15 Effective Employee Incentives to Boost Energy Efficiency in Small Businesses

Switching off lights when not needed, using heating controls efficiently and improving recycling practices—none of these actions require cash, yet they can yield significant savings and impact for your carbon reduction plan. So why aren’t we all doing them?

Central to the success of cost-free opportunities are your colleagues, or more specifically their behaviours. Encouraging the team to adopt more resource-efficient practices is key and, in our experience, a little extra motivation never hurts.

In this blog, you’ll find 15 of tried and tested ideas to reward staff for being resource efficient.

Idea one – Sweet success
Without any warning or explanation, place sweets or chocolates on PC monitors and other equipment that are switched off at the end of the day. For equipment left on, a sticker or red flag could serve as a gentle, yet highly visible, reminder to switch off next time. This method works best when equipment is used by the same person each day, so it may not be suitable for hot-desking.

Idea two – Worst idea wins
Bad ideas for energy-saving only! This works as a workshop or on an office whiteboard. It may make you all laugh, but should definitely also provide food for thought. Get a bright spark in your team to calculate the potential cost and carbon impact of all those bad ideas. When you’re done, try looking up the ‘right answers’ – there’s a good list of resources on the Energy UK website.

Idea three – Weight of waste
Similar to the energy idea, but focused on waste reduction or the proportion of waste recycled across different departments or teams. By providing each team with its own bins and tracking waste collection, you can significantly boost recycling rates. A similar approach can be applied to paper use and printing, bringing attention to paper consumption and celebrating its reduction.

Idea four – Competitive streak
Run competitions with prizes for individual efforts or link them to your league tables to award team prizes. Get creative to keep resource efficiency top of mind throughout the day. For example, offer a prize for the best photo that communicates good resource efficiency practices, or reward the best suggestion for improving resource efficiency within your organisation.

Idea five – Recognise good behaviour
Implement an award scheme that recognises employees or teams for their efforts to adopt new resource efficiency behaviours. These awards can be given monthly or annually, and good performance can also be recognised through external awards.

Idea six – Money talks
If you have a canteen, consider offering a discount on coffee for staff or customers who bring in their own mugs. In the staff break room award a token to those who bring their own reusable food containers, reducing waste, particularly plastic waste – similar to schemes at supermarket checkouts they can use the token to ‘vote’ for a perk, like an away day or reward for the team.

Idea seven – Hit the target
Set a company, building, or team target for energy, water, or recycling, and offer a reward when this target is met. For example, you could offer a donation to a charity chosen by staff, organise a group night out, or even give half a day of annual leave. Keep colleagues updated on progress with a thermometer-style progress chart in a prominent area and other communication channels like team briefings.

Idea eight – Align rewards with performance appraisals
A more formal approach involves linking resource efficiency goals with staff performance appraisals. Depending on your organisation’s appraisal system, an individual’s resource efficiency performance could influence decisions regarding pay rises, bonuses, or promotions.

Idea nine – Flexible working hours as a reward
Offer employees the opportunity to earn flexible working hours or early finishes as a reward for their efforts in saving energy. For example, if a team consistently reduces its energy consumption, they could be rewarded with the option to leave early on Fridays or start later on a designated day. This not only encourages energy-saving behaviours but also boosts morale by giving employees more control over their time.

Idea ten – Personal development opportunities
Provide professional development opportunities as an incentive for energy-saving efforts. This could include sending employees to relevant workshops, seminars, or training courses related to sustainability, energy efficiency, or other areas of interest. Offering these learning opportunities can be an attractive reward that benefits both the individual and the business by enhancing skills and knowledge.

Idea eleven – Profit-sharing on savings
Implement a profit-sharing scheme where a percentage of the money saved from energy efficiency initiatives is distributed among the employees. For example, if your business saves a certain amount on energy bills, a portion of those savings could be shared as a bonus with the employees who contributed to the effort. This directly links their actions to financial rewards, motivating them to be more mindful of energy use.

Idea twelve – Visible recognition boards
Set up a recognition board in a common area, such as the break room or near the entrance, where you can publicly acknowledge and celebrate employees or teams who have made significant contributions to energy saving. This visual recognition serves as both a motivator and a reminder for everyone to continue adopting energy-efficient behaviours.

Idea thirteen – Community impact rewards
Align your energy-saving efforts with community involvement by donating to a local charity or community project whenever certain energy-saving goals are met. Employees can vote on which cause to support, giving them a sense of ownership and pride in their collective achievements. This not only fosters energy-saving behaviour but also strengthens your business’s community ties.

Idea fourteen – Green badges or certificates
Create a system where employees can earn badges or certificates for their contributions to energy saving. These could be physical badges displayed at their workstations or digital certificates shared via internal communication channels. Over time, employees can accumulate these recognitions, which could contribute to performance reviews or other reward systems.

Idea fifteen – Office-wide energy challenge
Organise a company-wide energy-saving challenge, where different teams compete to see who can reduce their energy usage the most over a set period. The winning team could receive a group reward, such as a team lunch or an afternoon off. This competitive element can make energy saving fun and engaging, encouraging employees to actively participate.

By implementing these ideas, you can create a comprehensive and motivating environment that encourages energy-saving and efficiency behaviours in your small business. These incentives not only help reduce energy consumption but also contribute to a more engaged and motivated workforce.