Sustainability is a deal breaker for nearly 20% of UK workers

As the climate crisis continues to evolve and its effects are felt more directly every day, individuals are doing what they can in their own lives to help solve the problem.

A recent study by SaveMoneyCutCarbon shows UK workers are taking a stand – not by organized demonstration, but simply through individual decision making.

Nearly 10 million UK workers wholly refuse to apply for jobs with companies perceived as unsustainable. Another 7.5 million have taken sustainability ‘into their own hands’ in the workplace, creating green initiatives and awareness at their offices all on their own, without the help of company leadership.

Another 22% of workers, 11.7 million people, won’t support other businesses that don’t have sustainability at the center of their brand.

And this trend will only expand. As younger generations enter the labor market, companies that don’t center sustainability will find it more difficult to fill vacant roles.

According to a recent Deloitte survey, 40% of Gen Z and Millennials have switched or plan to switch industries due to sustainability and climate concerns.

“Working at a company without a meaningful plan to reduce its environmental impact is simply a no-go for many job seekers,” said Mark Sait, CEO and founder of SaveMoneyCutCarbon.

Employers need to adjust, and it starts with HR

To attract and retain talent in the modern labor market, employers need to create and advertise commitments to green objectives, but solving climate change and the adjustments necessary to do so are not cheap.

It’s up to HR to begin reconciling environmentally friendly employee desires and the profit-first goals of most corporations, acting as a mediator between employee and employer.

The truth is that ultimately, with the cost of ‘climate quitting‘ and the societal price of pollutants, it is more cost effective for companies to go green; many just can’t see it.

HR leaders need to show company leaders that the only way to continue business into the modern world is by meeting that world’s needs.

“In order to guard against this phenomenon effectively, businesses can’t knock back a few painkillers – they need to treat the root cause,” continued Sait.