Research reveals employee productivity boost for green companies

Posted by Katie in Energy News

It’s long been a common misconception that green commercial energy initiatives have a negative impact on a company’s financial performance.  However a new joint study by the UCLA and University Paris-Dauphine has now revealed that businesses voluntarily adopting green measures are actually enjoying an economic boost in a surprising area – staff productivity.

Data collected from employees at 5,220 French companies revealed that staff were 16% more productive when the company had installed energy efficiency measures or adopted eco-labels such as ‘fair trade.’

UCLA’s Professor Magali Delmas explains the findings of the study:

‘Adopting green practices isn’t just good for the environment. It’s good for your employees and it’s good for your bottom line. Employees in such green firms are more motivated, receive more training, and benefit from better interpersonal relationships. The employees at green companies are therefore more productive than employees in more conventional firms.’

Delmas recommends that businesses of all sizehould install green measures to create a better work environment for employees as the study shows a causal link to an increase in both morale and productivity significantly. She also says that voluntarily investing in sustainable practices will also improve a company’s reputation in the local community and make it a more attractive proposition to new investors.

‘It’s a virtuous circle,’ Delmas explains. ‘You attract the best people, and because you’re open-minded, then you adopt green standards, and then you attract even better people, and this continues to feed itself. Companies that adopt these policies tend to be better.’ Easy ways to go green

Increasing the green credentials of your business doesn’t necessarily involve significant financial investment. The British Gas Business Energy Insight service can highlight a few simple steps that will go a long way to reducing your business electricity usage.

For more information on the green initiatives available for your business, visit the British Gas Business pages on energy efficiency.

About the Author

Katie Jackson is a former journalist and writer with a strong interest in environmental and social issues, primarily youth engagement and developments in green technology. She now specialises in writing news and information articles about developments in the energy field and creating content for the not-for-profit sector. Katie Jackson on Google+