Have you wondered how you can influence your and your coworkers’ environmental impact? In November, I joined more than 2,500 attendees at a conference in Seattle to discuss just that. Net Impact is a leading nonprofit that empowers a new generation to use their careers to drive transformational change in the workplace and the world.

During my panel with other sustainability professionals, “On the Road to CSO: Steps Along the Corporate Impact Career Path,” – one of the key messages shared was that you can make an impact in any role within a company – you don’t need to have the word “sustainability” in your title. And in some cases, you might have an ability to impact even more change by being in a “traditional” role.

As I thought about the panel and reflected on the ability to be impactful, I realized I had personally witnessed multiple examples of efforts led by my Outerwall colleagues to drive change, regardless of their job title.

Here are a few of those examples– and the characteristics that made them successful in generating positive change:

DO believe in the possible:  Amol Nayak previously served as a senior buyer for Outerwall, and now is a sustainable sourcing specialist. During his time as a buyer, he worked to identify a cost-neutral solution for shifting to LED lighting technology. Combined with other changes, the redesigned Redbox outdoor kiosk used 20% less energy than the previous model. But he didn’t stop there. Amol also pursued an opportunity to work with our existing partners to remanufacture lightboxes from our Redbox kiosks from fluorescent bulbs to LED whenever they are removed or relocated in the field, reducing both cost as well as the energy used by our kiosks.

DO the right thing: Our facilities manager, Scott Nicholson, led the effort to build Outerwall’s first ever Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) Certified building for our ecoATM business. As he developed the project plan and budget, he incorporated the idea of seeking certification, rather than asking separately for permission. “Sustainability is important for our company – it’s part of our culture. ecoATM’s new headquarters was an opportunity for us to understand and address the environmental impact we can have. It allowed us to do more than talk; we were able to put words into action.”

DO question the status quo: DO question the status quo: Before we even had a corporate social responsibility program, Brandon Sofie was serving as the operations manager of our Kent, Wash. facility, which remanufactures Coinstar, Redbox and ecoATM kiosks as well as ships parts to the field. When he started years ago, he noticed there was minimal recycling in place, so he drove an effort to implement a program which took the facility to near-zero waste. Our Kent facility has since moved beyond recycling, and now also re-uses kiosk components!

Corporate Social Responsibility

To learn more about Outerwall’s sustainability goals – and the employees who drive progress toward them – read their latest CSR Report!  To read the full blog post click here.