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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®, 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, ONPhone: 1-877-506-7352WebSite: 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

SC Johnson and Son LTD Employee Engagement

SC Johnson’s Brantford facility takes sustainability

seriously

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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.

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.

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tAking SuStAinAbiLity beyond the front doorSWhile 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.

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 Dollars for Doers program offers $500 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

After: SC Johnson funded a portion of this school ground

greening project, providing green space for students

Before

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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.

PeArSon eCo-buSineSS Zone

www.partnersinprojectgreen.com