There are a few different types of employee when it comes to sustainability in business; those that actively embrace it, those who choose to ignore it, and at the other end of the scale - the people who take it to its limits, becoming self-confessed ‘sustainability fanatics’.
How your company thinks about sustainability as a whole is a different story, and one that might be seen from your printing policies and how people in the company print.
For those who don’t care about sustainability in the workplace, they might not think twice about printing their 100-page document in full colour, because they’re not paying for it or worrying about it. But maybe this all comes down to culture and what the business can be doing to embed sustainability behaviour into employee’s daily routines.
A shift in mindset: the psychology of sustainability
There’s no doubting that the results of sustainable printing practices depend on the long-term behaviour of staff. So, while behavioural change plays a big part in lasting change, a successful sustainability strategy also requires a shift in mindset.
Sustainable actions need to become the norm - not the exception.
Unfortunately, many businesses still highlight sustainable behaviour as being exceptional. Consider the accounts clerk who is well-known for her insistence on separating waste correctly between the recycling bins. To colleagues, what she’s doing is admirable, but it’s considered unusual.
Maybe this sounds familiar?
How to form habits around sustainability
The rubbish-separating accounts clerk is exhibiting sustainable behaviour through choice. The aforementioned mass middle can be encouraged to make similar choices themselves - providing they understand that they’re personal choices.
Habitual sustainability is something every business should strive for. If the engagement is based on a one-off approach or compliance, the ‘fire-and-forget’ mentality takes over. Instead, you should present sustainability as a personal choice that is backed by motivation, because the more a task is repeated, the more ‘normal’ it becomes.
The role of analytics in habitual sustainability
If you operate within a large organisation, identifying gaps in sustainable print activity is only possible with the right analytics.
If your MPS can deliver data on device over-utilisation, inappropriate use of MFPs and peak periods where high print demand can be pre-empted, you’ll quickly spot behaviour that is negatively impacting the sustainability of the business.
Remember: users produce printed documents - not devices. By spending more time analysing and acting on insight, businesses can more easily identify opportunities to introduce habitual sustainability practices that would otherwise remain hidden.
Closing the sustainability ‘gap’
To engage the mass middle, organisations need to seek better interaction regarding the choices they make and their impact on the sustainability of the business.
This isn’t an impossible task, but for large organisations it is rather impractical; the company would have to engage with hundreds (if not thousands) of employees each and every day in order to encourage sustainable thinking.
Thankfully, enterprises can close the sustainability gap by leaning on the latest technology. For example, the Xerox Greener Intelligence approach ensures organisations can track and analyse the behaviour of many business users simultaneously.
The ability for the individuals within your organisation to make decisions that have a measurable impact on sustainability is both strategically beneficial and problematic - unless you understand how to build a culture that forms habitual sustainable behaviour.