The Best Sustainability Initiatives Include Training For Employees

A consensus has solidified around corporate ESG; it has officially become a tool for addressing business opportunities and identifying risks. ESG may evolve into another name over time, but the goals will remain (mostly) the same: future-proofing business efforts. 92% of CxOs believe their company can continue to grow while cutting greenhouse gas emissions, and 90% believe economic growth is possible while meeting climate goals.  There are different initiatives Fortune 500 companies can take to meet climate goals while also building business resilience. 

CXOs are implementing these top actions to move the needle on carbon reductions and resilience. 

• 72% of the top 300 companies on the Fortune Global 500 have committed to reducing plastic pollution.
• 49% are increasing energy efficiency.
• 51% are using more sustainable materials.
• 50% are implementing technology solutions to help achieve climate or environmental goals.
• 49% are purchasing renewable energy directly, contractually, or through renewable energy certificates.
• 48% are developing new climate-friendly products or services.

Whatever the chosen corporate sustainability initiatives are, there’s one main factor in driving their success, and that is the employee connection factor. 

Too often, sustainability knowledge remains siloed within dedicated teams or academic circles, limiting its impact across the organization. Without broader employee literacy, even the most well-intentioned sustainability initiatives can struggle to gain traction or drive meaningful change.

Sustainability Training for Employees helps advance environmental knowledge for employees of all levels to improve engagement in sustainability decisions, giving them the understanding and tools they need to drive new measures of success. 

Here’s how one insurance giant overcame sustainability inertia

One of the largest insurance providers in the U.S. adopted an initiative to reduce single-use plastic waste at their company campuses. Their sustainability team chose to find new vendors with actual recyclable packaging, such as metal, aluminum, and glass options, and not use materials that will be downcycled or mixed material packaging that is difficult to recycle or downcycle. Adoption for reuse and single-use elimination was slow. Metrics didn’t line up with initial goals, and even though employees seemed to care, the initiative wasn’t fully gaining the traction it needed, as employees didn’t see the connection to their lives and their role. 

As part of this initiative, the company’s sustainability team decided to add an educational training component to help employees understand the impact of single-use plastic production and waste. The company teamed up with A.R. Environmental Marketing House’s sustainability educators and content creators to build an interactive training experience. The approach included the following.

1. Identifying employee mindsets through a pre-training survey gauged employees’ baseline knowledge and attitudes toward sustainability, helping tailor the course to address knowledge gaps and existing values.

2. Tailored learning for different roles via a two-pronged training approach was created, one for C-suite executives focused on decision-making and strategy and another for employees with hands-on, day-to-day action steps.

3. Storytelling for impact was added to the effects of jarring statistics. The program used real-world stories to illustrate the impact of single-use plastic waste, making the issue feel personal and immediate.

4. Interactive learning for retention where employees engaged in live workshops and self-paced e-learning courses, culminating in quizzes and certification to reinforce their learning and commitment.

How to make waste reduction initiatives stick

Why did this tailored waste reduction sustainabilty training for employees move the needle where previously the initiative was stalled? Because it tapped into core psychological motivators that drive behavior change. Here’s why these tailored training for employees work.

1. People need to see themselves in the solution

One of the biggest obstacles to waste reduction and sustainability initiatives is the feeling that an individual’s actions do not matter in the grand scheme. The tailored employee training overcame this by breaking down the direct impact employees could have through their roles. Small actions, such as opting for a reusable bottle instead of a single-use option, supporting waste reduction efforts, and influencing company purchasing choices, were framed as critical components of the company’s sustainability mission, where one small choice in a role could have a greater impact company-wide.

2. Connecting sustainability to personal and professional values

On an individual level, training components included the involvement of home life, family, friends, roommates, and neighbors as a way to increase the impact of teaching on the employee. That is because pupils retain approximately 30% of what they learn when they see a demonstration and retain 50% of what they learn when engaged in a group discussion. 75% of what they learn is retained when they practice what they learned. And retain about 90% of what they learn when they teach someone else or use it immediately.

The training also positioned the waste reduction effort as a business priority rather than an environmental “extra,” which made employees take greater ownership of it. The training emphasized how eliminating single-use plastic aligned with broader company values, including cost savings, regulatory compliance, and corporate social responsibility. Employees were shown how their sustainability actions contributed to company success, in addition to the environmental impact, but not limited to it. 

3. The power of accountability and social proof

Behavioral research shows that people are more likely to engage in sustainable actions when they see their peers doing the same. The training encouraged a culture of accountability, where employees and executives took ownership of the initiative and were rewarded at success milestones. As more people participated, a sense of shared responsibility and positive peer pressure drove greater engagement. Business page social media highlighted employee participants and metrics tied to waste reduction as an example and an incentive for those involved. 

Here are some results demonstrating how Employee Sustainability Training helped skyrocket sustainability initiative participation

Compared to previous sustainability initiative efforts that excluded a formal training and education component, A.R. Marketing House’s tailored training, The Environmental Literacy Course, dramatically improved employee participation and program success.

Key outcomes

• Employee engagement surged, and staff reported feeling more invested in sustainability and taking further proactive steps to reduce waste.
• Single-use plastic purchases were eliminated, saving the company significant costs while reinforcing its ESG goals.
• Workplace morale improved as employees felt empowered to contribute meaningfully to corporate sustainability efforts.
• Operational efficiency increased through streamlined purchasing and waste management processes.
• Investor confidence and public trust grew as the company demonstrated strong ESG leadership backed by data-driven results.
• Regulatory compliance became proactive rather than reactive, as employees had a deeper understanding of environmental policies affecting the business.

Beyond these measurable impacts, the company also saw a ripple effect beyond the workplace. Employees began incorporating learned sustainability practices into their personal lives, bringing these values home and influencing their families.

What other companies can learn about turning sustainability goals into action?

This case study is a roadmap for implementing an educational component to train employees about sustainability initiatives for any organization.

Practical steps to take from this process for engaging employees toward an effective sustainability program.

1. Start with employee insights. Before launching a program, survey employees to assess existing knowledge and identify shared values and learning goals.

2. Use storytelling & facts. Make sustainability relatable through real-world examples and personal impact stories that support fact-sharing.

3. Customize training for different roles. Tailor content for leadership and employees based on their specific power around sustainability. 

4. Make learning interactive. Combine live workshops, self-paced modules, and take-home learning/teaching elements to boost retention.

5. Encourage peer accountability. Use team-based challenges and recognition to make initiative actions a visible and collective effort.

6. Measure and communicate impact. Track progress and share success stories to reinforce the value of employee participation. ESG report highlights that integrating metrics and employee strategies around the training can solidify long-term commitments for improvement.

Learn more about this case study on Environmental Literacy Courses here. Empower your team with a company that is #AdvancingResilience.

Resources

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590332222005346

https://www.deloitte.com/global/en/issues/climate/cxo-sustainability-report.html

https://www.ferris.edu/university-college/firstgen/student-handbook/howtoretain90.pdf

https://www.pca.state.mn.us/sites/default/files/p-ee1-01.pdf