Sustainability and sustainable development can be defined in multiple ways. The most common definition originates from the 1987 Brundtland Report, which describes the concept as "meeting the needs of current generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" (Brundtland, 1987). Therefore, individuals and organizations incorporating sustainability into their everyday practices should do so with the mindset of attending to the needs of both current and future stakeholders.

Organizations pursue environmental sustainability to attain a variety of goals, including reputation management, energy savings, development of green products, and retaining and motivating employees (Bonini & Grner, 2011). Executives increasingly report that sustainability programs add short- and long-term value to their organizations (Bonini and Grner, 2011).

This case study examines Helping First Credit Union (HFCU) and its pursuit of environmental sustainability. HFCU is located in the Southeastern United States and is one of the top 20 largest credit unions in the area, currently serving over 16,000 members. Due to its growth over the past several years, the organization decided to expand its main branch.

HFCU's President and CEO Janice Harper personally valued sustainable practices and any efforts made to conserve natural resources. Janice had always been a bit of a world traveler, and she was strongly moved after her recent visit to Antarctica, where she witnessed for herself the changes that have ensued because of the melting icebergs. When the credit union began discussions of an expansion at the main branch, she knew she had an opportunity to make a real difference.

Janice championed the idea of building the expansion to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards. LEED is the most widely used green building rating system worldwide (United States Green Building Council (USGBC), n.d.). Buildings built to LEED standards are known to use fewer natural resources, reduce waste, provide organizations with instant sustainability recognition, and increase the health and productivity of building occupants. LEED provides a specified framework for identifying and executing measurable green building design, construction, operation, and maintenance (USGBC, n.d.). Buildings are awarded points based on the number of various sustainable efforts that are achieved. The more points awarded, the higher the level of certification, ranging from Certified, Silver, Gold, to Platinum. In addition to lower operating costs, recent surveys linked green buildings to healthier, happier, and more productive employees (Oyler, 2018). For more information on national trends and increases in construction of green buildings, read the SmartMarket Report (2018) listed in the Further Reading section.

Janice and the building designers not only planned the building according to LEED standards, but they also strived to achieve LEED Platinum certification. While their efforts fell short of Platinum, they were awarded Gold certification. This was in large part due to their incorporation of design elements that would make the structure stand out as a "green building," even to those who were not familiar with LEED standards or sustainability practices. The most eye-catching feature was the "living" or "green" roof, which is a roof covered in succulent plants. When talking with organizational leaders, employees, and customers, the green roof is by far the biggest talking point in regards to Helping First's green image

There are several benefits to having vegetated roof systems, or "green" roofs, such as reducing stormwater flooding in urban areas by absorbing rain water (Mees et al., 2013), improving roof longevity (Wong et al., 2003), reducing energy costs by increasing insulation (Wong et al., 2003), and increasing the aesthetic value of the building (White & Gatersleben 2011). However, the cost of a green roof is often higher than a traditional roof, especially if the traditional roof is already in place. Organizations attempt to run cost-benefit analyses on the decision to install green roofs versus traditional roofs, but results are often difficult to interpret because some benefits of green roofs are not easily quantified. Payback periods also tend to be long for green roof investments.

Additional changes were made to the physical work environment that reinforced the focus on sustainable practices. These included exchanging soda machines for more energy-efficient models, changing out paper towel dispensers in the bathrooms for hand dryers, and exchanging traditional fluorescent lighting for LED bulbs equipped with motion detectors. Commercial grade Nanogel-insulated windows were installed, increasing overall energy efficiency through high levels of thermal insulation.

Beyond the structural changes to the green building, sustainable behaviors were encouraged as well. HFCU employees were asked to engage in a number of practices that included hosting "green tours" in order to educate the local community, increasing their recycling of waste materials, using paperless options in the office when possible, encouraging customers to sign up for "green" checking accounts (where customers receive credit union correspondence via email instead of traditional paper statements), and utilizing the company Prius when work travel was necessary.

