Herman Miller's Better World Report

Herman Miller is one of the companies that inspires me the most. They are extremely conscientious in their product design and marketing as well as in operations, but they are careful not to over-promote their sustainability to avoid greenwashing. It doesn't hurt that their products are of exemplary quality and are cleverly and beautifully designed.

Herman Miller also supports employees' social action at work. Employees are allowed 16 paid hours a year to work with the charitable organization of their choice. As a whole, the company has a goal of providing 10,000 volunteer hours to the community. That employees can chose the organization for which they want to volunteer allows them to create significant meaning through SAW. Additionally, there are team-based volunteer opportunities which allow employees to interact and network while doing good work. Recently, a team worked on a LEED (!) Habitat for Humanity home. Around 100 employees volunteered time to build a playground in an economically depressed area of a local community. For the third year, 40 women participated in Women to Women International. Moreover, the company matched donations to the Herman Miller Foundation, with the funds going to hurricane ravaged Haiti.

Community Service - A Better World Report - About Us - Herman Miller

McGraw Hill: Why We Volunteer

McGraw Hill's company blog, The Virtual Watercooler, describes the motivation behind the organization's employee volunteer program and details the efforts they made as part of their eighth annual "Global Volunteer Day" (GVD). They write:

This year’s GVD really did have a global reach, especially in helping the lives of children. In the U.S., 90 of the 157 projects focused on helping children. In India, team leaders volunteered at over 50 schools across the country which impacted approximately 9,400 students. In Melbourne, Australia, team leader Marg Slesser said “We had an incredibly inspirational day with our project. Everyone came away from the day feeling they had contributed to the lives of the special people we spent the day with and feeling very humbled by our experience. The Melbourne City Mission people were very grateful for the opportunity to take such a large group and enjoy a day’s outing partaking in an activity that so many of us take for granted.” These are just a few highlights of the impact we had in 58 cities around the world.

McGraw Hill's latest Corporate Social Responsibility Report.

Academy of Management Blogging

I'll be blogging for the Academy of Management during the annual conference this year. About 9,000 management scholars and practitioners along with the staff who make the meeting possible have converged on hot and humid San Antonio, Texas.

Check out my first entry here!

Adopt-a-Garden

Gardens provide environmental benefits, but they also help with mental health. At Cayuga Medical Center, employee volunteers maintain gardens around the hospital's campus.

Ford Rogue Factory

Visiting Dearborn's Ford Rogue Factory, where the car maker's F150s are produced, was such a treat. I enjoyed seeing the production line and watching the employees as they interacted with each other (or not) and completed their tasks. I was also thrilled to see the environmental-friendly features of the LEED Gold factory. One highlight is Ford's living roof, the largest in the world. Vegetated roofs have several advantages, including better use of water, longer life span of the roof, improved heating and cooling, reduced urban heat sink, and aesthetic qualities. Ford has large cisterns that capture rain water and runoff to use in the plant. The factory was also designed for efficient air flow, natural light, and porous pavement.



I was surprised, and pleased, to know that Ford also gives attention to wildlife and has been designated as an official wildlife habitat. They also have a colony of bees on site that are cared for by an employee volunteer.



Many of these initiatives are only successful through the efforts of Ford employee and retiree volunteers. Learn more about the program at the Ford Volunteer Corps website.