Resource A

Cover Letter and Employee Questionnaire

This sample cover letter and questionnaire are available on our Web site, www.streetsmartsustainability.com, translated into many languages. If you speak a language for which we don’t have a translation, please translate these items for us and we will post them on our Web site and acknowledge your input.

Dear Valued Employee:

Our concern for sustainability, the environment, and social responsibility is one of the highest priorities of this company. As another step in making continuous improvement toward excellent sustainable practices, we are about to have a comprehensive sustainability audit performed.

A key part of the sustainability audit will be a confidential survey of the employees. You can respond to the survey questionnaire online or by mail. You have the option to fill out the questionnaire anonymously. What is important to us is to learn what you feel are the company’s strengths and weaknesses in fulfilling its environmental and socially responsible commitments and what you feel are steps we could take to improve this company.

Please take a few minutes to answer the form completely and honestly by (day of week, date). Use extra paper if you need to expand on your answers.

Thank you,

Signed by ________________________________________

Boss / President / CEO / Owner / Executive Director

Employee Questionnaire

Question 1: How many miles do you live from work? How do you commute (car, car/van pool, public transportation, motorcycle, bicycle, walking)?

Question 2: Do you know the company’s environmental and sustainability policies?

Question 3: Have you provided management with ideas to improve the company’s environmental and sustainability performance (energy conservation, waste reduction, purchasing, etc.)?

Question 4: Have any of these ideas been implemented?

Question 5: Does management encourage employees to be environmentally and socially responsible within the company?

Question 6: Does management encourage employees to be environmentally and socially responsible outside the company?

Question7: Which statement best describes management’s position on the environment and social responsibility?

a. Concern for the environment and social responsibility are among the company’s highest goals, and the company continuously works to makeimprovements.

b. The company does much to ensure that it is environmentally and socially responsible.

c. The company does whatever it can to be environmentally and socially responsible, providing that it is cost-effective.

d. The company only does what it is required bylaw todo. Concern for the environment and social responsibility are not high on the company’s list of priorities.

e. Management would knowingly violate environmental, safety, human rights, and/or other laws ifthey thought they could get away with it.

Question 8: What is the company’s number one environmental strength?

Question 9: What is the company’s number one environmental weakness?

Question 10: What is your top recommendation for making the company as a whole more environmentally responsible?

Question 11: What is your top recommendation for making your department more environmentally responsible?

Provide additional space for the employee to voluntarily put his or her job title and name; some employees may and some may not offer this information.