Is Environmental Sustainability Important for your Company?

Can you say that your colleagues have enough green knowledge? Are they aware of the main environmental and economic risks and opportunities for your organisation? Businesses have a responsibility to manage their sustainability within the supply chain and markets they operate. Companies need to begin with their people and embedding the importance of environmental sustainability into all job roles.

This blog will outline how to make your organisation more environmentally sustainable with IEMA training for your people.

Develop green champions within your workforce who can advocate good sustainable practice. Upskill your colleagues’ environmental sustainability knowledge with the 1-day IEMA Environmental Sustainability for the Workforce. Equip your people with the ‘know-how’ to improve performance, efficiency and impact.

As environmental professionals, we may think that climate change and plastic contamination is finally getting the news coverage it deserves; assisted by the great success of David Attenborough’s Blue Planet series, perhaps we are assuming the wider population knows everything about the environment. The importance of sustainability in business can't be understated.

What is IEMA Environmental Sustainability for the Workforce?

As an Environmental Practitioner with over 20 years’ experience, I am witnessing more businesses training their whole workforce in the essentials of environmental sustainability. Regularly I work with companies in all sectors using training from IEMA’s ‘All Jobs Greener’ suite such as the IEMA Environmental Sustainability for the Workforce. This short practical course goes back to basics, and lays the foundation stones for people to take on board in their job.

This course covers:

• Main environmental and economic risks and opportunities
• Compliance obligations and business drivers for change
• Main potential impacts on environment and sustainability
• How to improve environmental performance

Why take this course?

This course encourages people to think, and talk about their own organisation and how the factors apply to their own workplace. Learning is brought to life with practical activities and case studies of different organisations including Arriva, Interserve and Kingston University. This IEMA course enables people to create a plan for their organisation, and use it in their daily work.

The course contains practical workshops and this promotes a shared understanding of what needs to be done to progress companies towards a sustainable future. Course participants are motivated to make a positive contribution and initiate change at work. Change management is not always about implementing major project change, but engaging people in positive actions, which benefit the organisation and the employees.

Who is the course for?

This IEMA Environmental Sustainability for the Workforce one day course is ideal for people working in any job role across all industry sectors. No prior environmental knowledge is required. Some companies use this course as part of their induction programme or to fulfil the training requirement of implementing an environmental management system.

How do staff take this course?

Currently the most popular method of taking the course is organising training at your workplace for groups of staff. Choose a course provider that can come to your company on an agreed date and time to train your workforce. A quality provider will tailor the learning to suit your employees and business needs. Relevant case studies can be chosen for the workshops to bring the learning to life.

Alternatively, there are a limited number of public courses offered by a small number of companies held at cities across the UK.

Benefits of becoming a sustainable business

Improving employees’ understanding of how environmental sustainability applies to them is the first step for a company to change its profile.

The most obvious business benefit is the financial gains of improving energy efficiencies and reducing waste. By implementing sustainable practices across the organisation, it will reduce energy demand and promote the recycling of materials.

Engaging your workforce in promoting a sustainable business will motivate them as the green champions to help deliver change and make a positive difference.

Position your company as an environmentally sustainable business and this will improve its reputation with all stakeholders, attract investment, and open up to more markets. Sustainability is not a passing trend, it is here to stay so don’t get left behind.

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