Business Owners: Cultivate a Thriving Green Culture by Boosting Employee Morale

Julie Starr • October 12, 2021



Behind every fruitful sustainability program is a team of dedicated and hardworking individuals, usually referred to as green teams. The notion of sustainability is motivated by joint passion and teamwork, making the green movement meaningful. And because green teams are not machines, they are likely to face issues like low morale and fatigue that come with following their determined, tiresome long-term projects, particularly those involved in subjects like sustainability.

The following are strategies for cultivating a thriving green culture by boosting employee morale and maintaining sustainability.

Alleviate Workload Stress

Whether you have one person serving you or an entire green team, it is vital not to overload them with projects and tasks. This is true especially for businesses new to sustainability, where pursuing a sustainability program and keeping green teams can be challenging.

Therefore, you can consider using an unsecured business loan to upgrade your business technology and equipment to make project completion very organized. Furthermore, improving project organization and reducing the levels of stress in your workers, using technology increases connectivity and allows your team to collaborate and exchange information effortlessly.

Recognize your Employees

Make sure to send updates to your business to recognize and celebrate personal milestones, new hires, create an employee spotlight and allow workers to nominate their peers for a prize. You can also have the employees comment and like the updates to motivate extra engagement.

There are numerous ways to recognize employees; for instance, you can have a sustainability leader of the month part in your newsletter to make special announcements during meeting time. Besides, you can consistently offer gift baskets and certificates or brand-new gadgets.

Cultivate Interpersonal Relationships

A robust interpersonal relationship between your workers can make a pleasant workplace and result in better satisfaction and improved engagement.  That is why you must focus on offering a positive work environment that motivates everyone to interact and have an open line of communication.

Consider establishing a lounge area to motivate your workers to socialize and get to know each other more. You can also organize team-building activities and corporation picnics. Once you have established a more robust team within your company, you will create a powerful support system between your workers and eventually strengthen your company’s culture.

Redecorate your Workplace

Does your office have a monochromatic tone and is dimly lit? These are some things that can significantly affect employee morale, collaboration, creativity, communication, and productivity. Light and color can provoke particular reactions. Therefore, for your workspace, consider having a balance of warm and cool tones.

Cool tones tend to have a relaxing effect; however, ensure that you incorporate warmer shades through accent walls and office fixtures to ensure that the office is not too icy.

Add Sustainability

Going green will not only benefit the planet but can also help you save on the cost of operating your business. And some of the common unsustainable practices in workplaces today are food wastes, irrelevant color printing, and styrofoam cups, all of which are very easy to change if you want to promote a sustainable work environment.

Bottom Line

This might be the perfect time to change your company’s culture by incorporating the above tips. It is also vital to note that there is no finish line when it comes to sustainability in a business. So as your company grows and evolves, you need to keep looking for ways to keep it sustainable. You can do that by offering sustainability incentives , alleviate workload stress, recognize employees and foster interpersonal relationships.

