Sustainability for a Brighter World: 6 Ways Workmates Practice Sustainability in 2023
At Workday, we believe that the greatest impact comes from doing things the right way. To us, that means being purpose-driven with the right balance of people, profit, and the planet. Sustainability is important to us, and we’re committed to making a sustainable future, together.
As a company, we’re doing our part by matching 100% of the electricity used at our global offices and data centers with clean, renewable sources, and providing our entire customer community with a carbon-neutral cloud.
We’re proud to be a part of a community of leading companies working with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) to set and commit to science-based emissions reduction targets that are consistent with keeping global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. And just last week, we announced our partnership with Frontier, a $1 billion advance market commitment to buy permanent carbon removal technologies. Not to mention Workday is ranked #1 by Just Capital’s 2023 Just100 in the environment category.
Sustainability is built into everything we do as a company, but we wouldn’t be able to do it without the collective efforts of our Workmates and their individual commitments to creating a sustainable world. According to an internal sustainability survey, 88% of employees who participated say sustainability is important to them or that they support it.
And while Workday provides a structured Green Teams program to help Workmates implement initiatives that best fit their office culture, many Workmates implement sustainability efforts in their homes. In honor of Earth Month, Workmates are sharing the ways that they’re doing their part to create a brighter future.
Recycling and Composting
Workmates have embedded easy sustainability practices into their everyday life, making it a core part of their routine. They are recycling and participating in their local city recycling programs. Many are also embracing nature’s way of recycling- composting!
Atlanta Workmate, Vijay, has teamed up with his friends and started a community composting project in Atlanta. In its first weekend in action, Vijay and his friends collected more than 100 pounds of compost from just two neighborhoods!
Utah Workmate, Heather, uses her compost to feed her 12 vegetable garden beds. Not only does this allow her to repurpose waste, but she is able to grow some of her own produce, reducing her need to purchase elsewhere.
“We try to grow many of the vegetables that we eat, so we’re not dependent upon produce shipped from far away as much.”
Eliminating Single-Use Plastics
According to the World Economic Forum, humans produce about 400 million tons of plastic waste yearly. Employees are doing their part to eliminate their utilization of single-use plastics.
Many have swapped disposable plastic baggies and single-use water bottles for sustainable options like reusable food storage containers, and reusable water bottles. And when it comes to coffee time, B.Y.O.M. (bring your own mug!) is the norm around here- avoiding the need for disposable cups.
Co-ops have become quite popular for grocery shopping as they give the option to customers to bring their own reusable containers, only buy the quantity of food they need, and purchase items without packaging.
“I love my local grocery store’s ‘bring your own container’ section because I can buy a lot of my go-to snacks in bulk. I pick up what I need and reduce my food waste.”- Ashley, Maryland Workmate
Community activities
From community cleanups, to leading local nonprofit organizations, Workmates are also stepping outside of their homes and into their local communities to create a sustainable future.
Michigan Workmate, Katie, is inspiring younger generations by infusing sustainability activities into her kids’ days including the planting of 50 trees per year.
“We aim to infuse activities to help offset our footprints and help our kids appreciate positive sustainability habits.”
Many of our teams across the globe organize group clean ups to improve the quality of public spaces in their local communities.
In honor of Earth Day 2023, some members of our Munich office collected bags of trash as part of a local clean up! This was just one of the many events organized by our local Green teams throughout the year.
Electrifying everything
Our Sustainability team is encouraging Workmates to Electrify Everything by sharing free resources to help them get started. When someone opts-in to using renewable electricity, replaces their gas water heaters with a heat pump, or switches to an electric vehicle — they’re doing their part in helping to reduce their footprint at home.
“On average, the three biggest contributors to your emissions are your car (50%), home heating (25%), and water heating (10%). If you electrify those three, you’ll make a big impact on your personal ‘carbon footprint.’” — Rewiring America.
Many are exchanging their gas furnaces with heat pumps, replacing incandescent light bulbs for LEDs, and installing smart thermostats. 20% of Workmates surveyed currently use renewable electricity to power their homes, including things like solar panels and renewable energy programs.
Sustainable cleaning products
We’re ditching the chemicals and making environmentally-friendly, at-home cleaning solutions! Baking soda+lemon juice+distilled white vinegar makes for a great multipurpose cleaner.
Vancouver Workmate, Michal, has swapped detergent for laundry strips to reduce the plastic waste that comes from buying liquid detergent.
“They’re super easy to use and really small and light so perfect for traveling too.”
Clean-air commuting
According to our sustainability survey, 40% of Workmates who participated in the survey are commuting via low emissions methods. That includes train/rail, bus, bicycle/e-bike, and walking all as options.
Shoutout to our Brussels office, where everyone cycles to work every day!
Fulfilling our mission of inspiring brighter work days for all expands well beyond what we’re doing in the enterprise software space. It’s about doing things the right way, with humanity in mind. If you’re interested in having a greener, brighter work day, consider us for your next career move.
Global Resources
A guide to electrifying everything via Rewiring America. https://www.rewiringamerica.org/electrify-home-guide
Resources and guides to make your home more sustainable via Carbon Switch. https://carbonswitch.com/
Learn more about sustainability at Workday. https://www.workday.com/en-us/company/corporate-responsibility/sustainability.html
Frontier: an advance market commitment (AMC) that aims to accelerate the development of carbon removal technologies by guaranteeing future demand for them. https://frontierclimate.com/
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