product targets and to link them to broader corporate goals and strategies. Employees should also be encouraged to think about their individual actions outside work and the products they buy and use, so that they are also engaged as consumers, citizens and campaigners. This Topic Guide describes the overall process for engaging employees on product, the key steps to ensure collaboration, the benefits, and potential barriers to engaging employees and how they can be mitigated. The process is relevant for all companies, from SME s to larger retailers or manufacturers. The intended audience for this guide is a senior manager within your organization who has responsibility for - this could include someone in Human Resources and/or Training and/or Product Development, where no specific person is responsible for or no dedicated business function exists. Where targets are set at the product level, brand, marketing and category managers should also be involved to engage colleagues to help meet targets. Opportunities The key benefit of engaging employees on product is to help implement your organisations and meet targets, but also to incentivise employees and create or enhance job satisfaction. It is expected that the engagement process should lead to: Lower operating costs through encouraging a new understanding of how products can be designed and developed with resource efficiency and waste reduction in mind, including in your supply chain Reduced environmental impacts, through reduction in resource use and increased awareness of benefits of product stewardship and corporate responsibility within the business and its supply chain Increased employee motivation and desire to act, by encouraging behaviour change which influences employee attitude towards their environment and their peers. This can lead to higher rates of staff retention and job satisfaction amongst employees. Employees also benefit from personal development 1

and potentially through performance related pay, for example through meeting product targets in their personal, team or corporate objectives More active involvement in product innovation through seeking and encouraging ideas that improve the of existing and new products Contribute to the management of reputational risk and protection of the long-term viability of the business by improving product, including the sustainable sourcing of raw materials. Methods of employee engagement Employees can be engaged through a variety of means, including employee-led strategies, action learning, internal marketing, online communications and incentive schemes. Some examples of these methods are outlined below: Employee-led or bottom`-up approaches have been adopted by Unilever in Australia, who are pioneering an employee engagement plan to appoint every member of staff a Head of Sustainability. This drives ownership and understanding of the company s Sustainable Living Plan amongst employees and ensures is a core part of everyone s job. Employees are encouraged to make personal pledges to help drive change. Action learning - an educational process which can be used to create action plans to address key impact hotspots across the product portfolio. These are developed by employees to target specific challenges, encourage learning and behaviour change through action and ongoing improvement of practices e.g. implementation of scorecards for product design; designing in in the product design and development process; or developing a framework or tool to identify the risks and opportunities in your product portfolio. Internal marketing / communication has a role to reinforce the messages and objectives set out in the action plans developed as an output of the processes described above. For example, as part of its campaign, Unilever Australia uses a series of posters introducing six Unilever employees - from the factory floor to field sales as the company s New Heads of Sustainability. These are placed around Unilever s sites to further reinforce the central idea that anyone can be a Head of Sustainability. In the UK, M&S has implemented an initiative to embed Plan A in company communication through newsletters, posters, the staff magazine, e-mail updates, breakfast debates, team debriefs and an intranet site with videos, a carbon footprint calculator, a car sharing tool and blog. Every M&S location has a Plan A Champion responsible for cascading information, engaging colleagues and feeding back ideas and innovations. Online communications can help and support programmes to encourage employees to take action. For example, Walmart has created a tool to support the implementation of their employee-led programme; which encourages individuals to set their own targets that link to both their impact in the workplace and their wider daily lives. Tools can be used to generate further ideas and discussions between colleagues in order to increase employee motivation and reduce employee time in long training sessions which may be demotivating. Training and e-learning: Unilever and Campbell s Soup have used training via e-learning tools to educate employees. Campbell s Soup has many examples of engaging colleagues with a focus on action-oriented results further details are available in the case study section. Training can be completed in-house, with external trainers, or through training the trainer initiatives to build in-house capacity. Whilst Nike have developed an on-line Materials Sustainability Index (Nike MSI) to provide its product creation teams with the information to produce products with lower environmental impacts. Product innovation suggestion schemes and forums can encourage staff to think about and propose improvements to current and future products, such as alternative raw materials, improved manufacturing processes or product functionality, waste reduction opportunities, water conservation / reuse initiatives, etc. 2

