To achieve organizational buy-in, it is essential that your managers and colleagues support the commitment to sustainability. So how do you start the conversation on this complex and sensitive topic?
The key steps are listening to, and connecting with, your colleagues and we list some tips below. If you would like to learn more, further helpful resources we recommend are:
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How to talk about sustainability with colleagues – a guide with tips specific to conversations about sustainability in the workplace.
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The secret to talking about climate change – a helpful video illustrating how to talk about climate change in any setting.
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The DPC’s Digital Preservation Advocacy Toolkit and Novice to Know-how training on Advocacy are helpful sources of advice on tackling the advocacy challenge. Though not specific to the climate crisis, they provide advice, practical tools and templates that can be adapted to any scenario and may be helpful to you in crafting and delivering persuasive messages to aid your conversations with colleagues.
Listen: Ask open-ended questions to learn more about what your management and colleagues care about, their concerns, and needs. They may need more factual information about climate impact or feel other larger organizations or governments should act first. They may not see what difference your organization can make in solving this huge global issue, and may even question climate change altogether. Listen to your colleagues and take them seriously. Use evidence-based figures, facts and arguments from authoritative sources, but do not forget emotions play a big part in how people react and respond.
Explore the connections: Try to find common ground you can build upon. What are the climate topics you and your colleagues are concerned about? For example, the servers that have been built in your neighbourhood but are solely used to support a big tech concern, not to serve the local community. You may find that climate awareness and measures to reduce impact might already be in place. Many organizations are recycling exhibition materials, encouraging employees to use reusable coffee cups, or motivating them to commute by public transport or bike. Build on this and explore ways to expand this thinking into the area of digital preservation. In the Netherlands, the Dutch Digital Heritage green team visited a museum exhibition about climate change and were inspired to start their own conversation about concerns they would like to tackle in their workplace.
Drivers: There are often political and organizational imperatives that may drive an organization to consider greenhouse gas emissions. The Paris Agreement in 2015 led to binding agreements to reduce emissions, so your organization may already be subject to legislation or expectations to report on, and reduce, its carbon footprint.
Find allies: Are there champions or experts in other parts of your organization you can work with? For example, many organizations are trying to become more sustainable and already have a sustainability office or team where potential allies could be found.
Use data: There is a lot of information on climate change, national and international climate goals and research, sustainability, and best practice. A lot of misinformation is out there too, so do your research, use authoritative sources (e.g., those produced by IPCC), and stay up to date as information changes.
Learn from others: Find good examples of where similar organizations have made progress in climate awareness, are taking climate actions themselves, and are communicating about their experience and effort to their users, stakeholders and the public. Organizations that have incorporated environmental goals and sustainability in their policy often report on how they achieved this (e.g., The Europeana climate action manifesto). You will also find some helpful examples in the Additional Resources section of this toolkit.
Be an ambassador and practise what you preach: Commute by bike, foot or public transport instead of by car, turn your computer and monitors off when you aren’t using them, replace your laptop and smartphone less frequently, and regularly clean up your own digital files and mailbox.
Show the benefits: More sustainable practices can lead to financial and reputational benefits. You can show the benefits of climate awareness by turning it into a business case that demonstrates the savings. Making hardware and software last longer is not only a financial gain, but also a carbon saver. Investments in green technology, such as solar panels, can lead to financial savings in the longer term. Being climate aware and taking responsibility can benefit your public image and help you connect with people who are motivated to protect our environment.
Hopefully, you will see some interest and engagement with the topic. See which colleagues are engaged and ask them if they would be willing to keep the conversation going. If they are, then now is the time to turn the conversation towards appropriate organizational goals and actions.