Sustainability has become increasingly important to Gen Z when it comes to their career choices. Eighty percent of U.S. Gen Z workers want to work for a company that has a positive impact on the world, and 46 percent say that their company’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) policies are essential.
As 30 percent of the workforce will be Gen Z by next year, companies must demonstrate that sustainability is integral to their business model to attract and retain the next generation of top talent, or risk losing them to greener pastures.
What it means to have a sustainable career
Just as our everyday consumer choices bring us closer or further from sustainability, our career choices can as well. So, how does one define a sustainability job or a sustainability-focused career?
Sustainability-oriented jobs are not limited to those positions that contain the word “green,” “ESG,” “responsible,” “environment,” “social,” or “sustainability” in the job title. Instead, we can incorporate the principles of sustainable development into any job and career move.
There are four pillars of sustainable development. Independent of sector, geographical region, and job tasks, they make up the foundation for individuals and businesses alike to achieve sustainability concretely:
1. Society
Ensuring societal wellbeing needs, such as liveable wages and healthy working conditions are met.
2. The environment
Adopting practices that are most favourable to the planet’s health and ecosystems
3. The economy
Ensuring that a product or service provides good value for money, taking into account environmental and social costs like pollution
4. Future generations
Having a long-term outlook about what future generations may need and want beyond what is tangible today.
People are realising they don’t have to have a ‘green’ job to make a positive difference. As a result, meeting these sustainable development pillars is now a make-or-break for organisations when it comes to recruiting, retaining, and engaging their workforce.
If Gen Z staff feel that their jobs do not align with sustainable development objectives, they are more likely to quit and seek employment elsewhere that does. A 2021 Net Impact report, which summarized a survey of 1,600+ respondents from 65 different nationalities, found that 52 percent of workers have considered leaving their job due to their employer’s poor social and environmental impact performance.
Career choices are often centred around the following three elements: location, sector, and role. For example, one can work for a sustainability-focused fintech in Brazil as a marketing manager. One could also work for a pharmaceutical company in India as a green chemist. But people are realising they can easily chop and change these elements, especially maintaining two while pivoting on one – what’s to stop the India-based chemist from working in Brazil, or the Brazil-based marketing expert from shifting to work on green chemistry?
Ultimately, when organisations offer careers that have a positive impact on people and the planet, staff are more likely to stay. Seventy-five percent of U.S. executives believe ESG initiatives have a positive impact on employee engagement. A 2024 survey by Culture Amp found that employees at companies deemed genuinely committed to sustainability reported a 16 percent increase in engagement levels.
Integrating sustainable development into every career and organisation
Sustainable development is a critical component for HR departments to create fulfilling careers and form incentives for exceptional performance. So, how can HR better integrate social, environmental, economic, and intergenerational equity principles into the foundations of their organisations?
Whether working in an office space or a factory, employees use products and services to complete their tasks, and these can be made sustainable through effective supply chain management. The coffee and tea in the corner of the office can be organic and fair trade. The ink in the pen and the pulp in the paper can also be purchased eco-friendly and socially responsible. Work with partners that exemplify justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. Ensure that employee retirement savings options are ESG-friendly by default. Choose a corporate bank that is fossil fuel-free, aligned with sustainability goals, and invests in planet-friendly projects.
These are just a handful of example decisions that will make sustainability visible to staff, motivating them to perform at a high level with the knowledge that their career and the organisation are having a positive impact.
