Green Snow

It is that time of year again when the powder hungry amongst us start avidly checking the snow forecasts, dust off our ski boots and dream of snow covered slopes. But most of us spare little thought for the environmental impact of our ski holiday or the sustainability of our pursuit, despite skiers and snowboarders being among the first to experience the direct effects of climate change. Glaciers are retreating and snow lines are creeping higher leading resorts to use increasingly energy intensive methods of artificial snow creation.

Luckily the Ski Club of Great Britain has launched its new website that hosts an array of advice for skiers and holidaymakers on how to ‘Respect the Mountain’. They have come up with the Green Resorts Guide that assesses the environmental management systems that ski resorts are implementing in a bid to improve their environmental impact. Resorts are rated on areas such as green building policy, recycling facilities, no traffic zones and their use of green power.
The Ski Club of Great Britain is doing a stellar job of raising awareness of the environmental impact that the snowsports industry is having on and off the mountain. From encouraging tourists to take the train instead of flying, to organising seasonal ‘Spring Cleans’ to help clear up resorts, this Not-for-Profit is miles ahead of tour-operators and ski holiday companies in the race to reduce the environmental impact of snowsports.

Some other best practice models are popping up across Europe with the White Pod Resort offering a unique concept to eco-ski holidays (www.whitepod.com) and The Monte Rosa Refuge ((www.section-monte-rosa.ch) uses 90% solar power and is a cooking pot of groundbreaking environmental and energy systems

But whilst tour operators are beginning to implement measures that protect the mountain habitat they work in, and are looking for ways to reduce the overall emissions that the Alpine holiday industry creates, there is still a long way to go.

A leap in the wrong direction?

LeapCR recently launched a white paper on employee engagement, and whilst it’s great to have a new contribution to the debate, I have to say that this report left me dissatisfied

There are some significant stats in there: engaged employees are 87% more likely to stay, and 86% are happier at work. Their employer is likely to have a 26% higher revenue per employee. In fact, the report is absolutely spot on in highlighting the benefits of an engaged workforce. But when it comes to the meat of it – how you might actually go about creating this happy, loyal and productive community – I’m left hugely disappointed.

Is engaging employees really as simple as getting them involved in volunteering activity or a charity event every once in a while? Surely to create a truly engaged workforce, the most effective approach is to make them feel a real part of the company and its objectives, to believe in the company vision, be happy about what the business is trying to achieve, be supported by their peers and manager, feel fulfilled in their daily work. This isn’t easy; it takes a proper strategy.

For the 84% of graduates that seek socially responsible employment, I doubt that being given the chance to volunteer would make them feel that they’re working for a responsible business. Surely working for an employer that demonstrates it’s embedding responsibility in business practices would be a greater motivator and more convincing than a few charity events, no matter how worthy the cause.

good to know Google cares

Google has often led the way in innovation and once again it is ahead of the market in it's new 'good to know' campaign. As the internet and digital technologies become increasingly prevalent consumers are often more worried about their privacy and security online.

Google has been quick to respond to this attitude through it's new 'good to know' campaign. A range of unusual, humorous cartoons have started popping up on trains, in newspapers and online, bringing attention to Google's ideas and efforts to ensure safer browsing. By working with the citizen's advice bureau it has gained some real credibility for doing good in society too.

For us, what's really interesting about the campaign is that it shows how a company can truly use responsibility to differentiate from its competitors. A web browser, an email account or a search engine, could easily be seen as commodities. Yet Google has always made great efforts to differentiate itself and that's why it's great to see that its using responsibility as its latest weapon of choice.