What If Your Employee Recognition Program Could Actually Save the Planet?
- holliechastain
- Aug 12
- 3 min read
Updated: Oct 24
Most companies hand out gift cards and call it employee appreciation. One platform is proving there's a better way, and the environmental impact will surprise you.
Picture this: Angela from accounting just crushed her quarterly goals. Instead of getting another generic Amazon gift card, she opens her recognition email to find something different. She can choose that gift card if she wants, or she can select an energy-efficient product. She picks the smart thermostat. Her employer pays the same amount, but Angela’s home energy consumption drops by 10-15% over the next year, saving her hundreds of dollars on heating and cooling costs while reducing her carbon footprint.
The Numbers That Will Make You (and your Chief Sustainability Officer) Very Happy
Here's what happens when you give employees the power to choose sustainable rewards:
Thousands in savings per employee on utility bills and fuel costs through smart sustainability choices over the lifetime of the products.
Up to 10-15% electricity reduction per participating employee when they choose smart home products through recognition programs, adding up to billions of kilowatt hours saved across all employee sustainability initiatives industry-wide.
Significant, quantifiable water savings when employees select water-efficient appliances and technologies, contributing to millions of gallons conserved through collective participation.
Carbon impact equivalent to removing multiple homes from the grid per participating organization, scaling to millions of trees' worth of carbon offset when aggregated across employers using sustainable recognition programs.
The multiplier effect is staggering: When scaled across major North American employers, employee-driven sustainability programs generate hundreds of millions in utility savings while delivering measurable environmental benefits.
Translation: Your recognition budget isn't just building morale, it's creating a measurable environmental and financial impact that compounds across your entire workforce.
The "Why Didn't We Think of This?" Moment
Most recognition programs fail because they're backwards. Companies guess what employees want, buy it in bulk, and wonder why engagement stays flat.
Reward Builder flipped the script entirely. Instead of limiting choices, they exploded them.
The Real-World Magic in Action
Meet the Manufacturing Manager who used to dread recognition season. Ordering gift cards, tracking receipts, and dealing with "I don't shop there" complaints. Now? She logs into Reward Builder, creates branded certificates in minutes, and lets employees choose from hundreds of options. Some pick sustainability products. The others stick with traditional gift and prepaid cards and are happy they had choices. Everyone wins, including her sanity.
Why This Matters More in 2025 Than Ever Before
According to a 2025 Deloitte global survey, 70% of Gen Z and Millennial employees consider environmental credentials important when choosing employers, and this demographic will make up a majority of the workforce by 2030.
The numbers get even more compelling when you zoom out: 67% of all employees are more willing to apply for jobs with environmentally sustainable companies, and 77% of younger US workers say environmental commitment influences their job decisions.
Recognition programs happen constantly. Birthdays, anniversaries, project completions, spot bonuses. What if each of those moments became an opportunity to reinforce environmental values while making employees feel genuinely appreciated?
“It is a tremendous honor for us to funnel our passion and decades of experience into innovative products that empower businesses to make sustainable choices that increase acquisition and retention while reducing costs,” -- A. Hamid Andalib, founder and CEO.
The Implementation That Actually Works
Forget months-long rollouts and IT integration nightmares. Here's the real timeline:
Day 1: Create account, customize your branded certificate template Day 2: Send your first recognition (seriously, it takes 5 minutes) Day 7: Watch employee satisfaction climb Day 30: Wonder why you waited so long to switch
The Plot Twist: It's Not Just About Employees
Smart companies are using Reward Builder for:
Sales incentives that align with company ESG goals
Partner appreciation that strengthens B2B relationships
Survey participation rewards that don't break the budget
The sustainability angle works everywhere because everyone wins.
Ready to Make Recognition Actually Matter?
See the 5-minute setup process for yourself. Schedule a brief walkthrough to discover how simple it actually is to transform your recognition program. No complex integrations, no IT headaches, just results that matter to your employees and the planet.
