How Sustainability Initiatives Could Be the Key to Attracting (and Retaining) Employees

In the age of the Great Resignation, particularly rampant in Millennials and Gen-Z, how can companies do their part to maintain outstanding talent? One way to do so might be by looking at where the global shifts are happening in response to climate change and the environment and taking action in the form of making sure the C-Suite is establishing sustainability initiatives. 

As younger employees who make up a dominant portion of the population and workforce search for new opportunities, they’ll be keener to accept and stay in a position that aligns with their personal values. With a world filled with heat waves, wildfires, melting glaciers, droughts, and other unpredictable yet ghastly consequences of global warming, it’s clear the mistreatment of the planet has to change. Social media likes to remind the individual that we can do our part in recycling and becoming plant-based, but the reality is most sustainability falls on the responsibility of all stakeholders together i.e. companies, governments, consumers, large conglomerates, etc. 

Individuals are happy to participate and stay longer at a job that also does their best in reducing waste, having carbon-neutral goals, and doing their part in minimizing overall trash and footprint on our earth. It’s not only ecological; it just makes long-term business sense in 2022. We want to feel good about what we are outputting, in our personal and work lives.

Randstad, a British recruiting company, published a piece in March on several ways businesses can aim to be sustainable in order to inevitably preserve talent. They note that a “happy and engaged workforce is one of the most important competitive advantages for organizations,” as this will bring out loyalty and dedication to your workplace. “Modern employees don’t want to work for unrespectable companies whose practices harm society,” as one-third of workers rank this as of utmost importance to selecting a job. Conscientious citizens want to feel like their careers and corporate roles matter. So, how do businesses keep up?

The obvious go-to is being a humanitarian company. A recent example is Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard, his spouse, and two adult children who are giving away their ownership in the apparel maker, and dedicating all profits from the company to projects and organizations that will protect wild land and biodiversity and fight the climate crisis. 

NBCUniversal also has the goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2035, meaning they are aiming for a balance between emitting carbon and absorbing carbon in the world. They also have a Sustainable Production Program that aims to educate their film and television crews in reducing their impact on the globe. Even in their theme parks, their focus is shifting to three main areas of action – “reducing and recycling waste, water conservation, and maximizing energy efficiency.” For other companies that generate consumer goods, that means pivoting away from non-environment-friendly labor practices that overproduce and leave much more waste for a bottom-line profit.

Keeping in line with the human aspect of sustainability includes making sure there are diversity initiatives in hiring. Our world is moving more towards a melting pot through emigration and immigration; our workplaces need to reflect that. Giving opportunities to the oftentimes underrepresented and minority groups means greater perspectives in business, and therefore greater “unique insights” and culture that competitors won’t have.

Additionally, organizations that pride themselves in their multicultural makeup tend to outperform. Based on a 2020 study by consulting company McKinsey, in 2019 “top-quartile” companies outperformed those in the fourth one by 36 percent in profitability. Additionally, the study also noted the likelihood of outperformance continues to be higher for diversity in ethnicity than for gender. Employees do not want to be working in homogenous groups with similar-minded perspectives – part of the innovation lies in varying viewpoints. Clearly, inclusion matters.

There are many ways corporations can hone their ideals in making sure the big picture is globally viable, inside and outside the office. Creating a work environment characterized by inclusive leadership doesn’t happen overnight, but companies that make an effort to take a multi-pronged approach to sustainability, in terms of involving diverse stakeholders and tackling diverse sustainability initiatives, can appeal to workers who want to be part of a larger global change.