After signing a partnership agreement with WWF, Klikki had one year to prepare its own environmental program. Before this could happen, it was necessary to assess the current situation and appoint a Green Office team. Only after a WWF expert inspected and approved the environmental program was Klikki granted the Green Office label and diploma.

Hanging the diploma on the wall does not mean the work is finished: the environmental program must be updated and its implementation reported to WWF every year. The Green Office partnership package provides the organization with tools, such as a Climate Calculator, information to support environmental work, and invitations to networking events. To ensure continuous improvement in environmental work, WWF conducts a follow-up audit three years after granting Green Office certification.

Helka Julkunen, Head of the Green Office Program at WWF Finland, says: “While programs and tools are key components of the Green Office effort, the organization’s vision is the most important thing. Without it, it is impossible to engage in goal-oriented environmental work. The environmental program and its targets must be sufficiently challenging in order to be approved. All measures must also have a specified person responsible for them.”

According to Julkunen, information improves organizations’ and their employees’ understanding of how environmental issues are linked to broader global themes, and helps them see that everyone’s contribution matters. “Green Office makes businesses and organizations part of a network of change agents.”

Klikki got off to a flying start in its Green Office Program thanks to its high initial level. Waste has been sorted and recycled since Klikki moved to Rantatie Business Park in Helsinki’s Kalasatama district in 2011. The property owner encourages tenants to conserve electricity by providing office-specific consumption monitoring. It has also acquired bicycles for tenants’ use, as well as a club car that meets environmental criteria for trips to meetings during work days.

Videoconferencing has been a standard practice at Klikki for a long time. Paper consumption has also been systematically reduced, and today Klikki is close to being a paperless office. Giving up disposable tableware was a further step that can be credited to the Green Office program. Petra Lilius, Klikki’s Office Manager and the person responsible for the Green Office program, lists the program’s other benefits:

“We regularly receive new information on environmental issues,” Lilius says. “Environmental work has become a joint effort that increases solidarity. For example, food and related themes are popular topics of discussion. We have also introduced fines, based on an employee suggestion. If anyone is caught sorting waste incorrectly or leaving computers or lights on, he or she gets hit with a fine.”

Motivation among personnel is further strengthened by customer interest: “Our customers ask us how we manage our ethical responsibilities and environmental issues. In Sweden, there is even more interest in these matters than in Finland.”

Text: Sari Kuvaja, Corporate Responsibility Advisor