Linda is the Eco-operator for Total Coverage, a worker co-operative based in Southampton. You can read her story, so far, on the Greener Together website.
Total Coverage is a graphic design worker’s co-operative. Promoting sustainable design has always been part of the Total Coverage ethos, and one of the company’s unique selling points. ‘We’ve been promoting recycled paper and vegetable inks long before it became mainstream’, says Linda.
For this reason, Linda was initially hesitant about joining Greener Together, ‘when I looked at the project, I thought there wasn’t a lot of learning that we could get from it because we were already doing most of the things’, she explains. However, a few months later, Linda looked into Greener Together further and realised that even though her colleagues were already environmentally aware, it would be a good opportunity to push the green message a bit further afield to the company’s clients and suppliers. ‘ I thought that signing up would mean that we could get the message out and under the Greener Together banner, it would be easier to disseminate the message further afield’. ‘Reaching out further really was the main reason it appealed to us’, she reiterates. ‘Most of us that work here are already pretty green and I didn’t see the point of preaching to the converted. Broadening out to our newtorks and taking it out to people who might not be as green as they could be really appealed’. Linda realised that not everyone is as aware as herself and her colleagues. ‘Without us reaching out, the people might have been a bit aware of the issues, but I think signing up to the Greener Together project has made them more focused on actual change. It makes them concentrate on doing things, and on understanding the reasons behind what they are doing, rather than just doing it because you ‘should’ be doing it’.
Linda remarks that there was a positive response to the project, however getting people signed up and motivated has not been without its difficulties. ‘Some people had problems with the website when they signed up and it made them reluctant to join or continue further’. Although the initial teething problems with the website did have a slight impact on peoples enthusiasm to join up or continue with the project, the number of pledges have started to pick up again. And having Greener Together to talk about with clients has provided a source of conversation, ‘It’s just something to chat about and I can ask them how they are getting on with it. It also makes it more personal too’ says Linda. Of the changes that people have been making, Linda reported that quite a few were refilling bottles instead of buying more bottles of water.
Linda’s own experience with signing up to the pledges has made her realise that, although she was already doing a lot of green actions, there was still more that could be done. ‘I’ve already made quite a lot of changes in my lifestyle as a result of us being quite a green company, but when you have to tick a box and see it written down, it does make you focus more on action’. Linda has signed up to 15 pledges altogether. One recent purchase that was inspired by the initiative was replacing her old kettle with an eco-kettle, when the old one packed up. ‘I wouldn’t have had the eco-kettle if it wasn’t for Greener Together – it’s not the nicest thing to look at’. Linda also used to be a fan of the tumble dryer, but she hasn’t actually used it since signing up in April. ‘We have had great weather, but also now when I’m doing the washing, I tend to leave it until I know I can dry it outside, whereas before I would just get it out of the way and use the dryer’.