Incentivisation schemes: bonus schemes or other incentives related to staff remuneration could help to further incentivise responsible activities and ensure employee ownership and commitment. This is a adopted by M&S for Plan A, which involves employees at all levels and assigns objectives and responsibility on to encourage action. Every employee has a Plan A personal objective, which aligns with the Plan A focus on supply chain. This is achieved, in part, through the identification of key environmental or ethical product attributes and helps M&S staff focus on what is important at the product level. This is crucial as M&S products, the supply chains that sit behind them and how customers use them represent the majority of its corporate environmental footprint. Alternative motivational schemes can include online platforms which help companies to make a difference through donations to causes. These donations can be funded by financial savings from product improvements made by your colleagues. Such platforms can help to drive further change as colleagues can see the benefits of their actions thereby encouraging ongoing product improvements. For example, ecoinomy - a social venture which develops internet software that helps companies, such as SABMiller and Tridos Bank to make a difference. Implementation plan This plan encompasses five main stages for engaging employees on product. As a starting point, small businesses that have not yet developed an environmental or may be required to develop an initial corporate and the materials to communicate this first, in order to set an overall approach or framework within which consideration of product issues takes place. Once a has been developed, engagement with employees can help to implement the. The should involve all organisational levels, including Board, operations, and corporate services. This Topic Guide focuses on engaging employees in helping to deliver a product. In order to achieve this, input from other business functions is recommended. For example, Board-level commitment is required to reiterate the importance of colleague engagement. Whilst input from your marketing and communications team on the most appropriate internal communications approaches and materials; and HR on any skills and development requirements and / or employee incentivisation programmes can be beneficial. Operations or facilities departments may need to be involved where infrastructure or facilities are required to encourage employees to make a difference (e.g. installation of recycling bins or sub-metering of energy or water). Typically, the key delivery teams to engage on product are product designers and developers; product technologists and technical managers; brand, marketing and category managers; buyers and, where appropriate, R&D and innovation teams. Individual teams need to be involved to develop their own action plans, which should then be aligned and embedded in your company s overall approach to product design, development and realisation; and how this aligns or supports your company s broader. Aim: To engage employees on product in a way that promotes behaviour change and encourages employee-led action 3

Person Responsible Senior manager responsible for Board members Marketing communications HR and Finance Brand managers Operations and Facilities Product designers and developers R&D Employee representatives e.g. green teams Step 1 Present your Develop and present a product Ensure management endorsement and responsibility; and links to wider corporate or CR (if one exists) Support development of product and embed in product category, supply chain, brand and marketing plans Work with product owner, product designers and developers, category, marketing and brand managers, R&D and innovation on development Step 2 Engagement development Develop an engagement to support delivery of the product Support development of the engagement and embed in internal marketing and brand, operations plans and R&D / innovation programmes Support development of awareness, education and staff development, with feedback on feasibility and limitations Step 3 Employee action plans Support development of employee-led action plans to help implement product Develop internal marketing materials to encourage action Promote further discussion via working sessions, forums, and online tools Develop training modules (including online materials) Create incentives for employees e.g. evaluate PRP-related objectives Lead development of focussed employee-led action plans which empower colleagues Step 4 Implementation Support implementation of employee action plans and initiate further engagement programmes, such as innovation workshops, product reviews or strip-downs Step 5 Review Lead review of engagement progress and feedback loop to Step 2 Communicate economic and environmental savings achieved so far to encourage further action. Review achievements with all teams involved in product Continue development of plans - feedback loop to Step 2 to improve and initiate further internal marketing mechanisms and support further skills development. Review of performance against product targets. Review of action plans challenges, successes and next steps. Continue development of plans - feedback loop back to Step 2 to improve the and initiate further action Step 1 Develop and present your product. Set it in the context of a wider or corporate responsibility (if one exists) It is assumed that an overarching corporate will already be in place but if this is not the case then your organisation should start with this, followed by working with employees to develop a product that is aligned with and supports wider corporate. As a first step, the creation of a corporate product policy and framework should provide the foundation and direction for more detailed work at an operational level. This policy or framework should include consideration of the likely 4

