It is the latest trend of the Green economy: cultivating a vegetable garden on the terraces of the offices. The fashion of urban gardens in a corporate capacity comes - needless to say - from the United States where, for some time now, some of the main companies belonging to various production sectors have decided to exploit the large outdoor spaces of their buildings to grow products to bring at home.
Don't store avocado like this: it's dangerous
It is the latest trend of the Green economy: cultivating a vegetable garden on the terraces of the offices. The fashion of urban gardens in corporate role comes - needless to say - from the United States where, for some time now, some of the main companies belonging to various production sectors have decided to exploit the large outdoor spaces of their buildings to grow produce to take home.
To draw attention to the latest trend made in the USA is the New York Times which, in a recently published article, explains how to raise employee morale, companies that cannot afford wage increases, award travel and bonuses, have invented a new benefit:company garden.
Just to cite a few examples, just think that the Toyota headquarters in Georgetown (Kentucky) has a huge vegetable garden of tomatoes e zucchiniwhile at the department store headquarters cabbagebeets, spinach and salads are grown in Milwaukee. Even PepsiCo, the $ 60 billion food giant specializing in so-called "junk food" has created a corporate garden, strictly organic, grown by the employees who return home at the end of the day with bags full of fruit and vegetables. But there is something else. In fact, there are now hundreds of corporations that, throughout the States, allow their employees to "go gardening" during working hours. However, this is a very recent trend. Until very recently, in fact, this craze concerned only a very few super-innovative companies, such as Google, Yahoo and Subset magazine all located in the so-called Silicone Valley.
But what are the advantages of the “corporate garden"? It is not just a matter of doing good to oneself thanks to the possibility not only of eat office-grown (healthy) produce and exercise, but also to help create a greater harmony in work teams: “Digging the earth together encourages breaking down office hierarchies,” he explains Sheila Golden, senior manager at PepsiCo. “In the garden - adds Golden - we are all at the same level”. Another advantage not to be underestimated of company gardens lies in the fact that employees are able to take home, at no cost, kilos of excellent choice vegetables. In addition to always having available, in the company canteens, fresh products of certain origin.
Obviously there is also the side of the coin, that is the flight of employees-farmers when it comes to doing heavy and boring work. In fact, it seems that, when it is necessary to remove the weeds from the gardens, many go into hiding. Among the solutions invented by companies to avoid "absenteeismThere is the one developed by the cosmetic giant Aveda, who emails employees every week with sowing, harvesting and irrigation shifts.
In short, the idea of company gardens seems excellent to us and perhaps it would be appropriate to import it here too, what do you think?
Rosamaria Freda
