Dominic Winters of OIA UK argues that basic environmental training should reach every employee – and shares how.

For readers of Suston, the importance of protecting the environment is self-evident – not least because it forms the very foundation to the outdoor sports we thrive on. Yet I’m often surprised when I talk to people working in the outdoor industry, though outside the “sustainability bubble.” Many haven’t made this connection at all, or are at least unaware of some quite fundamental information on our impacts or how organisations are taking action to address them. This is particularly true of new entrants to this sphere.

Suston readers will also be familiar with what has become a sustainability cliche: you can’t manage impacts that you don’t measure. But I suggest an even greater prerequisite to action: you will most definitely struggle to mitigate problems that you don’t even know about.

Outdoor industry can fill its own knowledge gaps

I know that several large outdoor companies still offer no staff training on this topic, which is so crucial to our future.

Why not?

Many companies already will take an opportunity to provide some internal learning on equality perhaps in seminars during say Pride month, or outline social policies in a handbook. Yet by and large, the environment gains too little attention. At minimum, this information should be included in employee handbooks, or perhaps shared internally during Earth Day.

At the Climate Action Planning Initiative of the Outdoor Industries Association & Snowsports Industry of Great Britain, we’ve started with producing for members a simple 1-pager that can be distributed by email or printed and put on a notice board making it accessible to employees at all levels, and which is tailored by activity.

It informs on the importance of action, the impacts to outdoors enjoyment and industry, simple actions they can take within their work, the importance of dealing with the environment at a systems level, and the frameworks and organizations they can look to for more information depending on their interests.

Beyond such information sharing, companies can engage in proper environmental training. Carbon Literacy Training, for example, is a gold standard for staff education that involves a full day of learning with live trainer engagement. I have seen multiple companies go to the lengths of training all their permanent staff. This may not be in reach of all organisations, yet it sets the bar, and meaningful benefits can be achieved in ways smaller than this.

Better sooner than later

Perhaps your company is an environmental leader where everyone in your staff know the SDGs by heart? Fantastic! But I argue it’s still important that your company helps build a culture of taking sustainability seriously by talking about it. And when you hire that new staff member from another sector, you’ll make sure they too get the training that they need.

We should be building in training, awareness and shared resources because it’s the right thing to do. But it’s increasingly something that we need to do. With legislation and standards emerging the world over,  both in the UK and across global export markets, environmental responsibility has shifted from a “nice-to-have” CSR topic to essential commercial knowledge for every company.

My question to you is: is everyone at every level of your organization getting information about the climate and nature emergency we face and how it relates to your operations?

If you can answer “yes”, that’s great! I’d love to hear what’s worked well for you.

If not, maybe it is time to get started.