environmental footprint of your product portfolio (e.g. the overall contribution of your products and services to your corporate environmental footprint), the types of environmental impact associated with your products (e.g. greenhouse gas emissions; energy, water and materials use and any waste associated with your products); and where these impacts occur in the product life cycle (e.g. the sourcing of raw materials, manufacturing, packaging, when a consumer uses your product or at the end of life of your product) or in your value chain. The WRAP PSF knowledge base provides useful guidance for this process. If you do not already have access to the knowledge base, please contact Elaine Charlesworth (elaine.charlesworth@wrap.org.uk) to set-up your user account. This should be followed by an initial review of your product portfolio to determine which products should be prioritised for action based on the environmental impacts or hotspots associated with them; sales volumes and the ease with which product hotspots can be addressed (e.g. low / no cost impact reduction opportunities, product or process improvements requiring a modest investment or major CAPEX items). Those in your company with the ability to influence or drive change and those with responsibility for implementing change should also be identified in this review, so that they can be involved in subsequent action planning. This initial review could start with your organisation s direct operational impacts; and then extend into your supply chain at a later stage. It is recommended that initial plans of action are developed for areas where significant impacts or hotspots have been identified. This information should then be shared with - and reviewed by - senior management or at board-level to gain buy-in; with a board member assigned responsibility to influence and drive the and ensure budget and resources are allocated for implementation. If your company has an Environmental Management System (EMS), capturing this information and tracking your progress in your EMS will help to manage product knowledge and demonstrate the business benefits of taking action. Step 2 Develop an engagement and programme It is recommended that the development of an engagement should be initiated by a manager responsible for product issues, with Board-level support and input from other teams, such as Technical, Product Development, Buying, Marketing, Brand Management, HR, Operations and R&D. This Topic Guide offers examples of different engagement approaches to allow for some flexibility in approach based on company size, structure, culture and level of engagement on product or wider. Employee representatives could also be selected to help drive forward the through further engagement with their colleagues. As part of this process, a support system for individuals and employee product champions should be set up. This could be 'peer to peer' between other product champions or through a working or project group, via online communications, or external organisations which can provide further guidance and training. Each product champion should sit at the heart of a multi-disciplinary team drawn from the business functions whose activities have the most relevance to the product in question and the environmental hotspots associated with it. Step 3 Development of employee-led product action plans. Once product champions have been identified and any working groups or project groups have been set up they should agree and prioritise a programme of work that goes with the flow of existing business processes and product plans (e.g. reviewing product issues and actions as part of a category planning process or an agreed new product development (NPD) process or seasonal product re-launch). Wherever possible, action plans should be embedded in existing business processes (e.g. product development stage gates or decision points); and once lessons are learned they should be incorporated in key business documents and policies (e.g. product briefs, NPD stage gates, brand policies and standards) to embed product thinking and considerations in your company. Where cross-cutting issues are identified across a number of category-level product action plans (e.g. sustainable sourcing of raw materials, chill chain optimisation, manufacturing process or supply chain optimisation) it may be worth establishing action plans or projects that will drive improvements over 5

a wide range of products or product categories (e.g. factory improvements, new buying guidance, R&D projects); or that help to drive action against wider corporate targets (e.g. waste prevention, energy efficiency, water conservation, etc.). Where your company alone cannot effect change it may be worth engaging with peers in the category / industry to work on collaborative projects to improve. In-house specialists, peers or corporate customers can help to initiate the generation of ideas in a working group. It is important to allow employees enough exploration space to scope out all areas for product action plans; such as knowledge on specific issues like renewable materials, packaging waste, water and energy efficiency and supplier relationships. Employee representatives should be encouraged to lead the development of focussed employee-led action plans to empower colleagues. This should be supported by HR, marketing and communications teams; for example marketing and communications teams could develop materials to encourage action, such as posters or internal newsletters; and promote further discussion and awareness via online tools. HR can assist with skills development through online or classroom training modules to raise awareness and build knowledge and understanding of product issues and solutions. Step 4 Implementation of product action plans Employee representatives can empower colleagues by providing easy to follow guidance in order to create unified change. In addition to the action plans, other engagement strategies could be initiated such as training and awareness days. For example, establishing forums and workshops to jointly review product and supply chain improvement suggestions can greatly increase engagement and ownership and generate further ideas and actions. Involving key suppliers in these discussions can also be helpful. E-learning can also have a role to play. For example, this an approach taken by Unilever as part of their Sustainable Living Plan, in which 6,000 employees have completed an e-module on. Incentivising employees as part of the process is important, particularly where resources and time are an issue, particularly for SMEs. This can include financial reward systems for example, recognising staff suggestions on product improvements, highlighting employee actions on product or wider, and linking to charitable donations or voluntary activities. Internal marketing communication teams work to reinforce the messages and actions developed to encourage further action and change. This can include the use of message boards, posters, staff meetings and online communications (including social media and the intranet) in order to further implement the organization s product. Internal marketing programmes can be used to encourage behaviour change and although messages may need to be tailored to your own organization there are many examples which can be used, which have common messages such as waste less, recycle more and save energy. HR should continue to support further skills development and review performance against product targets from induction training for new employees to on-the-job training, continuing professional development and education. Step 5 Review of product action plan progress At key stages throughout the year, employees should be encouraged to provide feedback on progress and share learning. Progress against corporate and product category-level targets and economic and environmental savings achieved so far should be communicated to employees, including a clear thank you message that recognises their efforts and motivates them. Linking personal and / or team objectives to your businesses product objectives or targets helps to reinforce the importance of product to the organization and provides a financial incentive to be involved. Staff, management and (if appropriate) supplier feedback on the effectiveness of the engagement and the business benefits should be highlighted in the review. Once this is completed this can feed into the implementation process to improve the engagement. New action plans can be agreed and others improved and developed, so that a continuous cycle of improvement is embedded within your product. 6

