The colour that matters Here’s why green jobs are vital for industry, the economy and the Earth

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) defines green jobs as "positions in agriculture, manufacturing, research and development (R&D), administrative, and service activities aimed at substantially preserving or restoring environmental quality." Green jobs are roles that make possible “...bringing about and maintaining a transition to environmentally sustainable forms of production and consumption in our day-to-day living.” These could be jobs in businesses that provide services or produce goods that benefit the environment or help conserve our natural resources. Green jobs, in essence, help make the world a better place!

Why should we care about green jobs? What is in it for business leaders, CxOs and entrepreneurs? There are many reasons why green jobs are vital for businesses to build, nurture and grow in their organisations. Let us examine some important ones:

• Compliance: As the world economy looks to build a more sustainable future for our planet, governments and international organisations such as the United Nations have mandated Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for countries and corporations. Compliance with environmental, social and governance (ESG) mandates and related guidelines is becoming increasingly important for businesses to secure government contracts or even stay on the right side of the law.

  Businesses can no longer pay just lip service to ESG; compliance must go deeper. Sample the mandate in India to follow Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting (BRSR): this non-financial reporting encompasses environmental conservation, social impact, sustainable development and governance for sustainability. Companies are evaluated on their impact on the environment, covering areas like GHG emissions, water usage and waste generation. It is now mandatory for the top 1000 Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)-listed companies to be BRSR compliant.

• Branding: Companies, whether B2B, B2C or any other variant, go to great lengths to preserve their brand positioning and reputation. In today’s interconnected world, brands can be made and destroyed in hours. Acquiring a green or sustainable image is vital for brands, particularly those in key areas such as lifestyle, fashion, travel, logistics or transportation. Building and sustaining such a ‘green image’ can take many man-hours of effort, and green jobs can be a part of this.

• Common sense: As nations across the globe realise the deadly impact of greenhouse gas emissions and climate change enters the realm of distinct reality from being a possibility, it makes sense for companies to tread the green path. With many renewable energy sources and green technologies becoming more financially viable, there has never been a better time to ‘go green’ in their strategic plans and take concrete steps such as ‘hire green’ tactically.

How does one get started? A well-worn adage says, well begun is half done. To begin the ‘hire green’ initiative, here are some simple steps HR leaders and recruitment specialists can undertake:

1. Look inward and identify existing green jobs: Many roles that already exist may, in fact, be ‘green’ in nature. For instance, consider roles in site maintenance, procurement or even transportation, where personnel are implementing green policies. Procurement personnel may be following guidelines to purchase sustainable equipment and services for the company and may be quite knowledgeable about sustainability practices. Such roles may need little or no change to be counted among the ‘green jobs’.
2. Look forward and identify new green jobs: Is your company considering putting up a new greenfield plant? Are you expanding into new product or service lines where sustainability is an important consideration? Are you expanding to new geographies where compliance with local green requirements may require ‘hiring green’? When you examine the company’s overall strategic goals going forward, you may be able to identify new green positions that need to be created.
3. Look outward to hire green: Look at the marketplace, among competitors, collaborators, partners, suppliers and other stakeholders in your ecosystem. Many of them may be performing activities that are complementary or similar to those of your organisation. Examples are supply chain, logistics, product development, quality, procurement and similar divisions.
4. Look backward and correct course: Examine your enterprise’s history to see any deviations or non-compliance with green mandates. Identifying, recruiting for and nurturing green roles may be a good way to course correct and ensure compliance. For example, the pharmaceutical industry needs to have enormous regulatory and environmental considerations in drug discovery and development. Examination of such workflows may throw up opportunities to improve sustainability practices.
5. Go green with your recruitment process and practices: Here’s a final tip for HR leaders going green: from candidate selection to onboarding, it is time to evaluate how to go green within your organisation. This is an opportunity to take a step back and evaluate your recruitment practices. You can plan to actively reduce paper usage by using digital technologies and tools. Virtual interviewing is a giant step towards reducing the carbon footprint of your company’s recruitment, minimising the need for travel and making the hiring process more economical and efficient.

Couple these broad guidelines with the laws and regulations pertaining to your country, region or local area, as well as those that govern your industry and sphere of activity. Gather your key division heads and HR leaders and plan working sessions to build and nurture a ‘hire green strategy’ for your organisation. Whether on-campus or off, remote roles or not, green can form a significant part of your hiring goals.

It is time to go green in recruitment! Green is indeed the future. Green is also the colour of profitability and prosperity that benefits all.

References

• sdgs.un.org
• sebi.gov.in
• unevoc.unesco.org
• novoresume.com
• economictimes.indiatimes.com
• business-standard.com