{"id":123525,"date":"2019-07-15T10:30:21","date_gmt":"2019-07-15T09:30:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/?p=123525"},"modified":"2019-07-15T10:30:21","modified_gmt":"2019-07-15T09:30:21","slug":"8-sustainability-policies-for-plasticfreejuly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/blog\/8-sustainability-policies-for-plasticfreejuly\/","title":{"rendered":"8 sustainability policies for #PlasticFreeJuly"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is a guest post from Katie Chodosh, content consultant at TopLine Comms<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Sustainability is an ongoing business issue, but #PlasticFreeJuly<\/a> gives us all a good excuse to think about it a little more. And PR agencies and departments are in a particularly good position to lead the charge: it\u2019s our job to make companies look good (and responsible) and giveaways tend to come under our remit too. That\u2019s why we wanted to get a better understanding of how people view sustainability when they\u2019re choosing a job and what we can do as an agency to be a little greener.<\/strong><\/p>\n

First, TopLine Film<\/a> surveyed 1,000 office workers on workplace sustainability. Nearly a quarter (24%) said they would refuse a job at an organisation with a poor sustainability record, and three quarters (73%) would like to see their workplace improve its sustainability record.<\/p>\n

Then, we surveyed the TopLine Comms team to get an idea of their position on sustainability, and to see what ideas they had for us. The majority (94%) are committed to protecting the environment and agree that we should have a sustainability policy in place.<\/p>\n

Here are some of our tips for becoming a more sustainable PR agency, which you can easily implement for #PlasticFreeJuly and beyond.<\/p>\n

1. Ban single use plastics<\/span>
\n<\/strong>Banning single use plastics is probably the quickest and easiest policy to implement. TopLine is officially a plastic-free zone. We\u2019ve given all staff reusable cups and plan to get some reusable straws in, too. If other businesses can\u2019t afford to do this, then team members could be encouraged to bring a reusable cup from home.<\/p>\n

2. Think twice about your giveaways<\/span>
\n<\/strong>Consumers\u2019 interests in PR stunts are being outweighed by their commitment to sustainability. Times are changing, and the old PR and marketing stunts need to evolve. Most people are much more conscious about unnecessary plastic and waste, so bear this in mind before giving away any unnecessary plastic items.<\/p>\n

3. Ask \u2018is it sustainable?\u2019 before launching a campaign<\/span>
\n<\/strong>Before launching a PR campaign, make sure you\u2019ve double checked that every element is as sustainable as possible. It\u2019s easy to get carried away \u2013 for example, you might want to have balloons at your event or serve drinks at your stand in plastic cups. But these are the exact types of activities that create a lot of unnecessary waste. Add the question \u2018is it sustainable\u2019 to any checklists or brainstorms that you have before launching campaigns and you should catch them in time.<\/p>\n

4. Implement a switch-off policy and stick to it<\/span>
\n<\/strong>We\u2019ve also introduced a policy for everyone to turn off their computers and other devices at the end of every day. We know it\u2019s easy to forget, but it makes a big difference for energy consumption, so we\u2019ve put up visible reminders and have vowed to hold everyone accountable.<\/p>\n

5. Make time for volunteering<\/span>
\n<\/strong>Another policy we\u2019ve implemented at TopLine is to volunteer time to environmental and sustainable activities. We\u2019re looking at eco-friendly initiatives like picking up litter or helping plant trees locally and will take time out of the working day to do it.<\/p>\n

6. Reduce, reuse, recycle<\/span>
\n<\/strong>All agencies should have a robust recycling system in place. It really couldn\u2019t be easier to get separate bins and as long as they\u2019re signposted clearly, all staff should be capable of putting the right item in the right bin.<\/p>\n

7. Print less<\/span>
\n<\/strong>Printing less in the office should be easy enough, but you should also consider printing less materials for trade shows. Press packs are increasingly outdated and flyers are often put straight in the bin. If you have to print, at least make sure the paper you\u2019re using is recycled, recyclable and printed on both sides.<\/p>\n

8. Ask your suppliers about their sustainability policies<\/span>
\n<\/strong>If you work with a lot of suppliers, it\u2019s important to remember that you\u2019re just one part of the chain \u2013 so it\u2019s worth asking other suppliers what their position is on sustainability. This will highlight your company\u2019s commitment and challenges them to start thinking about greener practices. They might even give you some ideas for your own sustainability policy.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve really enjoyed the process of creating a more sustainable work environment and we\u2019d like to challenge other PR teams to do the same. Start by talking to your team about what they\u2019re passionate about and they\u2019ll be more inclined to stick to them. Creating effective sustainability policies relies on your staff to stick to them, so make sure you get them involved in the process.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here 8 tips from TopLine Comms for becoming a more sustainable PR agency, which you can easily implement for #PlasticFreeJuly and beyond.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":423,"featured_media":123526,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7365,7272,7238],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123525"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/423"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=123525"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123525\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":123528,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123525\/revisions\/123528"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/123526"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=123525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=123525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=123525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}