Sustainability Roadmap for Startups - Green Plus

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health insurance more affordable. Healthy employees are likely to be more productive and less likely to
miss work, so there is a payoff to your workforce as well.
‣ Employers can also offer the option for dependents of employees to enroll in an employer-sponsored
healthcare plan which can be a huge benefit and stress-reliever to employees as well. Good benefits
contribute to employee loyalty and can reduce employee turnover and attract talented workers.
‣ Life events such as pregnancies, adoptions, and personal and family health emergencies happen. If your
organization has 50 or more employees, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) requires that you
provide 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year. However, even if your organization is smaller,
providing unpaid or paid job-protected leave in the case of such events or emergencies is a great way
to support and retain employees.
‣ Startups usually require more sweat equity than mature businesses – time invested by employees to get
ventures off the ground. However, burnout is a real threat to sustainable operations. When you can,
offer employees weekends or two days off per week and encourage them to relax.
Engage Your Community
‣ Track key community engagement measures, such as:
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Total hours volunteered by employees
Total financial charitable contributions made
Total-in kind donations made
‣ As you consider starting charitable giving practices as an organization, think about allowing employees
to help shape which organizations are beneficiaries of philanthropy. You can do one-time donations
and volunteer support, or develop a committed partnership with a community organization.
As you select causes to support, think strategically. Does your organization have a strong interest or core
competency in an area that could benefit a community organization For example, Coca-Cola has
invested in water issues throughout the world, partnering with NGOs. As a consumer of water in the
bottling process, Coca-Cola is familiar with water issues, and by partnering with local NGOs to ensure
there is a sustainable, clean water supply, they are also contributing to the sustainability of their
business.
‣ Aside from volunteering and pure charitable donations, consider sponsoring community/charitable
events. Providing such support is helpful for the community organizations and can also get exposure for
your organization.
‣ Encourage the leadership at your company to get involved in community organizations and
government. Serving on a board or committee of a nonprofit organization or in a leadership role in the
local government or schools is a great way to give back to the community and can also helpful for
networking.