No wasting time – getting the workforce vaccinated2 min read

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Local business, Green Gorilla, has been leading the way in encouraging its employees to get
vaccinated.

CEO, Elaine Morgan, says that by the middle of October 70% of their 151-strong
team had received both doses of the vaccine, with 99% expected to be fully vaccinated by
7th November.

She says a few employees are opposed to being vaccinated. “But they do respect our
company decision to do our upmost to keep our company and our people Covid-free, and
have therefore agreed to extra health & safety requirements.” This includes regular testing,
maintaining social distancing and wearing face masks.

Elaine says it is part of the company’s commitment to their staff. “Our people are our
business and we want to do whatever we can to protect them and their families from Covid-
19,” she says. Green Gorilla also provides services to places where there are likely to be
essential workers or vulnerable people, such as hospitals, rest homes and supermarkets, so
it’s important to keep everybody safe.

Their success has been achieved by relying entirely on persuasion and information, rather
than by coercion. This has involved discussing the benefits of being vaccinated at morning
meetings, providing information about the vaccine, and giving staff time off to be
vaccinated; even loaning them vehicles for drive-through events.

Ultimately, a number of people who were originally hesitant about getting vaccinated have changed their minds. A wider benefit has been that it’s resulted in a number of staff also
encouraging whānau to join them when getting their vaccines.

Being at the front of the drive to vaccinate the nation is in keeping with the company’s
community-orientated philosophy. Launched in 2010, Green Gorilla is based on the site of
the former Galway Street landfill and operates Auckland’s largest commercial waste
processing facility.

 

It recycles as much waste as possible; diverting more than 70,000 tonnes
of rubbish away from landfills every year. The company is also carboNZero certified, has a
fleet of electric vehicles and is committed to paying a living wage to its staff.