As 2025 is off to a strong start, there is a growing pressure for companies to adopt greener practices, reduce waste, and integrate sustainability into their core values. However, fostering a sustainability-focused culture within a team requires more than just setting goals; it demands engagement, collaboration, and creativity.

One of the most effective ways to inspire sustainable action is through team challenges. In this blog, we’ll explore a series of challenges that can help teams work together to make a meaningful impact.

Why Engagement Matters

Creating a sustainable workplace is not just about implementing policies, it’s about cultivating a culture where employees feel motivated to take action. By introducing friendly competition and shared goals, organisations can drive awareness, encourage behavioural change, and make sustainability an engaging and rewarding experience.

Engagement also fosters a sense of purpose and community within the workplace. When teams work together towards a common sustainability goal, it strengthens collaboration and boosts morale. Employees feel a greater connection to their organisation’s mission, making them more invested in its overall success. By actively involving employees, businesses can ensure that sustainability efforts are not just top-down directives but ingrained in the company’s DNA.

Sustainability Challenges to Implement in 2025

1. Vegetarian Month/Week
The first step is to decide on a time frame for the challenge. Then individuals must track their meals and are awarded points based on what they consume, this is then totalled up at the end of the challenge to determine a winner. If there are any members of the team that are already vegetarian, their challenge is to go vegan!

2. Steps Challenge
The first step is to determine a time frame for the challenge, which is typically a week or a month. Then you will need to decide on a preferred method of data collection, which could be the phone health app or a smartwatch, to track how many steps are taken. The Individual to take the most steps in the chosen time frame wins.

3. Plastic-free Week
The team is not allowed to purchase single use plastics for an entire week. Individuals must track all their purchases over a week. Points are deducted for each purchase made that includes a single-use plastic.

4. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
All team members must bring in an item/s from their household that they no longer use and upcycle it into something they or another team member will use in the future. All team members then vote to determine who had the most creative idea to decide the winner for this challenge.

5. Donation Month
Collect as many unwanted items as possible, these could include books, clothes, food, etc. The number of items brought in correlates to the number of points awarded. All items will be donated to a charity of the team’s choice.

6. Eco-Friendly Innovation Hackathon
Have the team split up into smaller groups. Over one or two days, employees work on innovative ideas — ranging from eco-friendly policies and technology tools to product innovations and awareness campaigns. With mentorship from sustainability experts, the groups can refine their concepts before presenting them to a panel of judges (e.g. Board of Directors, senior management, etc.), who assess feasibility, impact, and creativity. Winning ideas receive recognition and potential resources for implementation, making the hackathon a fun and impactful way to drive sustainability in the workplace.

How to Keep Momentum Going
Maintaining engagement in sustainability efforts requires continuous motivation and reinforcement. Recognising and rewarding participation is a great way to sustain enthusiasm. Whether through incentives, public recognition, or friendly competitions, acknowledging employees’ efforts helps to keep motivation high.

Tracking progress is also essential for long-term success. By measuring key sustainability metrics — such as waste reduction, energy savings, and participation rates — teams can see the tangible impact of their efforts. Setting incremental goals and celebrating milestones will keep employees committed and encourage further action.

Encouraging leadership and sustainability ambassadors within the team can drive ongoing engagement. When employees take ownership of initiatives, they become champions for change, inspiring their colleagues and ensuring that sustainability remains a priority within the workplace. Empowering employees with knowledge, resources, and autonomy to lead initiatives will create a self-sustaining culture of environmental responsibility.

Conclusion
Engaging your team in sustainability isn’t just about ticking boxes — it’s about creating a movement within your organisation that fosters long-term, meaningful change. By introducing sustainability challenges, you can turn everyday actions into impactful habits, strengthen team morale, and contribute to a greener future.

As we move further into 2025, the need for sustainable workplaces will only continue to grow. By making sustainability fun, interactive, and rewarding, you’ll be setting your team up for success in a world that demands responsible action.

Are you ready to take on the challenge? Start today and inspire lasting change! Feel free to get in touch if you would like a template of our points trackers for the challenges above! Also we would love to hear any and all ideas and initiatives that have worked for you when it comes to fostering team engagement around sustainability.