5 Everyday Items That Can Quietly Boost Your Brand

By Julie Starr • July 17, 2025
The best branding doesn’t always come from big campaigns or expensive graphics. Sometimes it’s the smaller stuff that leaves the biggest impression. Things people actually use, touch, or carry with them. That’s where your brand can quietly make its mark without needing to shout about it. If you’re only focusing on social media and business cards, you’re leaving a lot on the table. Here are five overlooked ways to get your name out there that feel natural, useful, and more personal. Thank-you slips If you’re already sending out orders, there’s no reason not to include a short thank-you slip. You can easily get these made through any decent online print shop , and they’re usually pretty cheap to run off in small batches. Just a simple note that says thanks, maybe with a reminder to follow you online or a cheeky discount code for next time. It’s quick, thoughtful, and makes the whole order feel more finished. Customers notice that kind of detail, especially when everything else they buy online comes with zero personality. You don’t need a complicated design either. Just something clean with your logo, a message that sounds like you, and maybe a social handle. The point is to give them a reason to come back or remember your name without it feeling forced. Branded zip pouches If you sell physical products, offer services, or run events, small zip pouches are surprisingly effective. Think of the kind you’d use for stationery, receipts, or travel bits. You can get your brand printed on the side and hand them out with purchases or include them in welcome packs. People keep them because they’re actually useful. They get tossed in handbags, school bags, or glove boxes and your logo just keeps turning up. Cleaning cloths for glasses or screens This one works brilliantly if you’re in tech, health, beauty, or anything involving screens or eyewear. A simple microfibre cloth with your branding on it can go a long way. Everyone needs one. Whether they use it for glasses, a phone screen, or their laptop, it’s something they hang onto. It’s not the kind of thing people throw away, and that means your name sticks around too. Receipt envelopes You might already use little envelopes to hand over receipts or business cards. Branding those envelopes is a small change that makes a big difference. Instead of someone getting a scruffy bit of paper in a plain sleeve, they’re handed something that feels a bit more finished. You can even add a message inside. Doesn’t need to be anything dramatic. A simple “thanks for visiting” or “see you next time” is enough to add a personal touch. Wet wipes or mini hand gels If your business is in hospitality, food, or anything hands-on, branded wet wipes or pocket-sized hand gels are surprisingly popular. People actually use them, especially at festivals, food stalls, pop-ups, or kids’ events. They end up in handbags or cars and stick around longer than you think. They don’t scream “marketing” either. They’re practical, and when done right, they make your business feel thoughtful. That’s what good branding does, it shows you’ve thought ahead.

How Student-Led ‘Energy Audits’ Are Cutting School Costs (and Lighting the Way Forward)

By Julie Starr • July 14, 2025
What happens when students stop waiting for adults to fix things and start conducting their own energy audits? Money gets saved. The lights get switched off. Data gets analyzed. And a quiet revolution in sustainability begins—inside schools that once overlooked their own inefficiencies. Across the globe, student-led energy audits are proving that change doesn't always need to come from a policy shift or a major capital budget. Sometimes, it begins with a clipboard, a spreadsheet, and a group of curious minds asking: Why are the hallway lights on at noon when sunlight floods the building? The Energy Detectives These audits aren’t science fair projects. They’re rigorous investigations, often done in collaboration with facilities staff, local environmental nonprofits, or even engineering mentors. Students go from classroom to classroom measuring electricity usage, checking for phantom loads , and identifying where heat is escaping in winter or air conditioning is leaking in summer. One high school in Ontario saved over $12,000 a year after its Grade 11 physics students ran an energy audit and suggested simple changes—LED upgrades, motion sensors in bathrooms, and smarter heating schedules. They didn’t just propose ideas. They pitched them with spreadsheets, thermal images, and payback timelines. It worked. Learning That Pays Off—Literally Unlike textbook learning, these audits blend real-world math, environmental science, economics, and persuasive communication. Students aren’t just learning about sustainability. They’re doing it. And the savings add up. From dimming overlit hallways to reprogramming HVAC systems that run all weekend for empty buildings, students are surfacing blind spots that administrators often overlook. In some districts, their findings are influencing energy policy. Elsewhere, the audits have inspired school boards to hire sustainability coordinators—often alumni of the student programs themselves. There’s something poetic about a school funding new books or laptops from money saved by students who found out the vending machines didn’t need to be plugged in 24/7. Why This Matters More Than Ever With education budgets tightening and utility costs rising, every dollar saved is a dollar that can go back into classrooms. And here’s where it gets interesting from a family finance perspective, too. If you’re a parent setting aside money for post-secondary savings, every bit of school efficiency helps. Fewer energy costs might mean more programming, better STEM facilities, or even bursaries. That raises a broader point: when families save for their children’s future, they often look into RESPs (Registered Education Savings Plans). And many wonder—is a RESP deduction available on my taxes? While contributions themselves aren’t deductible, the gains grow tax-free, and students often pay little to no tax when they withdraw the funds during school. A Movement Worth Replicating These audits aren’t just an exercise in environmentalism. They’re leadership labs. Students learn how to spot inefficiencies, speak up in board meetings, and make a business case for change. They don’t just flip switches—they shift mindsets. And they carry these habits into adulthood. The result? A generation growing up not only with climate anxiety, but also with tools to tackle it.