Employee Engagement
Cool Choices Partners with Waukesha County on Sustainability Program
Cool Choices is excited to announce that this fall we will be leading a county-wide sustainability program in Waukesha County. Thousands of Waukesha County residents will have the opportunity to join teams with colleagues and friends to show off their smart habits and compete for prizes—all while saving money at home and at work by adopting sustainable practices.
Kohler Co. Makes Cool Choices
Congratulations to Kohler Co. on their first Cool Choices employee engagement program!
Kohler is an industry leader in kitchen and bathroom products, engines and generators, decorative products and hospitality services. Founded in 1873 and headquartered in Kohler, Wisconsin, the innovative company is a household name with more than 50 manufacturing locations on six continents, and more than 35,000 associates dedicated to providing a sense of gracious living to every corner of the world.
In July 2017 more than 500 Kohler associates across multiple divisions in Wisconsin participated in a six-week Cool Choices program where associates earned points for their sustainable practices at work and home.
It’s Time for a Sustainability – HR Coalition
Employee engagement is a hot topic in HR circles. Experts estimate that up to 70% of US workers are not engaged at work and, further, that this disengagement costs companies about $500 billion annually. Disengaged employees are more likely to provide poor customer service, they are more prone to accidents, more likely to take sick days and they are less productive. So it’s no wonder that human resource teams are concerned about measuring and increasing engagement. At the same time, some sustainability leaders inside companies are struggling too. Facing aggressive year-after-year goals, these folks are wondering where they will get the next round of savings. Sustainability leads need fresh ideas and, ultimately, all hands on deck to generate savings.
It’s time for some creative cross-functional collaboration. A coalition, if you will.
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.
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.
