Sustainability Initiatives and their Increasing Importance to Job Seekers

Sustainability has long been hailed as a key component for many business strategies and touted as a key factor of importance when job hunters are reviewing their options.

But in 2024, is it now becoming increasingly important for companies to improve their sustainability efforts now that Millennials and Gen Z employees will make up the majority of our workforce over the next 10 years?

Our research suggests that this is certainly the way things are going, with data highlighting that between 2019 and 2023, the percentage of employees who were satisfied with their employer’s societal impact had decreased by 6% in Gen Z and 4% in Millennials, and even that 40% of Gen Z and Millennial workers would look to move organisations based on their environmental policies. With these trends set to persist, organisations will certainly need to continue to engage in sustainability efforts.

In this article we’ll be delving into the evolving sustainability trends and customer attitudes that we’ve been discussing with our clients and seeing in the industry, as well as providing you examples of strategic sustainability initiatives that businesses operating in the UK market should be looking to implement.

Sustainability Trends 

While we’ve been exploring the market and looking at what our clients have been doing around sustainability and improving their sustainable credentials, we’ve noted the following trends in sustainability habits:

The rise of the circular economy

We’re seeing an increase in practices around the concept of the circular economy, which emphasises minimising waste and maximising the use of existing resources.

The UN is even in the process of implementing a global treaty to end plastic pollution, which will have huge impacts on how products are used and produced. Businesses are therefore increasingly adopting practices such as product refurbishment, recycling initiatives, and the use of sustainable materials to reduce their environmental footprint.

Carbon neutrality commitments

Many companies are continuing to pledge to achieve carbon neutrality or to significantly reduce their carbon emissions. This is leading to the adoption of renewable energy sources, carbon offsetting initiatives and the implementation of more sustainable transport options.

Focus on ethical sourcing

Consumers have been demanding greater transparency and ethical sourcing practices from brands and companies. This is leading to increasing pressure on businesses to ensure fair labour practices, the removal of deforestation from their supply chains as well as the need to ensure they are supporting their local communities.

Tech-driven sustainability solutions

Technology continues to play a crucial role in driving sustainability efforts, with innovations such as blockchain enabling transparent supply chains. Data remains critical in understanding and analysing an organisation’s sustainability metrics and AI will potentially have transformative impacts on improving output efficiencies and therefore could even improve profit margins. Also, AI could support the existing push for the use of monitoring technology to help with the reduction of carbon emissions.

Customer attitudes 

When looking at how companies are approaching sustainability and their product offerings, we’ve noticed that today’s customer feels empowered to avoid brands and businesses that don’t align with their values, and sustainability is a key metric they look at here.

We’ve noticed this trend in particular having a direct impact on the recruitment industry as Sanderson has seen an increasing interest in sustainability through our RFPs.

Here are some of the current customer attitudes towards sustainability:

Growing environmental consciousness

There has been a notable shift in consumer attitudes, with an increasing number of individuals prioritising environmentally friendly products and companies that demonstrate a commitment to sustainability. Gen Z and Millennials are known for supporting brands that demonstrate a genuine commitment to sustainability.

Demand for transparency

Consumers are now more informed than ever and expect brands to be transparent about their sustainability practices. They actively seek out information on product origins, environmental impact, and corporate social responsibility initiatives.

Preference for purpose-drive brands

Brands that align with consumers’ values and actively contribute to social and environmental causes are favoured.

What does this mean for businesses like yours? 

These attitudes and trends have shown that environmental policies and sustainability initiatives are of key importance to customer demand and favour. It is therefore imperative for organisations to protect present and future revenue by placing sustainability at the forefront of their identity and strategy.

Strategies your business could implement

Below we explore some strategic insights and suggest strategies that you could start implementing to ensure your business is taking your commitment to sustainability seriously and remains an attractive option for environmentally conscious candidates.

Embed sustainability into your brand identity

Incorporating sustainability into your brand’s core values is key. Companies should then communicate these values consistently across all their marketing channels. Authenticity is key, so ensure that sustainability initiatives are genuine and aligned with your brand’s mission.

Educate and engage your customers

Look to provide transparent information about your sustainability efforts, including product sourcing, manufacturing processes, and your environmental impact. You can then look to engage your customer and community through storytelling and marketing campaigns to raise awareness and foster a sense of connection.

Collaborate for impact

Collective action is essential for addressing complex sustainability challenges effectively, so why not look to collaborate with stakeholders across your supply chain and industry partners to amplify your sustainability efforts and drive systemic change. We’ve seen that some organisations have chosen to run green challenges to improve engagement on environmental issues.

Innovate for sustainability

Embrace innovation and leverage technology to help you develop sustainable products, processes, and business models. You could even look to stay ahead of evolving consumer expectations and regulatory requirements by investing in research and development tools, or putting an emphasis on sustainability teams within your business which will help create exciting new career paths for graduates and the younger workforce.

Concluding thoughts

From everything we’ve discussed, it’s clear that sustainability has evolved from a niche concern to a mainstream priority in the UK market, and that there is a huge drive by younger generations to prioritise it.

It is also clear that businesses that proactively integrate sustainability into their business and marketing strategies stand to gain a competitive advantage, foster consumer trust, and contribute to positive societal and environmental outcomes. By embracing sustainability as a guiding principle, companies can not only drive growth but also make a meaningful difference in building a more sustainable future. We hope these strategy examples are useful and would love to chat about them further with you if you’re after some advice.

The Sanderson approach to sustainability

At Sanderson, we are committed to achieving Net Zero by 2050 and our corporate responsibility to climate change is critical to our future plans. You can find out more about our commitment to being a responsible business here.

Recently, the Sanderson Projects team attended an APM event on ‘Sustainability in Project Management’. This talk provided an engaging insight into layering sustainability into Project Delivery. It served as a reminder that Climate Change continues to have a significant impact on today’s world and we all collectively have a responsibility to improve our carbon emissions to create a better future. You can find out more about our key takeaways from the event in this blog.

Get in touch 

Should you be interested in hearing a little bit more about this, please feel free to reach out and we can connect. We would be very happy to put you in touch with one of our consultants to discuss your current sustainability policy and we can support you in finding ways to improve this.

We’d love to hear from you.

References:

[1] UK Government: Sustainability Policies and Initiatives

[2] Nielsen Report: Consumer Trends in Sustainability

[3] McKinsey & Company: The Business Case for Sustainability

[4] Global Reporting Initiative: Sustainability Reporting Standards

[5] Dyson: 2023 Gen Z and Millennial Survey

[6] PWC: How ai can enable a sustainable future

[7] HRD: Embedding sustainability into your organizations benefits in 2024

[8] PWC: Sustainability reporting 2024: What is coming and actions you can take

[9] SPGlobal: Key 2024 sustainability trends driving the year ahead

[10] PA Consulting: Green jobs of the future: Meeting the demand-supply gap

[11] SP Global: Key 2024 sustainability trends driving the year ahead

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