5 ways to activate employees on organizational sustainability goals

“Can I put a stapled document in the recycling bin?” 

“Don’t even think about getting rid of the K-cups – [senior leader’s name] will lose his mind.” 

“Can we acknowledge the existence of climate change in this meeting?” 

“Scope 2? What are you even talking about?” 

“But don’t the reusable water bottles you’re handing out generate more pollution than single-use paper cups?”  

Fielding office recycling questions. Appeasing leadership quirks. The never-ending debate about environmental tradeoffs. Ask any employee tasked with engaging employees with sustainability initiatives, and they’ll have stories to tell. 

In this case, the quotes come from my own experience: six years in the power industry at Green Mountain Energy, where I led our employee group, Green Ambassadors, and post-acquisition at NRG, where I built an employee engagement pillar for its office and power-plant-based employees. 

I loved these roles, but the work came with risks. Employee engagement activities like recycling can look like the kind of sustainability projects enacted in elementary schools. They should be balanced with education and involvement in goals material to the organization, including sustainable procurement programs and reducing emissions from business travel.  Taking on too many projects disconnected from goals material to the business can jeopardize the level of influence sustainability teams exert in other areas and trigger apathy from employees.

Why not ditch employee engagement altogether? The answer is in the data. Research from sustainability consultancy Kite Insights shows that more than 80 percent of employees want to take action on climate change at work. So let’s get to what makes a difference. Here are five replicable ideas for getting employees more closely aligned to your organization’s sustainability goals.

Actionable ideas

Host a dedicated event. An annual one-day event focused on sustainability ensures the topic gets undivided attention, priority and engagement from employees at every level of leadership, said Lydia Perez Poole, sustainability director at spice and herb maker McCormick.

Get the CEO to attend. Hold the event at your headquarters so it’s easy for your CEO to make opening remarks, interview a speaker and stick around afterwards to discuss sustainability strategy. One leader at a logistics business recalled an event where their CEO told employees that the company had a sustainability strategy because customers and investors demanded it, not “to get to heaven.” That’s the kind of statement you can’t script, but it can only happen if you create the space for it. 

Tie goals to compensation. Implement an organizational score card or team key performance indicator that links compensation to in-house sustainability goals. And make sure to structure the goals thoughtfully. Hannah Black, a 2026 Trellis 30 Under 30 awardee and the leader of Trane Technologies’ global Sustainability Ambassador Network, created a function-specific goal guide that led to 20 percent more sustainability goals being classified as SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely). 

Set up curated meetings. Meet with the team you need to engage, including the group’s boss, to present a 15-minute deck on the company’s in-house sustainability efforts. This ensures the right people are in the room and able to connect the goals to their day-to-day work, said Erin Koch, sustainability director at Prologis. 

Look beyond environmental issues. Leveraging sustainable development goals, including women’s rights and food access, can offer a more compelling entry point for some employees, said Sam Gooch of Waymo, who doesn’t sit on the sustainability team but is an internal advocate for it. 

Watch for impact

All conversations on employee engagement eventually get to the issue of how to measure impact. Some organizations work with human resources to add a sustainability question to employee surveys. You can also track how often sustainability team members are brought into conversations and projects led by other teams. If you use printed materials, keep an eye on how quickly the documents get picked up. Measuring employee happiness and retention is also an option, but recognize that those metrics sit with human resources, with sustainability in a supporting role.  

Finally, check for red flags as you try these new initiatives. Rethink your strategy if it only engages employees who are already active and educated on sustainability. And if you do find yourself again explaining that plastic bags don’t go in the recycling bin, you’re not alone. Know that I was out there doing the same.