Although some may view HFCU's sustainability efforts as limited, these approaches are in line with the general perceptions regarding climate change within the Southeastern United States region. A recent study examining climate change viewpoints of Southeastern U.S. residents found that the majority of participants perceived few options for mitigating climate change on an individual level beyond recycling, reducing waste, and reducing their driving (Himmelfarb et al., 2014). In addition, most expressed little tendency to dramatically change their lifestyle to address climate change, as they felt that large-scale political changes were necessary in order to make a significant impact (Himmelfarb et al., 2014).

Before the new building expansion, sustainability had not been discussed in the organization explicitly, but Janice wanted to start a conversation in hopes that sustainability would be embraced as a part of the corporate culture. Through various meetings with board members, senior management, and staff, Janice educated organizational members about the green building project and sustainable practices that could be incorporated into the organization's daily practices. When interviewed by the local media about the LEED building, Janice expressed that "profits cannot be the only concern of organizations," and that "social and environmental responsibility affect credit union member value and market gains as well."

In addition to the visual changes of the LEED building, organizational members and those in the community also noticed a change to the company logo. HCFU's new logo now had a "green leaf" incorporated, signaling a nod to the sustainability efforts. While a change to the overall mission statement was not apparent, Janice explained the connection to HCFU's strategy this way:

We have promoted that we are the only green organization in town and how that it fits with our mission of community involvement ... I realized early on that credit unions ... we have to differentiate between a credit union and a bank. Because the services are so similar, it's not apparent. But I thought this would be one way to show the differentiation between them.

In conversations with Janice, she truly felt that the rest of the organizational members were intrigued and had high levels of participation in terms of embracing and promoting the sustainability efforts.

Members at various levels of the organization were interviewed, and there were mixed reviews and impressions regarding the sustainability efforts, as explored throughout the rest of the case.

What Employees Thought About the Green Initiatives

Several employees were happy and embraced the sustainability efforts within the organization. Those who were most enthusiastic about the changes were already engaging in sustainable efforts, personally. Robert Billings, a mid-level employee who had been with the organization for more than 13 years, communicated that he had been recycling at home for several years already, and therefore doing it at work was a "no-brainer" for him. Another employee, Mark Stevens, a twenty-something recent college graduate, was known around the office for voluntarily riding his bike to work in order to cut down on his individual carbon emissions; naturally, he was quite excited to see the credit union embrace more sustainable practices as well.

Others had not previously thought about or engaged in sustainable practices, but once they were made aware through the organization, they quickly got on board with the idea. Frances Miller, a teller at the newly renovated branch, mentioned that she thought of sustainability in terms of "the things we do at the credit union" and associated it only with her job. Another employee discussed how he thought the credit union's efforts made them a sustainability leader in the community, saying that "We have represented ourselves as a standard of sustainability. And once you've represented yourself in that context, you have to meet that responsibility."

The green roof was an item that almost all employees, at various levels, brought up and discussed. Joseph Wilson, a board member and psychology professor at the local university, discussed his thoughts on the green roof and the role it served:

Our roof is plants, so it obviously has unique marketability; people remember it. Yeah, that's that building with grass on the roof, so to speak, which creates a sense of identity. And then it gives you the opportunity to create the whole image of being responsible, meeting responsible societal needs and we've built on that, too.

Frank Simmons, a mortgage loan officer, discussed how the green roof served as an introductory talking point between himself and potential customers within the local community:

With us specifically, usually when I'm meeting somebody, they're like, 'What do you do?' 'I work at Helping First' they're like, 'Mm...' I say, 'The one with the grass on the roof.' I know that's not the only sustainability effort we have, but it's something to be easily identified with.

Other members of the organization seemed to fall in line with the sustainability efforts, yet did not truly embrace them. This appeared to be due to pressure from various sources in the organization. One employee appeared to be referring to Harper, the CEO and President, when he said "Sustainability is very important to this person and so when we know this person is going to be around, we do our best to make sure we are appearing extra sustainable."

Janice Miller discussed not wanting to go against the grain when she saw others acting sustainably:

I think peer pressure is a big thing on it and you see everybody throwing their water bottle in the recycle bin, you're not going to be the one throwing it in the garbage can.

A fellow employee added to this point stating that sustainability was now just a "normal activity within the organization."

