Organisations failing to think about sustainability risk losing talent and competitive advantage, not in the future, but now.

People are increasingly concerned about sustainability. In fact, a recent survey by PwC revealed that 86% of young employees would consider leaving an employer whose corporate responsibility behaviour no longer meets their expectations. This might appear to be the view of an idealistic group, but it certainly highlights a trend.

It’s clear that employees are increasingly expecting more from employers when it comes to sustainability. Organisations that recognise the trend have an opportunity to integrate their sustainability programmes with their employees for mutual benefit. So what part do your people play in sustainability and how can sustainability be used as a tool to lift engagement?

In the past, the popular ways to work towards sustainability has included introducing policies, adjusting supply chains and funding new sustainability linked plant and equipment – often at great cost. But without an impetus on changing the behaviour of employees towards sustainability, this can look like little more than green wash – to both customers and employees. At the same time, these initiatives are not likely to lift engagement because there is little personal involvement by employees in the company’s decisions and activities.

Real change is achieved when there is encouragement from leadership and when it becomes second nature for employees to consider the long term impact of their decisions – from supply chain buying decisions that positively impact on a foreign community to taking personal responsibility for reducing workstation energy usage.

There are many advantages to this change:

• scale of change often results in significant costs savings
• there are tax advantages to be had for both the employee and the organisation across a range of initiatives
• employees feel that they and their company are operating sustainably

This final point has the greatest chance of transforming a company. Employees that believe in their company and have the opportunity to be personally involved in uplifting programmes are more likely to be engaged in their work. And we know the advantages of engaged employees: loyalty, retention of skills, reduced recruitment costs, an improved employer brand, innovation and productivity – which all drive greater profitability.

The PwC approach

PwC’s approach to people and sustainability is multifaceted. We not only consult on the supply chain and other resource decisions typically expected of a sustainability consultancy, but we also consider the employee side. We advise on the role an organisation’s leadership has in encouraging sustainable behaviours and the HR tools at the disposal of the organisation, such as communication, altered work practices, employee volunteering programmes and reward systems.

Engaging all employees to make positive change isn’t easy. Our experience involves understanding the needs of various members of the employee group – from young graduates, who will only work with an organisation whose sustainability ideals meet their own, through to the cynics who see sustainability initiatives as green wash – more for image than substance.

We often encounter companies that have unconsciously implemented positive sustainability change. Our consultants can help to assess what has already been implemented to see how employees could help improve initiatives as well as highlighting to the employee community the organisation’s overall investment in sustainability.

Only then do we assess what more a company can do to meet sustainability objectives, engage staff and often, save money.

To find out more, please visit http://www.pwc.co.uk/eng/services/people_and_sustainability.html