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Is being green, just the new black?

The Anya Hindmarch ‘Im not a plastic bag’, driving a Prius are examples of us externally displaying our commitment to doing out bit to save the environment.

But behind closed doors, is the fridge stacked with super foods including blueberries shipped straight from Chile to our supermarket shelves? Are the Australian wine bottles stacking up? But is that OK, because at least they are going to be put out for recycling. Does thus make us feel better for having them flown from the other side of the world?

Is the harsh truth that for many, they want to do there little bit and want to be rewarded for doing so, do we want a pat on the back for their actions.

The challenge is to make these ‘compromises’ we are making to our daily lives a way of life. Buying organic from the local farmer, public transport instead of driving to work, but, how far are we really willing to go? We work hard Monday to Friday and earn our rewards – if only a holiday to the Norfolk cost had the same appeal as the beaches of Fiji.

Is the answer that we let our brands do the hard work for us? We are increasingly discerning when choosing between the brands we choose to buy and the brands we work for – our values need to align.

For example Marks and Spencer and their Plan A, they will work with customers and our suppliers to combat climate change, reduce waste, safeguard natural resources, trade ethically and build a healthier nation. They claim 'We're doing this because it's what you want us to do. It's also the right thing to do.'

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I keep hearing of more and more people telling me their companies have locked them out of facebook. A decision made by management who are angry that their staff are using company time to waste otherwise productive hours.

Surely if employees want to skive off, they will one way or another, whether it be on facebook or planning their next summer holiday online?

By companies dictating and taking the distraction away, they are putting employees backs up - not a good move when you want to motivate your staff to drive towards your business goals.

Even more extreme, a friend was telling me that not only is facebook banned but her IT department track ALL staff internet usage. 'Internet can only be used for social use during your one hour lunch break'. Very big brother. Surely the combination of financing an IT department to check up on people, combined with the negative feeling towards the organisation are likely to be more of a cost to the business than employees taking time out to add the odd wall post on facebook?

It is also worth noting that those staff who want to achieve, work hard and be rewarded will do so whether they use social networking at work or not. With a good reward and recognition programme any performance issues should come out in the wash anyway.

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