A few employees were downright dissatisfied and frustrated with the implementation and communication of the sustainability efforts within the organization. The largest source of frustration seemed to come from employees who felt that they personally had to make a sacrifice in order for the sustainability efforts to be pursued.

Perceived sacrifices that employees had to make ranged from issues surrounding pay to the overall work environment. Below are a few of the various examples given by employees:

...The industry is down and you didn't get raises this year, but we can put grass on the roof. You know, where's the tradeoff? (Tim Green, branch manager of three years)

This is going to seem mundane, but a prime example is we are stuck with an RC Cola machine instead of Coke, which is the true Coke of the South. We're stuck with RC because they were the only company that provided us an energy-efficient Coke machine. That's a sacrifice in my opinion because I'm stuck drinking Diet Rite instead of Diet Coke and that's unforgivable. (Steven Thrush, accountant of three years)

It makes us feel like we're in a cave. We can't grow any plants in this new building because they don't get natural sunlight. (Linda Forester, office associate of four years)

Some employees communicated a disconnect between the sustainability efforts of the LEED building and the overall mission of the organization. For example, Jack Marshall, network administrator of over 10 years, stated, "I don't know that there was any real purpose behind it (LEED building) other than a kind of a show place, if you will."

Lastly, there were employees who were frustrated by the lack of overall communication regarding the sustainability efforts. For example, Teresa Quinn, a bankruptcy specialist, appeared to be interested in advocating the sustainability efforts, but she did not feel that she was equipped with the proper information in order to do so:

I was not aware that apparently we're selling energy back to the electric company. Had no idea. That's the type of thing that is not shared with us. If they want us to promote that effort, then we should be aware if we're having [a] success in the effort.

What Happened After Janice Harper Retired?

The credit union gained significant local media coverage regarding the new LEED building and participated in several "green tours." The green tours allowed members of the community to visit organizations that were known for their sustainability efforts and energy efficient buildings. Unfortunately, the "buzz" regarding the green building and the credit union's sustainability efforts were short lived. No direct sustainability or CSR reports were issued to any of the organization's stakeholders, and no explicit measures of the sustainable efforts were captured. Three years after the building's completion, Janice announced her retirement from the organization, which she had been with for more than 30 years. Soon after, new leadership was hired and the focus on sustainability seemed to fade, as the green tours were no longer advertised and the logo was redesigned, this time without the notable green leaf.

Making sustainability explicit at HFCU had represented a significant change to the organization's strategic objectives and culture. Most successful change initiatives follow a change management process that includes change leadership from top management (Kotter, 1995). Janice functioned as the change leader and employees received information on the sustainability efforts via informational meetings hosted by Janice. However, the organization was unable to "freeze" the changes (Lewin, 1947) to make them permanent. Change guru Kurt Lewin, widely considered the founder of change management, proposes that successful change initiatives include three steps: unfreezing the current state, implementing the change, and then freezing the new state. After Janice's departure, the sustainability initiative appeared to fade, signifying that the change was never fully embraced by the organization.

Despite the seemingly failed sustainability initiative, the credit union still thrives today, celebrating more than 50 years of serving its local community. But, with the mixed initial implementation and subsequent change in organizational leadership, the strategic focus on environmental sustainability appears to be a thing of the past.

Discussion Questions

• 1.

Some employees were enthusiastic about the sustainability efforts. How do those employees differ from other, less enthusiastic employees? How might this have affected the relationship of the enthusiastic employees with the organization? Is there a way that the organization could have used those employees to promote the organizational change? If so, how?

• 2.

Describe the importance of physical artifacts and their shaping of an organization's culture? What was the important artifact at Helping First and what impression did it create?

• 3.

Employees discussed perceived fairness issues that resulted from the pursuit of sustainability. What form or forms of organizational justice provide insight into these perceived fairness issues? Could these perceptions affect other aspects of the employees' work as well?

• 4.

Janice Harper was clearly passionate about the sustainability cause, but is there anything she could have done better to make employees more receptive to the organizational change? Are there organizational change models that she could have used in order to better plan and execute her ideas?