7 steps every leader can take to help his/her organization act responsibly.

Every office, every department, every organization needs to start somewhere. Sustainable actions do not have to be large, over the top gestures to have an impact. The following are simple, straight forward steps every leader can take to help their team and company do the right thing. Paying attention to the environmental, social, and economic health of your people and business can make a significant difference.

1. Walk the talk.


Lead by example. Your peers will look up to you if they see you living by example.

• Drink from a re-usable coffee mug.
• Walk or cycle to work once a month.
• Replace your office light bulbs with Compact Fluorescent or remove one overhead fluorescent light bulb.
• Keep up to date on sustainable practices.
2. Engage your employees, clients and suppliers.


One of the core principles of sustainable development is engagement. Encourage and facilitate ongoing and open discussion among employees, suppliers and clients.

• Organize office town hall meetings with no pre-defined agenda.
• Invite your key suppliers to breakfast to learn how they are managing environmental issues.
• Move beyond annual customer surveys and poll your customers on a monthly basis using online survey software.
• Set up an office wiki using free software like Wetpaint or Mediawiki.
3. Appoint an office sustainability coordinator.


Help fellow co-workers live and work more responsibly by appointing an office sustainability coordinator. For years now, most offices have looked to increase workplace safety by appointing someone on the team to serve as the unit’s health and safety officer. Give new life to the position or create a new position where the focus is building awareness and action on issues surrounding sustainability (climate change, Greenhouse gases, recycling, etc…)

Awareness + small steps = big results.

4. Make recycling matter.


There is great power in recycling. Recharge your team and your recycling program by making office waste reduction important. While many offices offer employees the opportunity to recycle office paper, there is often little accountability. Move the blue box out from under the proverbial desk by increasing awareness, measuring your office success and communicating your impact.

Here are a few ways to start:

• Create an office recycling centre so that employees have as short a distance as possible to access your organization's full line of recycling options.
• Expand your office program by one item per year. Start by adding e-waste to the list. Most cities have a multitude of organizations willing to accept donations of old computers, fax machines and other office equipment. Take the time to find a better home for your old equipment than the local landfill.
• Reduce, reuse and recycle office waste paper.
• Help run an office paper audit.
• Set your printer’s default to economy printing mode.
• Turn off your printer when not in use.
• Use Google’s free web-based word processing service to share and collaborate on documents.
• Encourage communications by e-mail, and read e-mail messages onscreen to determine whether it's necessary to print them. If it's not, don't!
• Purchase Forest Stewardship Council certified 100% recycled post-consumer waste photocopy paper.
• Re-use paper that has only printed on one-side.
• Replace your printer with one that prints double-sided documents and set it as your default.
5. Make your office purchasing habits more responsible.
• Draft an office procurement policy that encompasses your commitment to the environment, human rights, and purchasing locally.
• Instigate an ongoing search for "greener" products and services in your local community. The further your supplies or service providers have to travel, the more energy will be used to get them to you.
• Purchase fair trade coffee.
• Convince your organization’s food services to purchase compostable plastic cups.
• Hire an environmentally responsible courier company.
• Choose suppliers who take back packaging for reuse.
6. Organize a volunteer day and connect with your community.


Get away from the office and watch productivity go up. Reinforce the notion that we are all interconnected. Here are some volunteer opportunities that have worked for other organizations.

• Take the office to school and help primary school kids catch on to the joy of reading.
• Organize a spring clean-up of your community.
• Plant some trees in a neighbourhood park.
• Run a Food Bank food drive.
• Run a book drive or fundraiser for an international aid agency.
7. Plan to do it again.


Repeat, repeat, repeat! Move beyond good intentions toward good practice by integrating sustainable development policies and practices into your office mission statement, corporate values and strategic plan. Leadership does matter.