Benefits Savings Environment Reduce impacts within the workplace Materials and Waste less waste and improved efficiency Energy use improved efficiency Water use improved water efficiency Transport reduced fuel costs Supply chain begin supplier engagement on reduction activities Local environment managing biodiversity impacts whilst exploring opportunities to work with local organisations Barriers and Mitigation Cost Reduce operating costs transport, energy, water, waste management, landfill tax, insurance Indirect benefit of cost savings for the employee at home e.g. reduced energy or fuel bills Managing risk & reputation Reduce risk of non-compliance with environmental legislation Attract and retain a skilled workforce Increased employee motivation through personal development, job satisfaction and performance related pay Protect and enhance reputation and win more business Managing increasing utility costs Long term viability of business models Barrier Description Mitigation No board level commitment No policies or procedures in place Large corporations Board does not have responsibility for product or this may not be aligned with wider corporate ; and obtaining board level commitment can be challenging No product policy with supporting procedures signed at Board level Can be more difficult to implement changes quickly throughout the organisation Sustainability teams or those responsible should obtain help to present the business case for product to encourage ownership and commitment to the by the Board The business case should link product to business benefits, such as lower operating costs; reputational value; customer satisfaction and loyalty; and shareholder value Engaging employees to deliver product targets can speed up the implementation process as product becomes a core part of how the business operates In order to monitor progress KPIs on product should be reviewed at Board level Formalising product into business practice should start with a top level policy signed by the Board Procedures to deliver targets should include engagement of employees on product to meet organisational priorities and those in the supply chain Advice at the outset can be sought to ensure the product policy is aligned with the business and brand priorities. Knowing your key product impacts and how they link to material business risks is the first step, and linking to material risk from the start will help to gain Board commitment Creation of product champions and working groups to drive change within each category/facility/site and educate and motivate their colleagues 7

SMEs Time constrained teams and willingness of individuals to change Smaller organisations are likely to have less resource and/or internal expertise to implement the process Employees are likely to be time poor and product programmes can seem tangential to their day jobs Employees with responsibility for product may also have other operational responsibilities and these aspects may be the priority in an SME Use of external trainer to initiate programme Training of employee representatives to obtain their buy in and interest who can then educate colleagues Use of small scale online platforms e.g. Eco Logic (by Ecoinomy) Make the education fun and linked to positive rewards rather than giving instructions Be Patient and persuasive in order to change habits and mind sets use other drivers like innovation and cost Ensure even small changes are recognised and rewarded to encourage further change Keep long training sessions to a minimum and use alternative methods for employee involvement that encourage every-day action part of daily life Provide support systems to product champions and working groups or project teams to help them reach targets e.g. peer to peer support or external support Link together issues such as product quality and to provide a holistic understanding rather than separation Examples of best practice 1. Wal-Mart My Sustainability Plan employee led action and online resources Walmart s employee program developed into My Sustainability Plan (MSP) with the guidance of consultancy BBMG. Associates were asked to be part of the process to define the MSP focus areas of My Health (eating healthy, getting active, quitting tobacco, reducing stress), My Planet (saving water, reducing waste, saving energy, enjoying nature) and My Life (learning new skills, managing their money, making quality time, helping others). MSP offers associates an online space with tools to create, track and stay dedicated to their goals, and connect with other associates via social networking. Examples of MSPs include carpooling, cleaning up a local park, quitting smoking, recycling, switching to sustainable products and using reusable shopping bags. For further information visit: http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2013/01/09/walmart-associates-u-i- 2. Campbell s soup company online training Campbell s Soup Company has many examples of actionable, effective employee engagement. It has a culture of celebrating, informing and engaging employees on a daily basis. Campbell s also link their environmental management system to employee education, via a web portal which includes free webinars and training modules. Campbell s have developed a web-based environmental management system accessible to employees globally, which facilitates real-time environmental and data reporting, trending and analysis. For further information visit: http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2013/01/11/final-step-employee-engagement- action?page=0%2c1&utm_source=e-news%20from%20greenbiz&utm_campaign=1a55de08e7-greenbuzz-2013-01-11&utm_medium=email 3. Unilever employee led action Unilever Australia is pioneering an employee engagement campaign that appoints every staff member as its new Head of Sustainability. The campaign is aimed at driving ownership and understanding of the company s new Sustainable Living Plan among employees as it rolls out across Unilever s Australia and New 8

