Make an Impact: Working with Businesses to Save Energy, Save Money and Save the Planet

Make an Impact is featured in Environmental Leader's 2011 Insider Knowledge Report, which provides lessons learned from corporate environmental, sustainability, and energy decision-makers.

Below is one of the two articles on the program in Environmental Leader.

Make an Impact is a unique employee-focused energy efficiency program of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change and three corporate partners. Founded by Alcoa in 2006, the partnership now includes Fortune 500 companies Bank of America and Entergy Corporation and reaches more than 350,000 employees worldwide. A clear program benefit is the opportunity for collaboration, innovation and best practice sharing.

Successful employee engagement in sustainability efforts differs for each corporation, but there are a few constants:

Leadership from the top and a strong implementation team are critical.
Employ multiple engagement strategies. Make an Impact includes a customized website, workshops with experts and local advocates, community volunteering, and a best-in-class carbon calculator that provides a personal analysis and recommendations to reduce your carbon footprint.
Scale globally, implement locally. Use local experts and services to ground the program in the community; this also increases the opportunity for behavior changes.
Successfully reinforces business relationships with community stakeholders.
Back it up with data. Employees like to know their efforts are meaningful. Make an Impact provides corporate partners the ability to track engagement in a variety of ways.
As part of its commitment to address climate change, Bank of America introduced MAI to associates in the US and UK in 2010. In its first six months, the program has attracted more than 2,400 visitors to the website and identified 5 million pounds of potential carbon savings by employees. In 2011, the company plans to introduce the program to employees in additional markets and double potential carbon savings and calculator usage.
Entergy Corporation uses the program to engage both customers and employees and has customized the program so that it offers benefits to local non-profits and disadvantaged consumers. Entergy has also added an offsets component to its program - including a commitment to double pledges made through its website.
Alcoa has a goal to reach 50 percent of its workforce with the program by 2012; to date it has introduced the program in 16 states and two countries and this year will launch a community/schools engagement module in five states, roll out in two additional countries and five additional states.
Employee engagement is a key component to corporate sustainability efforts. One Alcoa employee attending a workshop in Washington was inspired to suggest improvements to plant operations that saved the company nearly $120,000 in auxiliary power costs. When employees make the efficiency connection, the results can be unexpected and significant. Visit http://makeanimpact.c2es.org and learn more.

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