Many organisations have sustainability and reaching net zero on their agenda for the year ahead. So, what involvement can HR have in supporting and enabling the achievement of these goals that are gaining momentum in workplaces?
Company values and drivers need to align to these overarching objectives, and companies updating their values to reflect the changing environmental challenges will see that they are better able to attract staff whose values align, providing a dual benefit of becoming an employer of choice, and achieving their objectives through joint values. By turning policies into practical and sustainable actions, employers help employees understand how they can affect the change day to day and engage in the drive to change.
A focus on sustainability should be woven into day-to-day activities, such as moving to green energy, encouraging staff to use public transport, providing parking for those who car share, introducing an electric vehicle scheme, and installing chargers, offsetting business flights, and potentially removing car allowances to reduce the carbon footprint of their operations.
Less obvious changes such as moving to paper free filing, planting trees in exchange for referring a friend rather than offering cash incentives, adopting hybrid working and conducting more meetings online, including recruitment interviews, and online learning can all help to move to a net zero position.
Employers that can demonstrate a lasting positive impact on the community by taking action on climate change will attract suppliers, customers, and employees more successfully.
Relatively minor changes to different areas of people management policy and practice can have a significant effect on reducing your carbon footprint.
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