Zealand markets. Unilever is challenging the notion that the corporate world must choose between and business growth, by making a core part of everyone s job. The campaign will see every Unilever employee in Australia and New Zealand receive a personalised Head of Sustainability business card, along with a job manual outlining Unilever s business case for and why each employee has been given the new title. http://www.sustainablebrands.com/press/unilever-empowers-all-employees-act-%e2%80%98head- %E2%80%99-it-launches-sustainable-living-plan- 4. Adidas - Green Company programme Green Company is the name given to the Adidas environmental programme at our own sites around the globe. The Green Company vision is to become a zero-emission company by: Embedding environmental best practice in everything we do Maximising environmental efficiency gains Supporting and harnessing our people s passion for a greener planet. Green Company targets were developed and approved at the end of 2009. In 2010, Adidas issued a set of guidelines to help 70 reporting entities establish programmes to meet their targets. Each individual site contributes to meeting the overall Group targets. Adidas realised this could not be achieved without the active involvement of their employees so established a Green Team concept. Green Teams are dedicated members of staff who propose and help to lead environmental initiatives in the workplace. For further information visit: http://www.adidasgroup.com/en//environment/our_green_company_programme/default.aspxe 5. Marks and Spencer Plan A and employee motivation M&S embarked on a comprehensive change to the of its business in 2007; and at its core is how the 76,000 people working worldwide for the business deliver it. M&S is making sure the programme makes a real difference to them, both at home and at work. Some examples include: A Plan A champion in every store 690 champions within the UK who voluntarily take responsibility for inspiring colleagues to bring down electricity use, cut down on paper and recover more waste. M&S runs team days for champions to share ideas and discuss challenges. Plan A is also embedded in company communication: newsletters, posters, the staff magazine, e-mail updates, breakfast debates, team debriefs and an intranet site with videos, carbon footprint calculator, a car sharing tool and blog. Plan A also motivates employees as every employee has a Plan A objective which contributes to their annual performance bonus. Plan A objectives can address product and supply chain impacts For further information visit http://www.guardian.co.uk/sustainable-business/staff-plan-worlds-sustainableretailer; and M&S Plan A website. 9

Resources Relevant Documents 1. Energy Savings Trust: http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/organisations/insight-andexpertise/employee-engagement 2. Carbon Trust: http://www.carbontrust.com/resources/tools/empower 3. Ashridge Consulting - Action learning: http://www.ashridge.org.uk/website/content.nsf/wcon/action+learning?opendocument 4. Action Learning: http://www.actionlearning.com/page.cfm?pageid=7463 5. Skills to go: http://www.skillstogo.co.uk/action-learning/ 6. Sustainable Brands: http://sustainablebrands.com/news_and_views/leadership/nature-myriad- lessons-effective--leadership- 0?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=businessweekly&utm_campaign=jan28 7. Love Food Hate Waste partners: http://partners.lovefoodhatewaste.com/ 8. Social venture/online education platform: http://www.ecoinomy.com 9. M&S Plan A Employee Champions : http://corporate.marksandspencer.com/file.axd?pointerid=24f35ecfc08e4eb1992603107c4ec51a 10. Global Action Plan employee engagement: http://globalactionplan.org.uk/employee-engagement You may also be interested in these related Action Plans/Topic Guides: Engaging suppliers on Best practice in embedding in product design Implementing a sustainable procurement process for raw materials How to identify high, reputation, supply chain risk and resilience Harmonising smart planning (manufacturers) and demand forecasting (retailers) How to participate in the closed loop economy through waste exchange Terms of use While we have tried to make sure this topic guide is accurate, we cannot accept responsibility or be held legally responsible for any loss or damage arising out of or in connection with this information being inaccurate, incomplete or misleading. This material is copyrighted. You can copy it free of charge as long as the material is accurate and not used in a misleading context. You must identify the source of the material and acknowledge our copyright. You must not use material to endorse or suggest we have endorsed a commercial product or service. For more details please see our terms and conditions on our website at www.wrap.org.uk 10