One Big Way Your Office Can Take on the ‘War on Plastic’​

Plastics is a Climate Issue

If you watched “ War on Plastic”, you’ll have learned that the plastics problem is also a climate issue. Plastics account for 6% of global oil demand, making them a sizeable contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions. If growth of plastics continues at its current rate, by 2050, the plastics industry will be responsible for 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions. So, reducing plastic use will not only reduce marine pollution — it will help us address the Climate Emergency.

Problematic Plastics

All plastics are not a problem and some plastics are valuable.

Plastic is one of the most strong and versatile materials in the world. If we’re going to use plastic, it’s best put to use for longer lasting items, like boats or street furniture. Low grade, low value plastics, like plastic film used for single use food packaging is difficult to collect, hard to recycle and has little value, so it poses problems for the recycling industry.

This is particularly relevant for workplaces, as the growing trend of busy work days has led to a culture of ‘lunch on the go’. New research from Hubbub discovered that from sandwich boxes, to crisp packets and napkins, the ‘lunch on the go’ habit of British workers is generating 10.7 billion items of packaging waste annually — that’s 276 items per person, much of which is not recycled or recyclable.

How Your Office Can Be Part of The Solution

While the issue of single use plastics, particularly food packaging, is complicated and systemic, we can look to the waste hierarchy to offer guidance on how to start addressing the issue in our work day.

The waste hierarchy suggests that the best first step to address single use plastic waste is to prevent the use of single use plastic in the first place. This was the premise behind Hubbub’s recent #FoodSavvy campaign, where we asked: Is it possible to help employees change lunchtime habits to cut plastic use, eat more healthily and save money?

The #FoodSavvy Lunch Club

Along with cutting plastic packaging waste, Hubbub research found that British workers can save up to £200 a year by bringing in packed lunches from home. So, we created the #FoodSavvy Lunch Club, where we challenged 50 employees from Aviva, BT, Axa Insurance and the Environment Agency, to go for one month without using single use packaging at lunch time.

Hubbub used a series of proven behaviour change techniques to encourage employees to make their own lunch or take a container to their favourite lunchtime spots. Five cafes and eateries, including the AXA staff canteen, also took part in a ‘Take Away, Give Back’ scheme, offering discounts to customers who bring their own container.

The results? The Lunch Club cut single use plastic by 54%, food waste by 52%, 67% felt they were eating more healthily and 75% had saved money on their lunches! The effects of the Lunch Club extended beyond the workplace, with people encouraging their families and friends to trial out alternatives to single-use plastic and to reduce their food waste.

A Recipe to Halve Single Use Plastic Waste

So how did they do it? And how can you do the same at your office? Check out our 5 top tips for helping employees cut their single use plastic use at lunch:

1. Make it social.

People are more likely to make a long-term change if they are part of a mutually supportive group, so make this a group initiative, where people can share ideas and experiences.

2. Keep it simple.

Change is more likely to occur if people can make easy alterations to daily habits. Participants were given a #FoodSavvy Savings Guide, which gave them the golden rules for reducing packaging and food waste, and a three-week meal plan packed with simple, healthy, sustainable meals to follow.

3. Incentivise it.

Incentives to change were provided with local shops piloting a bring your own Tupperware scheme with discounts being offered for people who participated.

4. Tailor your advice.

The #FoodSavvy quiz offers participants bespoke tips on how to plan their lunch meals to save time, packaging and money.

5. Build Cooking Skills.

A lack of skills hinders from people changing eating habits, preferring to stick to the tried and tested. Chef Emma Crowhurst delivered lunchtime cooking demonstrations to show how to cook one of the recipes from the meal plan and shared ideas for creating healthier, cheaper lunches with less packaging.

The Lunch Club not only helps employees reduce single use plastic use during lunches, but can build your workplace’s profile as a leader in sustainability, help you achieve existing sustainability and employee well-being goals, while boosting employee engagement and morale.

Interested in creating a #FoodSavvy Lunch Club at your workplace or starting a ‘Take Away, Give Back’ scheme at your restaurant or café? Get in touch with us at enterprise@hubbub.org.uk. We’d love to hear from you!

Thanks for reading and keep in touch!

Follow our monthly blog series #HubbubAtWork or contact us at enterprise@hubbub.org.uk. In case you missed it, our last blog covered 3 ways to promote climate-conscious diets at work!

Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com on June 27, 2019.b