The last year has shown momentum for the return to office movement, with public service and big banks leading the charge. With that, employers and landlords face a difficult time with tenant engagement and rebuilding a culture of sustainability and wellness at their properties. As more occupants return to their old offices, the need for connection and socialization has never been greater. For landlords, prioritizing engaging events can make mandatory RTO more seamless and a more enjoyable experience for everyone involved. Tenant engagement events can be integrated with sustainability or wellness goals, making the commute worthwhile for occupants while satisfying the landlord’s own corporate goals.
Our Corporate Sustainability team provides some ideas for what works best below:
Host a Waste Trivia Lobby Event
Cost Estimate: $
Goals: Waste reduction in the office, promoting knowledge of what goes in which waste streams
With the return to office movement, landlords face increasing pressure to reduce waste from their waste haulers. Waste trivia is an interactive way to gamify the tenant experience while increasing visibility of waste sorting practices. Due to the hybrid work structure, many occupants may have forgotten what goes where, or what differences exist between in-office and at-home waste sorting. Hosting a lobby event provides an opportunity to directly engage all tenants, not just the ones interested in sustainability. Consider having takeaways, like a waste postcard showing various waste streams, giveaways, or an interactive spinning wheel to draw interest. Instead of a traditional verbal question-answer format, having a digital trivia through a scanned QR code can streamline the experience and help gather measurable feedback and data in one place.
Host a Large-Scale Sustainability Market
Cost Estimate: $$-$$$
Goals: Showcasing brand, raising awareness for sustainability amenities at your property
A larger scale event can engage tenants through multiple avenues and mini-experiences. Consider assembling a host of local businesses (i.e. local florists, bakeries, and zero-waste stores) or educational vendors (i.e. urban beekeepers, on-site gardeners) for tenants to learn and shop from. Having giveaways in the form of complimentary snacks or flowers can be an effective way to draw traffic. Overall, offering an aesthetically pleasing market can reinforce the landlord’s brand while promoting sustainable businesses.
Install a DIY Lobby Installation
Cost Estimate: $-$$
Goals: Waste reduction, increase knowledge of waste streams and waste reduction behaviours
Having an eye-catching lobby installation can promote sustainable behaviour, such as sorting waste, recycling properly, and reducing bin contamination. Many installations can be assembled internally if you invest in an acrylic display case or print large communications on foamcore from your local print shop. These installations can sit in a high-traffic common area, engaging tenants passively without the need for on-site staff.
Plan a Tenant Council Meeting
Cost Estimate: $-$$
Goals: Showcasing brand, gather tenant feedback about waste management and building operations
Having a steering committee of tenants can provide invaluable feedback on the state of operations while helping to fulfill BOMA Best, LEED and WELL requirements. A Tenant Council Meeting acts as an ideal avenue for landlords to curate their sustainability and wellness messaging – showcasing their commitments through a presentation. Through a Tenant Council Meeting, landlords can hear from their most valued tenants, reinforcing the two-way tenant-landlord relationship.
