Ng Kai Ching, CLP
Happy and healthy staff form the most productive team.
The “CLP Planting Your Office” is a project that integrates the concept of environmental protection into corporate management. A voluntary team of staff, from managerial to industrial, gathered together to plan and build their own green office. We aimed to enhance the colleagues’ awareness of the environment so as to establish a lively, energetic and green workplace. Through mutual interaction, staff members are encouraged to offer bright ideas and initiatives about how to create a better and more pleasant workplace. The staff morale and sense of belonging have been cultivated as a result too.
One main feature of CLP Planting Your Office project is: We care for people and care for the environment!
How can we make the office a better environment? Reduction in use of energy, water, waste, paper, green purchase, etc. are very important contribution to save natural resources on earth. What else do we need to further protect the environment to a higher perspective manner? And our answer is simple – “People”!
The Planting Your Office project was initiated and a voluntary team was formed in 2006. In the first meeting, someone said “We have many expertise in the company, why can’t we build our own green workplace? This innovative idea was inspiring and very well received by others, and soon it became the base and foundation of the project.
Respect, Trust, Appraisal, Encouragement, Teamwork, Care For Others and Continuous Learning, are all core values of the Planting Your Office project.
The planting team gathered together to work out the planting plan, and then devoted their spare time to decorating the office. Every detail of the planting project was decided, organized and implemented by our colleagues, without expenses to gardening companies. For example, team members learned how to mix concrete and brick work and they built their own planter. The most important thing was that they learned the true meaning of the project core values during the process.
In order to show our care for people, we arranged surveys and ballot to select suitable plants for the office. We also encourage “Plant Recycling” to save dying plants, and many of our new plants were reproduced by the dividing method. We set up a small nursery on the roof so that the weak plants in poor condition can be taken care. Once they recovered, they would be returned to green the office.
In order to promote the Planting Your Office project and enhance the ownership, we organized a number of events, such as “Roof garden naming competition” and we received a hundred submissions. Finally, the “Green Paradise” won and it is now the name of our roof garden.
Upon the introduction of the Planting Your Office project, a lot of benefits are realised:
* Make the office a better and healthier workplace, with more refreshing air
* Promote the concept of plant recycling as far as possible
* Improve staff morale and sense of belonging
* Enhance staff self-confidence
* Reduce long-term office expense of buying new plants
* Help employees to be healthier, and to care environment
To make the project a success, there are several key factors in the implementation of the Planting Your Office project. These include:
Commitment from Management
The project involves the changing of people’s culture and the implementation of project core values. It is essential for senior management to promote positively the benefits of the project and lead by example.
Positive Communication
Good communications are an essential part of the project. It will be necessary that all concerns from the people working in the office are listened and addressed.
New Idea and Creativity
Encourage staff to offer new initiatives even they sound crazy. Allow time for staff to discuss every idea and involve them in the decision making process.
After the implementation of the project, the office is getting greener and more energetic. We observed that the staff’s confidence and sense of belonging are increased. We are working together in a more relaxed way and generating more green initiatives. As a result, there is more and better communication, and the office is now more environmentally friendly.
For more information on our VM activities, please visit our Group Website.
Contact: kc07390@clp.com.hk
