GreenBlue Combines Power of Gamification and Employee Engagement to Help Companies Embed Sustainability

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., May 29, 2013 /3BL Media/ – Sustainability non-profit GreenBlue’s Advisory Services Group is innovating in the eco-gamification space to bring The Sustainability Game to corporate clients who want to fully engage employees in their sustainability efforts. “A 2012 Global Workforce Study conducted by Towers Watson found that companies with high levels of employee engagement reported same-year operating margins that were nearly three times higher than companies with low levels of engagement. It stands to reason, then, that companies who engage and motivate employees around sustainability will be better able to embed sustainability as a core business value and strategy than those that take a less strategic approach,” said Katherine O’Dea, Senior Director of Innovation and Advisory Services at GreenBlue.   Gamification is emerging as a powerful new way to engage employees and eco-gamification can help companies expand the effectiveness of a single “green champion” or a small sustainability team by helping each and every employee understand that sustainability is everyone’s responsibility. Jane McGonigal, author of Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World, argues that turning a challenge into an interactive, even competitive, adventure provides employees with the purpose and motivation they need to get involved. Gamification fosters group dynamics and dissipates inertia and can really put the “team” in sustainability.    “The Sustainability Game is an excellent tool to start an internal conversation on sustainability and introduce key sustainability concepts across business functions,” says Nina Goodrich, GreenBlue’s Executive Director. “It has proved to be an excellent tool to get employees and even customers engaged.” The Game can be played in its standard format covering a diverse set of sustainability and corporate responsibility topics or be customized to include topics specific to a company’s own sustainability agenda. GreenBlue will also train internal staff to be able to use the Game continuously as a cross-functional engagement tool.    To leverage the power of gamification to engage your employees in sustainability, contact Katherine O’Dea at katherine.odea@greenblue.org or 434 817 1424 x329.   About GreenBlue and Advisory Services GreenBlue® is a nonprofit that equips business with the science and resources to make products more sustainable. Through Advisory Services, GreenBlue provides one-on-one guidance to companies, industry associations, government agencies, and nonprofits seeking guidance on sustainability strategy development and implementation.