Getting People to do [Green] Stuff

Championing workplace sustainability can be exhausting. You can’t do anything without motivating staff to change behaviour. But sometimes after all the meetings, emails, Powerpoint talks and staff events, you wonder if you are getting anywhere. You get frustrated. You start thinking your colleagues are beyond help.

Lately I’ve been reading Susan M Weinschenk’s book, How to Get People to Do Stuff. Weinschenk is a behavioural psychologist. She identifies 7 drives which motivate people. I’ll just discuss two which appealed to me. They are:

·        The Need to Belong

·        The Power of Habit

The Need to Belong is based on the theory that we all have a strong need to feel part of a group. We pay attention to and copy what others do, because the drive to belong (‘social validation’) is unconscious.

Ways to use this in a sustainability program:

·        Tell people how many other firms are implementing sustainability at work. Eg ‘ All our competitors have been doing this for years.’

·        A study showed that when energy companies provided customers with their energy use figures compared to that of their neighbours, people consistently saved more energy. But don’t overdo it. Another study showed that when people believe they are competing against a large number they are less likely to try hard. And women don’t seem to be as competitive as men. (I’m not sure this is true of all women lawyers. Perhaps we are competitive in different ways.)

·        Make sure the right person does the asking. If you are appealing to lawyers, someone they can relate to (eg another lawyer that they like) will have a better effect than a stranger, unless that stranger is very appealing and charismatic.

·        Recruit people to model the behaviour you want others to follow.

The Power of Habit

Many habits are unconscious. Habits are based on a cue which triggers the habit, the automatic routine and the reward from carrying out the habit.

·        To get people to change a habit, disrupt it and replace it with a conscious habit which will eventually become unconscious.

·        For example, if a junior lawyer has a habit of printing out large quantities of documents for court which she may or may not use, which end up in the bin, the  trigger may be ‘I’m in court tomorrow, what if I need something? I’d better print it out’, the routine is printing all the documents, and the reward is feeling less anxious that she won’t be prepared. This could be replaced by a different trigger such as calling the lawyer in for a talk about what is likely to be needed for court 3 days earlier. Together you can create a routine of making a list of what is needed. The reward will be that the lawyer will feel reassured about her preparation.

My last post reported on Sam Mostyn’s talk for Green Capital, where she said that you can’t motivate people by fear. You need to convince them that they are capable of great things.

This approach is supported in an interview with Bryan Welch, the publisher of Mother Earth News,  from the Guardian’s Sustainable Business Blog. "I've discovered time and again that if you want to engage people's imaginations and if you want to engage them in activities that improve the odds of sustainability, then the best way to speak to them is with an optimistic, hopeful, excited, passionate, joyful tone," he notes. He suggests triggering their imaginations with "cool stuff" they can do to make a difference.

The message here is don’t try to scare people into action with doom and gloom – something I’ve been guilty of! The situation may be urgent, but show them what they can do, what the rewards will be and remove the fear and uncertainty which can paralyse people from acting.

The Phoenix Effect

I attended a panel session at the Powerhouse Museum tonight organised by Green Capital, an initiative of the Total Environment Centre addressing "The Phoenix Effect". Green Capital used the occasion to launch its new brand, which focuses on Building Sustainable Economies.

There is a lot I could say about what Green Capital is doing but not all of it is relevant to sustainability in law firms. I have listed their blog on this site so you can check out what they say. I will focus on what I took away from the speakers, who were all prominent in promoting sustainability in business, charity or government.

The keynote speaker was Sam Mostyn. She is on the boards of Virgin Australia, Transurban Group, and Citibank Australia. In January 2012, Sam was appointed a Commissioner with the National Mental Health Commission, and in late 2012 she was appointed to the first National Sustainability Council of Australia.

She gave an interesting perspective on the history of the sustainability movement in Australian from the point of view of business. Initially those within corporations who were advocating social responsibility and sustainability were faced with arguments that it was contrary to the fiduciary duties of directors. The Australian Business Roundtable on Climate Change, partnering with the Australian Conservation Foundation, was one of the early movers for a price on carbon.

From that high point, largely through the failure of political leadership and the GFC, the momentum has slowed and it is time, according to Mostyn, for a new approach which looks at the need for sustainability from an economic perspective. "We are building sustainable economies in ways we don't even know yet". Governments are struggling with transformation but the global community through the forces of technology, consumption, and collaboration, is surpassing their efforts. However we are still suffering from the effects of cheap prices for inputs such as fossil fuels, pollutants etc when the real price is anything but cheap.

So what ideas can law firms adopt in trying to implement sustainability?

1. People are not motivated to change their habits by fear. You need to make them feel good about doing something sustainable.
2. People need to be told "You are capable of delivering great change".
3. We need to be honest about what the inputs are when reporting on sustainability.
4. We need to apply proper pricing and new measures of progress to our businesses.


 

Where to find sustainability help - or not

What are lawyers’ professional associations doing to help lawyers be sustainable?

The answer depends on where you do business. Search for “sustainability” on the website of the NSW Law Society  or the Law Council of Australia and you come up with a few articles from journals but no resources that are current and regularly updated. The Law Institute of Victoria on the other hand has established the Green Practice Project, which aims to promote awareness and uptake of green initiatives in the legal profession by networking and training lawyers interested in sustainability to improve their professional development and enhance innovation.

Law firms can download the  Green Practice Guide “How to become a green practice” and there is a regular Green Practice column in the Law Institute Journal.

The Queensland Law Society grumbles “It’s not easy being green” but lists its own achievements on its website which it says  will hopefully inspire members to institute similar methods in their own organisations. Hope is not enough, QLS. What about some tools and training to help members get started?

