In a March 2009 article on Greenbiz.com its staff writes, “Businesses have a growing interest and need for environmental and sustainability knowledge -- so much so that 65 percent say they value such knowledge in job candidates and 78 percent say that value will appreciate as a hiring factor in the next five years...”1. This statement is a result of a survey conducted by the National Environmental Education Foundation and begs the question, “Are the companies seeking this knowledge, sharing their knowledge with employees, new hires and stakeholders?” On Earth Day 2009, The Green Challenges released the first round of results from our surveys showing that less than 40% of the 1,200 companies articulate on their corporate website any form of sustainability knowledge.

The value of ‘green’ information is really in how it is practiced on a daily basis thus the need for case studies and real examples is critical. With many of us turning to the internet as our first resource for information it is ever critical that the companies seeking environmentally educated employees provide this information through their website. In a 2008 post for Greenbiz.com, Joel Makower writes, “...some companies' ambitious efforts to reduce waste, pollution, and other forms of inefficiency — not to mention create new markets for cleaner and greener solutions to meet customers' needs — can be thwarted by employees' lack of environmental awareness and personal habits. The disconnect squanders opportunities for employees to embrace a green ethic all week long, not just during the workday, and to bring to their jobs ideas and inspiration for a greener company.”2

Education is our biggest challenge because with the demand for knowledge rising combined with the lack of direct information it is hard to reconcile the knowledge barrier and may actually affect corporate sustainability efforts. Through the internet: companies, news outlets and social networks can deliver real time information to employees, consumers and stakeholders about sustainability as it relates to them. The barrier has been the lack of communication between the corporate entities and stakeholders on these issues through the internet as shown by our initial study. Too often the exposure to environmental issues is reserved for management, key stakeholders or a small number of employees. Sustainability education is communication must be grounded in strong communication.

The Green Challenges primary objective is education through strong internet communication. To accomplish this objective we have developed challenges, tools, social media and leadership to further corporate communication of sustainability and environmental education at all levels of an organization. Mark Wanczak posed a great question on June 3rd when he asked, “Can a car company be green? How about an airline company? Your answer is dependent upon your definition of what green is. For many of us, that answer varies.”3 The Green Challenges ultimate objective is to develop the overarching framework for website design and messaging when it comes to corporate sustainability in an effort to provide greater accessibility to employees and stakeholders seeking “green” information. What and how we disclose that information will be discussed in our next post, “TRANSPARENCY, A Uniform Strategy.”

References:
1 Companies Cite Growing Interest, Need and Value for Environmental Smarts: Survey Green Biz Staff, Greenbiz.com. http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2009/03/19/companies-value-environmental-smarts
2 “Hire Education: Do Greener Employees Make Greener Companies?” Joel Makower, Greenbiz.com. http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2008/11/10/do-greener-employees-make-greener-companies
3 “We All See Different Shades of Green” Mark Wanczak, Konstructr.com.
http://konstructr.com/we-all-see-different-shades-of-green/