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Some employers are responding to the threat of the climate crisis by doubling down on all things green—including green talent.
“You can take ‘green’ a lot of different ways, but the purest version of what’s green is that it is leading to environmental or sustainability initiatives,” Mindy Schestag, VP of growth markets and strategic initiatives at ManpowerGroup, told HR Brew. “There’s a spectrum, there’s the very pure view of a 100% green job that is focused on sustainability or the environment. And then you’ve got all these other jobs that have skills required or a role that they play related to sustainability.”
Some 70% of global employers are currently recruiting or planning to recruit green talent. While renewable energy, manufacturing, operations, and IT are among the industries where such talent is in the highest demand, according to data from ManpowerGroup, Schestag said employers across the board are recruiting for these roles.
“There are very specific industries that are all about sustainability,” she said. “But there are also many jobs outside of those verticals. Think about consumer goods, for example. Anybody can manufacture toilet paper, it’s been around forever. But now you have to start to think about how you package it, what it’s made of, and the company has to think about its own sustainability goals. So, there are roles that will be green across all industries.”
The bigger picture. In addition to creating green jobs, HR can consider other ways to incorporate the organization’s commitment to the environment into recruiting practices. Doing so can factor into where a candidate chooses to work.
Indeed, 60% of the workers surveyed by ManpowerGroup said “clear and visible action to address environmental issues” would have a positive impact on their decision to work for an employer. More than one-half said “leaders vocal about commitment to environmental responsibility” (54%) and “ambitious company environmental targets” (52%) would have the same effect.
“HR professionals should really be thinking about how they represent themselves to new hires,” Schestag said. “So, even if the role itself doesn’t require green skills, the employee value proposition is something that we’re finding is going to be really important, especially as the workforce turns over and baby boomers are retiring. There is sentiment from younger employees that the environment and sustainability are much more important to them.”