"Who should be involved in a businesses climate journey?" With Head of Sustainbility, Lucy Pope

Put simply, everyone! 

To a greater or lesser extent, everyone must at the bare minimum be brought along on a business climate journey.  But, more than that, it is evident that sustainability must cascade across a business and its practices, as opposed to sitting solely with one team or with management. Getting everyone on board (from the active contributors and ideas generators to those who may just change one small office practice) is critical to achieving targets and impacting long-term change. Equally, it can yield many co-benefits stretching beyond environmental goals and contributing to a positive culture and long-term business success.

For us, this is a journey – and we are by no means the finished article.

This Earth Month, alongside celebrating our recently validated SBTI targets, we are taking the opportunity to actively involve and educate our employees, including: demystifying climate change, setting some basic office expectations and offering ideas as to what ‘great’ sustainable office practices might look like.   

There are so many reasons why engagement is critical:

• Employees care! – ‘72% of staff feel more loyal working for a company that takes active steps towards sustainability’ (Deloitte ’22). Knowing that their employer also cares helps to create a positive work environment that employees feel proud to be a part of. Involvement in initiatives that align to their values can enhance general engagement and motivation.
• Demonstrate authenticity - Communication and transparency foster trust and ensure that employees feel informed on the journey, wherever you are on it.
• Increased commitment – Actively involving employees fosters a sense of ownership and commitment to the overall goals. This helps raise awareness and equips employees with the knowledge they need to contribute, support and champion. 
• Idea generation – Employees often have unique insights and ideas, so tapping into this valuable resource is important.
• Climate education – Businesses can play a critical role in climate education. Building awareness of sustainable office practices (however small) not only fosters a sense of collective responsibility but can often cascade into more sustainable personal habits outside of office life, increasing the overall impact.  

The communication of goals and actions extends beyond current employees to prospective candidates. In a candidate short market, making prospective candidates aware of your sustainability strategies can elevate talent attraction.

Within our research amongst 2,188 respondents from a cross-section of engineering & technology sectors, 35% cited that they would be heavily influenced during the hiring process by a company’s approach to the Environment / ED&I and/or Philanthropy.

From our experience, these factors are rarely discussed at interviews and not always fully available online, so businesses that have strong sustainability strategies but are not referencing them within the hiring process, may be missing out on talent.

By implementing communication and engagement strategies for both prospective and current employees, businesses can enhance their EVP and harness commitment and collective effort to drive meaningful change towards a more sustainable future.