Perhaps these bodies think sustainability is more relevant to legal practice management than the practice of law. However the Australian Legal Practice Management Association website does not have any information either.

Overseas, the American Bar Association has a page on resources for a sustainable law firm. It includes a model sustainability policy. The preamble states:

“ It is in the best interests of our law organization and society as a whole that our organization move along the path to sustainability, that is, the so-called Triple Bottom Line of social, economic and environmental responsibility. To that end, we will strive to achieve the following vision of performance, publicly communicate this commitment, and periodically report our progress and challenges in fulfilling it. To identify practices and programs to help implement this policy, we will give due consideration to the relevant policies, programs and other tools of the ABA and state and local law and governmental organizations, and will publicly cite in our policy below or elsewhere those major initiatives we embrace.”

It is not clear how many firms have adopted the policy. However, according to Law Professor John Dernbach, a US law office can enrol in the ABA-EPA Law Office Climate Challenge by adopting specified best practices for paper management or by joining EPA’s Waste- Wise program, Green Power Partnership, or Energy Star program.

The site also has links to law firms which have committed to sustainability, links to articles and a blog ( some of these links were broken) and books on legal technology ( one supposes technology is seen as an alternative to excessive paper use).

The Greenworks  site is managed by Linda Brughelli who served as the first chair of the California Department of Justice “Green Office-DOJ” effort from 2008 to 2011 and has given talks on sustainable practices in law firms. It has some useful information and gives a rare insight into sustainability in government law offices.

There are two honourable exceptions to the rule in NSW. The Environmental Defender’s Office, which has recently suffered attacks on its funding for daring to take on Government approved projects and winning, has some clear and useful resources, including a fact sheet on how small offices can reduce their carbon emissions.

The Office of Environment and Heritage operates the Sustainability Advantage Program. When you sign up to Sustainability Advantage you get assistance to help you evaluate your current environmental performance and rank possible initiatives. You work on selected projects tailored to your business such as staff engagement, resource efficiency and carbon management. Coleman Greig Lawyers have been able to promote their sustainability credentials, cut electricity use by 6 per cent and cut paper consumption by 25 per cent.

Happy World Environment Day

Today, 5 June is World Environment Day. The theme for WED in 2013 is "Think Eat Save - Reduce your foodprint". Here are some ideas for law firms who want to reduce food wastage and increase sustainability:

• Provide refrigeration and microwave facilities to encourage staff to bring in left overs for lunch
• If your firm has in house catering, consider giving unused food to a charity like Oz Harvest.
• Buy fair trade tea and coffee
• Provide filtered water and carafes / glasses so staff are not encouraged to buy water in plastic bottles
• Use a caterer who uses free range produce so that you know you are eating food produced in a humane way.

What if you could recycle your entire office?

The paperless office may be a dream that will never be fully realised, but what about the cardboard office?

European company Karton have just opened a showroom in Fitzroy, Melbourne which showcases their furniture and storage items made entirely from paper. Their range comprises desks, lecterns, bookshelves, filing cabinets, room dividers and tables.

And it doesn't stop there - check out their cardboard bed!

The product is high strength corrugated board made from a mix of virgin and recycled paper, so it is not fully carbon neutral but it can be recycled at the end of its life, which is more than you can say for your average metal filing cabinet.

 This furniture would be great for a start up office or a home office which might have to be moved or packed up later.

For law firms, it could be used to house staff hired for special projects which have a limited life, for libraries or stands at marketing or recruitment events.

If you don't like the look of the bare cardboard, the surface can be painted, varnished or papered to give a decorative effect. It is delivered flat and you assemble it  by folding it. No tools are required.

Australian Legal Sector Alliance - the value of networking

In November 2012 the Australian Legal Sector Alliance published its annual report. The ALSA was established about 2 years ago and has 41 members including firms of all sizes from across the country.

Of the 41 members, 27 submitted an environmental report to ALSA for 2011-12, and 24 of the 27 chose to publish their report. The ALSA says their membership represents nearly 20% of all Australian lawyers in private practice and the Reporting Members represent nearly 15% of the sector.  ALSA has chosen to focus initially on environmental sustainability, but plans to expand long term to include social and community issues.   .

ALSA is modelled on the Legal Sector Alliance of England & Wales which commenced in 2007.

The Executive Members  are Clayton Utz, DLA Piper, Henry Davis York, Jackson McDonald, Maddocks, McCullough Robertson, Norton Rose Australia and Swaab Attorneys.

ALSA reporting members measure their usage of electricity, paper and  business travel, and their disposal of waste. The 2011-12 report shows that paper usage is decreasing, however emissions from electricity and travel are increasing. I wonder whether the number of global law firm mergers which have occurred in Australia in the past few years have impacted on travel.

There are a number of advantages to belonging to a network like ALSA which should encourage law firms to join. Members share ideas and knowledge and benefit from each other’s experience. They can also benchmark their performance against that of other members and identify areas for improvement.  Also(although it is not clear that ALSA is doing this) they can use their buying power to obtain expert advice, and encourage their suppliers to improve their sustainability.

However, the measurement of the environmental impact of ALSA member firms’ activities is limited to their own direct impact. For example business travel is limited to travel by firm employees. It does not take into account travel that might be necessitated by the firm’s conduct – for example, witnesses having to travel to court, clients travelling to meet the law firm or their opponents being forced to travel as a result of litigation.

Law firms need to recognise that the way they conduct business also has an impact on the environmental impact of other sectors of society.  This is why the extension of sustainability to other areas such as ethics and social measures, and particularly alternative dispute resolution, is crucial to its success.