Corporate Sustainability
Conversations Around Sustainability: The “Yes, And” Approach
I spent Saturday at the Green Alliance Sustainability Fair in Waukesha County, Wisconsin. Cool Choices had an exhibit and we did a workshop; we were talking about the free county-wide Cool Choices program we are launching in the Waukesha County later this fall.
The fair occurred in a clearing at a state park, which meant we were talking about environmental sustainability just a few yards from hiking trails on a crisp and sunny Wisconsin day. Perhaps as a result, I did not encounter anyone at this event who opposed protecting Wisconsin’s amazing natural resources for future generations. Opinions did vary, though, on what needed to happen and how.
People and Behavior: The Problem Becomes the Solution
In September I’ll present at the World Energy Engineering Congress in Atlanta. I’ll present on Engaging Employees to Maximize Savings: A Cool Approach as part of a session titled How to Stop Misbehaving to Save Energy and Money. The session title suggests that the priority is to stop bad behavior; here at Cool Choices, though, we focus on identifying, amplifying and multiplying good behavior.
It’s really about the frame.
Beyond the Game: Increasing Recycling at Work & Home
Cool Choices alumni are always inspiring us with how they continue to take sustainable actions after participating in our online sustainability program. This month we were impressed by the awesome recycling practices Tara started at work and at home.
Increasing Participation in Sustainability Programs
We get a lot of questions from sustainability leads and green teams about strategies for increasing employee participation rates. Sometimes people are curious about participation rates elsewhere, wondering if their struggles are typical or not. In other cases, the tenor of questions is more cynical—green team members tell me that their situation is unique, that people in the organization “just don’t care.”
Cool Choices Presenting at 2017 Green Alliance Sustainability Fair
Cool Choices is proud to announce that we are a featured presenter at the Green Alliance Sustainability Fair, which takes place on August 26 in Delafield, Wisconsin! Cool Choices Executive Director, Kathy Kuntz, will lead a hands-on demonstration of our engaging sustainability program, which offers a game-based approach to increasing daily sustainable actions at work, home, and in the community. The demonstration will be a great introduction to the FREE county-wide Cool Choices sustainability program for Waukesha County businesses and residents that we are implementing later this fall, with primary funding generously provided by the McKnight Foundation.
Join Cool Choices and Participate in Green Masters
Last week Cool Choices completed its 2017 application for the Green Masters program, an initiative of the Wisconsin Sustainable Business Council (WSBC) – a Cool Choices partner. Green Masters is a recognition and assessment program for Wisconsin businesses interested in improving their sustainability initiatives, and offers businesses an opportunity to benchmark their efforts.
Sustainability: Behavior Change Can be Fun, Social, and Easy
From the beginning, our mission at Cool Choices has been to inspire individuals, businesses, and whole communities to adopt sustainable practices which reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We aim to accomplish our mission by changing behaviors. Sound easy, right? Maybe not. We also aim to make sustainable behavior change fun and social. Here’s how.
The Economic Case for Sustainability in Business
Increasingly, businesses are opting for sustainability. Being environmentally sustainable really just means finding ways to cut waste, which in turn reduces operating expenses – and every successful business wants to reduce operating costs and increase profits.
WSBC Event: Wisconsin Businesses Must Be Sustainable
The Wisconsin Sustainable Business Council (WSBC) hosted a terrific conversation around sustainability standards and disclosures in conjunction with honoring its annual Sustainable Business Award winners on June 23rd, in Muskego. We review key points on these topics from three prominent speakers.
Miron Completes Second Cool Choices Sustainability Program
Congratulations to Miron Construction Co., Inc., who just wrapped up their second Cool Choices employee engagement program around sustainability in June, 2017! Miron, a construction firm headquartered in Neenah, Wisconsin, has a longstanding commitment to sustainability.
