How much time do I need to invest in a planetgroup?

There is no minimum time you need to invest.

The relevant question is: How much time do you want to invest, and what does your professional and personal situation allow for?

Often employees tell us that they have no time left for engaging in a planetgroup. And since we know that our work days are usually filled and our to-do-lists are long, we fully understand that response. However, please read our answers to this concern, it may make you more comfortable:

• Generally we see planet work as a process: It matters that you are involved, regardless of how much. If you contribute as much as you can, it will be enough and welcome. No reason to feel bad about not having more time than you do. We are human beings, not superheros, and there are limits to what we can deliver. Just like the planet, we have to regenerate.

• We have designed our processes to be fun and fulfilling. Ideally, you will not experience a planetgroup as something “on top”, but as something different which you enjoy, where you feel a sense of impact, or purpose, of ownership and of community.

• Developing a fully planet-positive business model is a change process. So yes, initially it means extra work. However, in the medium term we have to stop seeing sustainability as something we do “extra”, but something we embed into our regular business cases. It makes no sense to destroy the planet with our “normal work”, and then try to repair it in our free time. We have to create businesses which don`t destroy it in the first place. Ideally, this will ultimately mean less work in the future, not more.

To make a long story short, you should invest as much time in your planetgroup as you enjoy, and be proud of it. In addition, you should also talk to your direct superior about how much of your work time you are allowed to spend on your planetgroups activities. Your company is benefitting from your planet work in numerous ways (please see the illustration of that below). Your management should ideally understand this and offer you some flexibility to invest a certain portion of your wok hours in this effort.