“Creating a Green and Profitable Work Environment”

Helpful Guidance for Technical Assistance Providers

What is this section about?

Our goal as technical assistance providers should be to deliver programs that are effective in changing people’s behavior. In most cases though, it’s not enough to simply deliver a list of “best management practices” to an industry and expect to see results. Numerous studies have shown that education and knowledge alone have little or no effect on changing behavior. (McKenzie 14)

However, attempting to steer behavior in the environmental realm is complicated. Inherent in the nature of the environmental field is the idea that “everything is connected to everything else”. The benefits of individual behavior change are usually seen as coming to the community or organization as a whole and not directly to the individual making the change. Behavior science and social marketing have been attempting to address this knowledge-behavior gap and have identified some specific factors and strategies to help close the gap and help foster real sustainable behavior change. (Day 2, 5)

The responses to the Frequently Asked Questions below are a synthesis of the latest thinking and research in the field of green marketing with experience gained through the pilot project stage of the “Creating a Green and Profitable Work Environment” guide’s development. The information was compiled to provide insights into effective strategies to foster sustainable behavior and to move your clients to implement green cleaning and maintenance activities.

Targeting Your Audience

• What types of commercial buildings will most benefit from the Guide?
• Who do I approach within the building?
• What might motivate them to use the Guide?
• How should I tailor the message?
• What are the barriers that might stand in the way?

Selling Them on “Green” Concepts

• What’s the best way to approach a building owner or facility manager?
• What are some attention-grabbing examples of green practices?
• Why should I get a written commitment?

Helping Them Implement Green Practices

• What steps do we want them to take?
• How can we help them get started?
• How can we keep them motivated to stick with it?

For More Information

• Appendix & References
• Contact Us