Good to give

Humans are social animals, and we’re wired to help one another. So when we give money to charity, the pleasure and reward areas in our brains light up. And if dropping a loonie or toonie into a donations box gives you the right to ditch your suit in favour of a pair of jeans, well now you’re really talking!
That’s what three companies in WWF’s Living Planet @ Work employee engagement program discovered.

Accenture Canada raised more than $1,200 for WWF with just a couple of “Toonie Jeans Days” at their office. The Green Team at the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation’s Sault Ste. Marie office took the idea even further. They held an entire dress-down month, raising a total of $2,000.
Meanwhile, Sears Canada associates in Toronto and Montreal added workplace giving to their Sweater Day campaigns. As well as encouraging their colleagues to turn off the lights and turn down the thermostat, they collected more than $600 for our conservation work.

As a WWFer, I know how meaningful those dollars are. Amidst all the worthy causes out there, the environment gets only a tiny slice of Canadians’ charitable donations. As a result, every little bit helps our conservation team in their goals to protect biodiversity, challenge Canadians to reduce their environmental footprint, and restore endangered species from the brink of extinction.
This fall, I hope more organizations share Accenture, Sears, and OLG’s enthusiasm for conservation and consider making the environment a beneficiary of office fundraising initiatives.
From bake sales to jeans days to corporate gifts, the potential of workplace giving is enormous: to create both a healthier planet and a happier workforce.
 
Check out this great article about companies with sustainability policies having more engaged and happier employees.  Does your company have a sustainability policy?