Robert Lanterman

Even in 2016, people still need the extra push to get them to do the right thing. As a business owner and employer, you have a specific advantage in ways to help them! Here's some ways to get your employees as excited as you are about saving the world around you! 1) Offer Them Prizes! There's nothing more immediately incentivizing as compensation for doing good. That said, giving candy bars or soda to those who choose to recycle a certain amount, carpool, or ride their bikes to work isn't a bad place to start. What you want is for people to start doing the right thing. However, for someone to actually become interested in making a life change, it isn't so easy. See, immediate incentives help in the moment, but how can you encourage them to make the same choices outside of the office that they're making for prizes inside of it? 2) Educate them! A useful idea is to offer free classes to anyone who will take them on things like climate change, saving energy using breakroom and office equipment wisely, and even ballpark subjects like bike safety. If you don’t think classes would work, try monthly newsletters or pamphlets. They could be incredibly informational, or even more brief (this, for example, is a good amount of information). Every little bit counts! 3) Group Events! Group activities are motivating to people. Organizing groups of employees to clean up litter in a nearby park is what I first think of when talking about group environmentalism, but it’s not the only way. I would recommend staying away from protests as you want your business to have a good reputation, however to each their own. Any more recommendations? Let me know in the comments.

Many metropolitan cities are in areas that are prone to natural disasters. All kinds of businesses thrive in these kinds of areas and the consequences of a natural disaster are often very damaging. Let’s go through several different natural disasters and how you can prepare for them as a business. Earthquakes The structure and stability of physical places of business are specifically targeted in earthquakes. Unfortunately entire office buildings are sometimes lost. With much smaller earthquakes it is more possible that you could just lose your internet connection or some of your equipment might break. In all cases, it’s best to have insurance on your building (should you own it) and your equipment - and of course make sure your employees are prepared and trained for such a thing to happen in the best way they can be. Start by teaching your employees basic earthquake survival steps, like the ones found here. Floods Floods are especially dangerous to your electronic equipment - your computer, your modem, etc. - as well as the physical condition of your business. Of course, take care of your employees first. Make sure they have evacuated to the safest place possible and they’re not driving or walking through the flood water (which is the largest cause of death in the midst of flooding). In the case of losing your computers to a flood, have backups prepared - third party or cloud storage backups may be best here. And of course, have flooding insurance to help with the costs of those equipment. Hurricanes Hurricanes combine the worst results of floods and earthquakes and are some of the most damaging of natural disasters as people my age saw with Hurricane Katrina. They specifically require extra preparation as opposed to other natural disasters (Boating businesses, look out!) Fires Fires are similar to earthquakes but less easily recoverable as far as equipment goes. If something falls down, it might be recoverable. But if something is burned, it’s done from the inside out and is probably unsaveable. This is another reason backups are so important, and why keeping them in a separate place from your place of work may be a good idea. Obviously, fires and burns on any level hurt people, so literal “fire insurance” is important here. Blizzards Blizzards can halt your business from making money, because they can halt consumption. Of course, mass freezing can hurt electronics as well, as well as building conditions, and manufacturing. If employers can’t get to work, then work can’t be done. Doing the most possible ahead of time, or having an early deadline for things to be done may help, especially if the area you live in is prone to this disaster. And having some kind of PTO or sick day pay for your employees is also a good idea - after all, people do need money to put food on their plates! What did I miss? Let me know over at Twitter @Robolitious.