When it comes to major sustainability trends, the uptick in customers choosing healthier, planet-friendly goods and services is only part of the story. Employees want in on the action, too.

Moreover, companies are starting to see that a meaningful sustainability strategy can be a powerful retention and recruitment tool, especially for younger employees who see right through team yoga. So, the question is: How can companies build successful “green teams”?

To explore that, we pulled from our proprietary data stack to investigate employees’ actual interest in their employer’s sustainability strategy. Plus, we scored an exclusive conversation with Alaska Airlines about how it’s bringing pilots, flight attendants, and dispatchers into the sustainability mix.

Can companies boost engagement by getting employees on the sustainability train?

Job engagement scores just hit an 11-year low, which shouldn’t surprise anyone who’s been offered free pizza in exchange for in-person Fridays.

While the tug of war between corporations and their employees doesn’t look like it’ll let up anytime soon, one thing’s for certain: Having a clear, actionable sustainability strategy is becoming a crucial lever for employee engagement.

According to a recent Deloitte study, employee morale and well-being (as well as those retention and recruitment rates) were some of the greatest benefits of businesses instituting sustainability projects — right up there with customer satisfaction and, you know, addressing climate change.

This is especially relevant for younger workers: Nearly eight in 10 Gen Zers and millennials expect to shape the future through their work.

Employees can also be important advocates for a company’s sustainability strategy, even co-creating solutions, as they’re often the people closest to the action. For example, an Alaska Airlines agent sparked an innovative tactic that now removes up to 50,000 pounds of recyclable waste from near the Arctic Circle each year.

Yet many employees say their companies can be doing even more. This illustrates a crucial piece of this puzzle: Bit by bit, sustainability is everyone’s job, not just the sustainability team’s.

That “built-in, not bolted-on” approach is something Alaska Airlines is taking to heart by activating a green team that spans the whole organization of 23,000-plus people. Plus, our data shows that many workers are unwilling to make concessions when it comes to sustainability. More on that below.

Our data: How much do employees *actually* care about their company’s sustainability strategy?

To test what sustainability factors resonate with corporate employees, we ran an audience poll from our proprietary data stack, asking: “Would you work for a company without a sustainability strategy?”

The combined 48% of responses for “No” and “Only if I couldn't find another job” suggests that a meaningful segment of the workforce is unwilling to compromise on sustainability.

Meanwhile, the nearly 25% of responses for “Only if the company is working to develop a plan” suggests an opportunity to address employee concerns with thoughtful strategic development.

Diving further into the results surfaces two interesting nuances:

• The overperformance of “No” among respondents consuming content about egregious corporate behavior (in the outrage focus split) suggests how indignation can be a powerful motivator for change.
• Meanwhile, the overperformance of “Only if the pay is good” among the sustainability-focused audience suggests that an abstract desire to help the planet is potentially less effective in driving action than targeted anger against bad actors.

Plus, our weekly A/B test on mainstream consumer interest in employee-led sustainability programs adds some further intrigue. Strong interest and engagement around “sustainability strategies” over “business strategies” suggests that employee interest in this topic is matched by genuine consumer enthusiasm as well.

That bodes well for Alaska Airlines and the success of its Green Team program in mobilizing employees to become key sustainability stakeholders. We’ll dive into how the airline is targeting that win-win-win (good for consumers, employers, and employees) next.

See full results →

TCD LABS research is powered by our proprietary GreenScreen data stack. You can access historical GreenScreen tests and polls — and commission your own bespoke experiments — here and here.

DOING IT RIGHT

Alaska Airlines knows company culture helps good ideas take off

Alaska Airlines has some of the most aggressive sustainability goals in the industry — and it’s not going to get them done without the help of thousands of employees across the U.S. and beyond.

Ryan Spies, the airline’s managing director of sustainability, believes that part of its secret sauce for innovating is the company’s Green Team — an internal resource group that empowers employees to suggest sustainability improvements around efficiency, guest experience, and more.

The Cool Down spoke exclusively with Spies about how the fifth-largest U.S. airline is punching above its weight by leveraging the Green Team to shake things up.

Here are the big takeaways:

• Start with active listening: The fastest way to kill the “green team” vibe is to ask for feedback and then not act on it. Support is key to Alaska’s strategy, to show that employees really do have a big impact.
• Up, down, and around the org: From flight attendants to pilots to dispatchers and back-office personnel, “it’s the most robust and biggest group that I’ve seen at any company,” Spies said.
• Change starts small: One Green Team member saw an opportunity to reduce plastic wrapping around children’s car seats. That simple switch now saves the airline 15,000 pounds of plastic a year.

“And when you get those little wins,” Spies told us, “they can propel you to the big wins. And I think [that’s what] you will tell your kids about.”

Go deeper with the full article below.

⏭️ Next week: We’ll be talking with the head of sustainability at Albertsons about mitigating food waste and making unconventional partnerships.

Learn more →

👍🍕 This amazing app saves food and money while boosting morale

Surplus-food startup Too Good To Go saves four meals per second. And when employees switch from throwing out excess food to saving it, there’s a rise in job satisfaction.

💚💸 Here’s why employees should consider a green 401(k) — and how to make the change

There’s a way to shift retirement funds to fight air, land, and sea pollution while boosting returns. With enough voices, companies will listen.

⚡🚐 Two former Tesla employees left the company to start an ambitious new business venture

After contributing to Tesla’s success, these guys have taken on an exciting new project: co-founders of America's first all-electric RV company.

☕♻️ A frustrated employee shared photos of the ironic product provided in their office break room

More and more companies are switching to eco-friendly alternatives for their materials and supplies, but that doesn’t mean we’ve ditched all single-use plastic just yet.

📈🛤️ The Biden administration released new guidelines on government employees’ work commutes

Commuting: Everyone’s least favorite subject. But a new policy calls on government employees to prioritize sustainable transport, which will also save taxpayer dollars.

Interested in learning about our offerings for businesses, or want your company to be featured on The Cool Down? Click here for more information, or email us at partners@thecooldown.com.

Get started →