A press release said respondents indicated only about one third (39%) of employers promote recycling bins around the office, nearly one in seven (13%) assign someone to oversee “green” practices, and only eight percent (8%) of companies offer incentives or rewards to employees for participating in “green” programs.   

The majority (84%) of working Americans say they personally recycle things such as paper at work, and four in ten (40%) of these employees are motivated by their desire to set an example for coworkers. Others admit they are motivated to personally recycle by wanting to help the environment (64%) or have a personal desire to make a difference in the world (58%). Yet, scrutiny among fellow coworkers is high with nearly three quarters (73%) of professionals saying their current colleagues could improve their habits to reduce their company’s environmental footprint.  

Sixty-three percent (63%) of professionals who aren’t already doing everything they can to be environmentally-responsible agree they would be more motivated to adopt environmental practices at work if their company offered incentives. While a cash incentive (61%) is nice for some, it doesn’t take a lot to motivate most employees. An extra vacation day (46%), free lunch or party (44%), or special “green” gift (39%) would be all they need to take part. 

Yet, with or without incentives, nearly seven in ten (68%) surveyed professionals believe everyone is responsible for carrying out environmentally-responsible behaviors at work.