Applications for environmental awards for office buildings are now being accepted, and it seems like a good time to talk about one of the overlooked but crucial factors in achieving these: tenant communications.
As a property manager, the fact is you don’t control every aspect of your destiny. Regardless of the effort you put into achieving a greener building, if your tenants aren’t really on board, your progress is limited.
The process of getting tenants on board isn’t complicated, but it is work. Most communications with tenants on a building’s environmental and waste management programs tend to be mind-numbingly generic. And we live in a world where being specific about how this impacts me is the only thing that really gets my attention.
To be specific, you need data. A comprehensive breakdown of the waste produced by each tenant or department is the starting point. Then examining the root causes for how their particular waste is generated illuminates behaviour. It’s only once you’ve identified both the sources and the behaviors that can be improved that you can have a meaningful dialogue.
Instead of just “Watch your Waste”, you can point out that toner cartridges can be refilled, or that there is too much paper in the non-recycled waste. By being specific, you make it easy for them to be better – and capture their attention.
And a captive audience can be the support you need to achieve a platinum award for your building.
