People, Plants, Perks & Spending Power
To be sustainable isn’t only a rally-cry to save the Earth. It has tangible benefits, both for the individual and for business.
Plants
Sure they can be good decoration, but plants in the home, the office, or school, all provide people with a greater sense of calm and general health & happiness. There is conflicting research on the effects of house plants (or office plants) on air quality. In general, indoor spaces can sometimes be over 12 times more polluted than the air outdoors. These pollutants come from building emissions, human activities inside, as well as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from paints, varnishes, combustion appliances, solvents, and other materials. Many people, inaccurately, believe that plants provide more oxygen, improving air quality. In reality, the amount of oxygen produced is negligible. However, some studies do say specific types of plants, such as the spider plant, contribute to improved air quality and can reduce the risk to human health. Plants in this case are phyto-remediating air toxins, meaning that they can take the pollutants from the air and store them in their tissues through a variety of different mechanisms. Therefore, it’s not so much about how much oxygen they are producing, and more about sequestering pollutants that can cause harm.
Regardless of their potential to improve air quality, it has been found that indoor plants have significant psychological and physical benefits, such as reducing stress, decreasing symptoms of illness, and increasing performance. Some companies, such as Pearmill in New York City, give its remote employees a plant budget to set up their home workspaces. This company sees the value in surrounding their employees with plants due to the positive effects on mood, stress, and spirit. Its workforce is also purely Millennial & Gen Z…more on this later.
Perks
More than plants, companies are offering additional perks and incentives to their employees for being more “green.” Multiple companies offer monetary incentives to their employees for biking to work. The tech company Bursting Silver, offers employees $1 per kilometer ridden to meetings, versus the 50 cents they would get per kilometer to commute by car. This company says the benefits far outweigh the costs. The employees are healthier and active, and money is saved by not having to pay to park at meeting sites. The company is increasingly seeing this perk resonate with its younger employees.
A Toronto-based company, Top Drawer Creative/ The Turn Lab, also has a monetary incentive to bike to work, at $5 per day; as well as showers, locker rooms, and secure indoor bike parking. The company went so far as to make a deal with a bike supplier so their employees could purchase bikes at wholesale pricing. These perks have been seen to retain employees, many of whom are younger. BluEarth Renewables in Alberta even dedicates awards to employees who adopt environmentally friendly behaviors. Employees can choose prizes from the company’s sustainability store.
People
Your company doesn’t have to be a renewable energy company to have sustainability and environmental principles at its core. More and more, we are seeing that the Millennial generation is factoring in companies that observe sustainable practices. Research shows that more than any other age group, Millennials search for meaning from their work and purpose in their patronage. In one survey, 75% of Millennials indicated that they consider a company’s social and environmental commitments in deciding where to work, and two-thirds said they would not accept a job somewhere without a strong sustainability program. A business can clean up its carbon footprint while earning Millennials’ respect by addressing an issue that is related to climate change/waste/energy use etc. In five years, Millennials will make up three-quarters of the labour force. Targeting younger workers and customers by appealing to this rationale is what can set a business apart and keep them competitive in the labour market.
Spending Power/Influence
Within the next few decades, Millennials and the younger generations are coming into a historic transfer of wealth from Baby Boomers -around $68 trillion - the largest of any generation. This means their money will be spent on things that have the characteristics they value: 73% of Millennials are willing to spend more to buy from eco-friendly brands. Generation Z has similar spending values. Not only that, but research has shown that people who act “environmentally-friendly” (a term that is held loosely, and often changes person to person) experience increased happiness and satisfaction. These days, being eco-conscious is seen as a being tied to a person’s morality; aka if you aren’t thinking about the environment, you could be perceived by some as a “bad person.” One study found that people who purchased more environmentally friendly products felt better about themselves as participants in the community. It makes sense; when people do good things, they feel good about it! The good news? It’s transferable; a study in Calgary exemplified this by distributing literature saying “Your neighbours are grasscycling (leaving grass clippings on your lawn as a source of nutrients, thereby reducing the volume that municipal waste systems undertake), you could too!” The result: participation in the program doubled. Whether by social pressure, or a desire to good, it is unclear - but what is clear: if we all do more, it will encourage even more to do more. Exponential participation.
As a company, it’s important to be true and authentic to what your standards and goals are, but we propose that sustainability could be a part of any company’s structure and bottom line. You don’t have to know everything about the changing environment, nor the best way to retain employees or save energy/materials/emissions, etc. That’s where Greenvine positions to bridge the gap between business and sustainability. We want to help businesses make choices with the earth and the bottom line in mind.