Ethically dodgy companies aren’t only bad for the environment, they’re also bad at attracting good employees.
In a recent study, 67% of 16-24-year olds, the so-called Generation Z, said that a key factor when they were deciding which company to work for was how much a company was engaging with environmental and sustainability issues.
“The survey suggests that genuinely sustainable companies will attract and retain top global talent or risk potential employees, particularly those in the early stages of their career, voting with their feet for an employer that gives them a sense of purpose,” says Brad Blundell from sustainability consultants Anthesis who conducted the research.
Sam Mckee from ethicaljobseeker.co.uk, an online recruitment platform which specialises in jobs with a positive environmental or social purpose, agrees with Blundell that young people now are increasingly looking for ethically aware jobs:
“We’re seeing a significant increase in usage of the site and mostly this is from young people and recent graduates.” Mckee, who previously worked in mainstream recruitment, launched the site 12 months ago in response to the growing demand for ethically driven careers.
“Young people are now increasingly asking potential employers what they do for the environment and what their corporate social responsibility policies are,” says McKee who uses Ethical Consumer to screen all the companies advertising jobs on the site. “Plus, I genuinely think that Generation Z have got much more of a social conscience.”
“Climate change and the other big global environmental issues are definitely driving this increase in interest in these issues which in turn is leading to a demand for more ethical ways of doing business,” adds McKee.