As part of The Highland Council’s ongoing commitment to cutting carbon emissions, saving energy and reducing waste an extensive staff environmental survey was carried out during the months of April and May 2009 on behalf of the Council’s Energy and Sustainable Development teams.
Purpose:
The purpose of the survey was to gauge the level of knowledge and attitudes and behaviour of management, staff and members to environmental and sustainability issues in order to compare and contrast these groups and identify where any areas of weakness lie.
The environmental survey was completed by more than 1,200 Council staff and members to provide invaluable quantitative data relating to four main themes:
1. Environmental issues and climate change;
2. Energy;
3. Waste; and
4. Travel;
The basis of the report will:
- Inform the Council’s sustainability teams of the level of staff awareness for environmental sustainability;
- Establish a benchmark of staff attitudes and behaviours and identify areas of weakness that can be targeted through transformational leadership, education and effective monitoring of resources; and
- Enable the Council to drive forward a significant change programme to mitigate climate change by reducing CO2 emissions within its estate;
Method:
Key research methods included:
- A literature review of change management theories and examples of sustainability best practice;
- Comparison of secondary data with principal primary research from Qualitative opinion gathered from the open-ended comments box in the questionnaire; and
- A series of interviews conducted with key personnel from the Senior Management team (SMT), middle management, members and other stakeholders in the organisation;
Findings:
The initial findings from the survey highlight:
A growing awareness and concern among 85% of respondents for the urgency and scale of climate change.
The main causes and effects of anthropogenic global warming were identified as being CO2 emissions from road and air transport and public/private sector business.
On the whole staff recommend reducing our energy consumption and installing renewable energy to mitigate climate change.
93% of staff switch off their computers and 92% their monitors when leaving work,
However a far lower percentage switch off the lights and printers if last to leave the office.
Recycling initiatives have been embraced by all staff with 85% using office recycling bins and 83% reducing their use of paper.
Many are unable to print in duplex due to lack of double-sided printer functionality.
The majority of staff realise they need to reduce their car mileage, with 67% being sole occupants on the journey to work.
Of the 38% who travel 3 miles or under to work by car , many are willing to change their behaviour and walk or cycle more regularly to stay healthy, save money and reduce their CO2 footprint .
The main findings highlight 67% of management are fully engaged in discussion and actions relating to climate change and sustainability whereas, the opinions of ‘all other staff’, reflect that 68% ‘do not’ or ‘don’t know’ if they have the opportunity for discussion.
Staff Recommendations:
Recommendations made by staff during the survey included:
- Transformational leadership from senior management;
- Training and managerial support for green ambassadors;
- A week long campaign of sustainability events;
- A cohesive approach to sustainability across all Council services using an action plan framework;
- Updating and refreshing the current energy awareness screen saver;
- Providing duplex functionality on all printers; and
- Offering a wider range of recycling facilities.
The Energy and Sustainable Development teams are very grateful to staff member, Helena Macleod, for carrying out this work as part of her UHI degree programme. The final report can be found within the 'Current Documents' section to the right.