Gaia Blog

One of the problems of being a professional in this game is that colleagues think that we’re single-handedly responsible for the organisation’s sustainability credentials. In reality the opposite is true; our role is to influence and lead them towards sustainability nirvana. Firstly we have to persuade them that that we’re not responsible and secondly, get [...]

Every organisation has its operational myths which give rise to apparently good reasons for not being able to save energy. These myths evolve to become unquestionable rules that could be career limiting if broken. For example, retailers leaving store lights on all day despite sufficient natural daylight because of perceived Health & Safety rules or [...]

You’ve no doubt got one of those jobs with the words sustainability, environment, energy or carbon management in them.  Unfortunately these titles carry the implication that employing people like you will rapidly turn a resource greedy organisation into a low carbon consuming, sustainable paragon of corporate virtue in a matter of months.  If only corporate [...]

All programmes, whether sustainability or not, that require change may encounter a pessimist of some sort. They may be highly vocal or apathetic, but for the team leading the programme, recognising the underlying reasoning for their behaviour can provide helpful  insight into your communication strategy and how it may need enhancing. Many people don’t like [...]

Sustainability supporters say that it can bring both cost reductions through energy and waste savings and stimulate the creation of new products and services.Save and earn? It sounds more like a retailer’s ‘loyalty points’ promotion campaign than a business proposition!  So does the business case stack up? The answer is a cautionary ‘yes’. Sustainablity will [...]