Most companies were aware of Earth Day and made efforts to participate in an initiative on that day. But if your company would like to continue sustainable practices after Earth Day then it may benefit from applying organizational change research. According to Cathy A. Rusinko, Ph.D., associate professor of management, School of Business Administration, Philadelphia University there are ways of encouraging employees to become active in sustainable practices. Ms. Rusinko provides us with the top ten way and organization can promote green initiatives. 

The initiatives are as follows:
1. Start at the top - top managers should lead by example so others can follow
2. Involve everyone - strategize with all different departments of how each one can do their part for sustainability
3. Communicate the importance - make employees aware of all the benefits of sustainability, not just the obvious
4. Set goals and report progress - make sure the goals are attainable and measurable, then share the results with all employees
5. Start small - sustainability does not take place over night. Make small changes at first and then increase the changes with each success
6. Celebrate small victories - recognize the progress you are making to become sustainable
7. Set increasingly challenging goals - when a sustainability goal is achieved replace it with a more challenging one and do not be fearful of revisiting goals and revising them if appropriate
8. Keep visibility high - ensure your employees are constantly reminded of the sustainability goal
9. Find the champions - there will always be employees that are more committed to sustainable practices then others, recognize them as they will be strong advocates of change to their colleagues
10. Reinforce and reward positive behavior - for change to last it must be reinforced and rewarded over time.  

Read the full article at Environmental Leader

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