Employee motivation and engagement is often seen as the holy grail of people management. When employees are happy and engaged, there is a direct correlation to higher productivity and reduced employee turnover.   But, according to recent Gallup Poll findings only 32% of U.S. workers are engaged in their jobs.  NJDEP recently tackled this issue at its fall 2016 Sustainable Business Initiative meeting. Nick Lange, Senior Consultant at Vermont Energy Investment Corporation and John Queenan, Senior Director, Global CSR and Sustainability at ADP both spoke about the opportunities to utilize sustainability to connect with and motivate employees.  Some key ideas discussed included:

• Employers providing 'Sustainability Benefits' like weatherproofing, solar and electric vehicle incentives to employees to differentiate themselves and attract better employees - especially millennials.  
• Employers that align sustainability and corporate social responsibility programs with employee engagement and recognition regularly have increased organizational performance and employee satisfaction.   

To learn more about how companies can utilize sustainability to motivate staff, check out this article from the Wharton School of Business