Aileen MacMillan

On March 29, people around the world participated in Earth Hour – one hour during which non-essential lights and appliances are unplugged in an effort to draw attention to environmental issues. For me, this hour acted as a reminder of how many appliances I use unnecessarily. Similarly, some companies are looking at their resource use in an effort to identify waste and cut costs.

These and other efforts to “green” business seem to be accelerating. For example, Wal Mart now requires that its supply chain members meet certain sustainability standards. Although “green” initiatives are often thought of in terms of how the customer will respond, the impact of this initiative is largely felt by the B2B community. This may be reflective of the current reality. In a 2007 Financial Times article, Martin Gibson suggests that concern about environmental performance is stronger in the “business-to-business and business-to-government markets” than in the consumer realm.

Sustainability initiatives can take a number of forms, but some of the potential benefits can include a reduction in costs due to more efficient use of resources, strengthened employee engagement and an improved ability to attract and retain top talent. Employee innovation can also take companies into new markets – some of which may be related to the environment.

But has the role of HR been clearly defined when it comes to sustainability? Judah Schiller describes a “H.R.-meets-sustainability” niche during a Green-Biz interview about company greening. In the interview, Schiller describes how Saatchi and Saatchi S' focused on “really listening to the people and building it from the ground up” when working with Wal Mart on the Personal Sustainability Project. Similarly, Gibson writes in the Financial Times that the “key to this whole life cycle approach is changing behavior and the way people approach problems.”

Sustainability efforts involve HR in some of the following ways:

-To achieve full cost savings by eliminating unnecessary resource use, all employees must be involved and engaged in the effort.

- Environmental initiatives and corporate social responsibility impact organizational pride and community standing. According to the Great Place To Work® model, pride “in the organization’s products and standing in the community” is one aspect of a Great Place to Work®.

-Adopting the principles of environmental sustainability can positively impact employee productivity. Bob Willard cites statistics during his HR.com webcast that show employee productivity can increase by up to 10.5%.

-Communicating about environmental initiatives may have a positive impact when recruiting. Home Depot, McDonald’s and Dow Chemical Co. all highlight company environmental initiatives during the recruiting process, writes Scott Flanders in Human Resource Executive Online. In the same article, “Kurt Ronn, president of HRworks, an Atlanta-based recruiter for large companies” is quoted as saying that “for many job candidates, a company's environmental record "can be a tipping point.”

-David A. Smith cites statistics in The Future of Companies from the Carnegie Institution in Stanford and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory that estimate “shifting the world onto a low-carbon path could eventually benefit the global economy by $2.5 trillion a year. By 2050, markets for low-carbon technologies could be worth at least $500bn.”

The following websites provide resources and information related to company greening:

Envirowise: http://www.envirowise.gov.uk/home

Resource Venture: http://www.resourceventure.org/case-studies/success-stories/

State of Green Business 2008: http://www.stateofgreenbusiness.com/

Business Alliance for Local Living Economies: http://www.livingeconomies.org/

10 Green Giants: http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/fortune/0703/gallery.green_giants.fortune/index.html

References:

“Business Opportunity in Citizenship and Sustainability Issues Exist, but Few Can Capitalize.” The Conference Board. [www.conference-board.org]. November 9, 2006.

Flander, Scott. “A Hire Calling.” Human Resource Executive Online [www.hreonline.com]. September 1, 2007.

Herrera, Tide. “Tapping the Potential Within an Inspired Workforce.” Green-Biz Radio [www.GreenBiz.com]. Obtained March 28, 2008.

Gibson, Martin. “Recycling is not the answer.” Financial Times [www.ft.com]. October 12, 2007.

Great Place to Work Institute®. “Our Model©” [www.greatplacetowork.com], Obtained March 29, 2008.

Huff, Charlotte. “Green Recruiting Helps Bring in Top Talent.” Workforce Management [www.workforce.com]. August 2007.

Smith, David A. The Future of Companies. Global Futures and Foresight and Shirlaws, 2007.

Sustainable Life Media. “Companies Overlook CSR as Selling Point for Prospective Employees” [www.sustainablelifemedia.com]. February 13, 2008.

Willard, Bob. Reality HR Interview with Bob Willard: How the Adoption of the Principles of Sustainability Affect Organizational Performance. HR.com, Aurora, ON, May 3, 2005.