SC Johnson and Son LTD - Partners in Project Green

SC Johnson and Son LTD
Employee Engagement
CASE STUDY
About SC Johnson and Son LTD
SC Johnson is a family-owned and managed
business dedicated to innovative, high-quality
products, excellence in the workplace, and a
long-term commitment to the environment
and the communities in which it operates.
The company is one of the world’s leading
manufacturers of household cleaning products
and products for home storage, air care, and
pest control. It markets such well-known
brands as GLADE®, OFF!®, PLEDGE®, RAID®,
SC Johnson’s Brantford facility takes sustainability
seriously
SCRUBBING BUBBLES®, SHOUT®, WINDEX®
and ZIPLOC®. The 125-year-old company,
with more than $8 billion in annual sales, employs approximately 12,000 people globally and sells
products in virtually every country around the world.
Location
Address: 1 Webster St, Brantford, ON
Phone: 1-877-506-7352
Website: www.scjohnson.ca
Employee Engagement
SC Johnson and Son LTD understands sustainability. They have been on this journey since their
inception in 1886. This is how they run their business – every decision is vetted through the lens
of sustainability, and every employee is working towards that goal.
When you talk to SC Johnson about engaging their employees on the environment, it becomes
clear that employee engagement in all aspects of the organization is the foundation of how the
company operates. SC Johnson understands that its employees are the life force behind its
business, and works to ensure that staff are engaged at all levels and in all core values.
At SC Johnson sustainability is so embedded in the culture that engagement starts during the
hiring phase. Caring for the environment is a core value, and when looking for new talent, the
company attracts and hires those who align with core values. Sustainability is also built into the
orientation package at SC Johnson – new hires know about the company’s commitment to Zero
Waste, and what recycling stream to put their glass bottle in by the end of orientation day. Starting
the conversation around sustainability at the interview stage and embedding it in standard
work procedures during orientation ensures staff realize the importance of sustainability to the
organization, and signals that they are expected to be part of the team effort pushing
towards green.
After hiring and orientation there is continuous communication around the company’s core
values. Screen savers reminding employees that “We are Environmental” carry the message every
day, and ongoing communications through various channels ensures that the environment is kept
at the forefront and is embedded into every decision that an employee makes.
CASE STUDY
Getting behind Zero Waste
SC Johnson’s Brantford operations received its Zero Waste International Alliance (ZWIA)
certification in October 2010. According to ZWIA, businesses and communities that achieve over
90% diversion of waste from landfills and incinerators are considered to be successful in achieving
Zero Waste. Please visit www.zwia.org for more information.
This journey started when the company looked at its waste numbers and realized they could be
doing better. In 2007, SC Johnson was diverting 78 per cent of its waste from landfill- which was
already fairly impressive. In the spirit of continuous improvement and moving ever closer to
sustainability, SC Johnson worked to get those numbers up. They now have a diversion rate of
92.6 per cent and hold ZWIA Zero Waste certification. Engaging their employees in this initiative
was a key component to their success.
The first step of many environmental initiatives is ensuring buy-in from top management.
This signals to employees that this goal is important at the top level of the company, and is an
important indicator of success. As SC Johnson has five generations of leaders who are strongly
committed to the environment, the support of upper management was firmly behind the Zero
Waste Initiative.
After upper management buy-in, it is integral to get employee support for the project. A
sophisticated, well-structured program can fail on implementation if the people on the front lines
are not executing the plan. In the case of the Zero Waste initiative, this meant reducing waste and
sorting recycling properly. SC Johnson engaged employees by explaining the motivation behind
instituting the Zero Waste Initiative, and communicating before, during and after different stages
of implementation. One method used was to remove individual garbage bins at workstations and
replace them with centralized bins. In many organizations, this method receives significant push
back. In the case of SC Johnson, however, employees were pleased with the decision and happy
to participate. While there are many factors that contribute to this, employee engagement as the
foundation of the business, top level buy-in and communicating the motivation underlying the
project certainly played a large role in its success.
SC Johnson is not a company to sit on its laurels – while they are proud of achieving 92.6 per
cent diversion from landfill, the organization will not rest until it achieves its goal of 100 per cent
diversion from landfill, and becomes a true Zero Waste organization.
Taking sustainability beyond the front doors
CASE STUDY
While their practices at home are extremely important, SC Johnson doesn’t stop there. The Best
People Best Practice (BPBP) Team was set up in 2005 to ensure that sustainability goes beyond the
four walls of SC Johnson and out into their communities. As part of the BPBP, the Community
Enrichment Team works on the
employee volunteerism program to
support the volunteer efforts of staff.
This cross-departmental team works to
enable and support the 320 Brantford
employees as they work towards their
2011 goal of 7,000 volunteer hours.
To get employees involved, SC Johnson
hosts Volunteer Fairs. Partners in the
community set up booths to talk about
their programs, and employees can find
organizations that line up with their
interests and beliefs. Organizations such
as the Brantford Water Festival, Long
Point Waterfowl and the Brantford
General Hospital are past and current
partners. Ongoing communication is as
important here as it is in other aspects
of the environmental program. Intranet,
newsletters, posters, and meetings all
inform SC Johnson staff about the
volunteer program, and how they can
get involved.
Before
Providing resources is another
important component to the success
of SC Johnson’s volunteer program.
Employees are offered one paid day
to volunteer per fiscal year, and the
After: SC Johnson funded a portion of this school ground
Dollars for Doers program offers $500
greening project, providing green space for students
grants to organizations where a staff
member has volunteered over 40 hours.
While financial resources are important, so is health and safety. When SC Johnson has groups
volunteering with Habitat for Humanity, they offer facilitated safety training for employees.
Employee recognition is a large part of the program. Staff who offer their time throughout the
year are recognized at an annual barbeque, and the George Delp Award honours one outstanding
volunteer each year. The award was established over ten years ago, and relies on colleague
nominations. The winner receives $2,500 donated to the charity of their choice.
All of these components have lead to a highly successful program. The goal in 2008-09 was to hit
2,500 hours, which they did easily. In 2009-10 they bumped up the goal to 4,000, and surpassed
that by hitting 8,800. One of the reasons the initial goal was so spectacularly surpassed was the
huge surge of support for the Habitat for Humanity build SC Johnson participated in. Employees
took on building homes from those in need, and their dedication and sacrifice of personal time is
commendable.
Building on the success of previous years, SC Johnson has set another impressive goal – to reach
7,000 volunteer hours in the 2010-11 year. With the engagement of their employees and support
from the organization, they are sure to succeed.
CASE STUDY
PEARSON ECO-BUSINESS ZONE
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