We can all agree on the strategic imperative that sustainability has become for companies across the spectrum, big and small, retail or service-oriented, regulations, social demand, and the very state of our planet has pushed the market to ensure ESG is part of virtually every business decision.
However, such ESG considerations don’t always make it passed the C-suite or the sustainability department. This is, more often than not, a vast majority of employees are not even aware of the strategic ESG goals set by the company, and, consequently, don’t know how to contribute to the achievement of these sustainable milestones.
What you will find
From philanthropy to strategy
Although one could argue how social and environmental sustainability should have been a priority from the very birth of a given company, we cannot overlook the many nuances that have entered the market and completely changed it in a rather a short amount of time.
In this regard, organizations, much like individuals, have pursued better ways of doing business as new trends, ideas and regulations came their way. Just think about how philanthropy was once understood as the ultimate social corporate activity, and how the latter has evolved into CSR, sustainability, and, finally, ESG, loosing mostly all elements of altruism that used to define corporate social considerations.
Instead, sustainability and ESG have become an strategic imperative for all companies across the spectrum. And in this context, one can understand how and why companies’ C-Suites may have been, in a way, gatekeeping the company’s ESG strategy and objectives as a means to take ‘better’ and more control of a situation that has otherwise been in constant change for the last decades.
Engage employees in the sustainability strategy
Is your company's C-Suite gatekeeping ESG goals?
With this rather straightforward question we want to test the waters and take a deeper look into what many companies might be getting wrong about sustainability strategies and how to make them actually effective.
If we consider how important and complex sustainability matters have become for businesses, we may begin to understand why company managers and leaders would want to take as much control as possible over the strategies and objectives set out in regards to environmental, social and governance concerns.
However, in the process of gaining such control, they could risk gatekeeping their sustainability strategy in a way that prevents a vast majority of employees from contributing to the achievement of key ESG goals.
And so, what at first glance seems like a way to follow regulatory obligations to a T, avoid any reputational issues concerning deceiving sustainable messages, and build a strategy that checks out all necessary corporate boxes, may actually be counterproductive as it purposefully stays away from the very people who can actually make a difference in the way things are done on the daily.
Now, companies are left with two rather opposing choices; on the one hand, C-Suite level individuals may choose to keep strategic ESG issues to themselves, engaging solely those necessary, or, on the other hand, they may choose to communicate the company’s strategy to all employees and work collectively to find ways in which they can actively contribute to the achievement of sustainable milestones.
Introducing strategic sustainability in the workplace
Here we’d like to point out a key difference between practicing sustainability in the workplace, and introducing strategic sustainability among employees. This crucial difference is what can really set apart the effectiveness and progress of ESG goals from merely symbolic to actually impactful.
This is not to say that practicing sustainability in the workplace is not relevant or important; in fact, office practices such as recycling bins, reusable cups and bottles, reduced paper waste, or setting guidelines for energy consumption, are incredibly powerful tools to create awareness and educate employees.
Guide to employees’ sustainability training and active engagement
Nonetheless, these are just the beginning steps to a much impactful way to introduce sustainability in the workplace; in a way that it can become strategic to the company, as well as fulfilling and enriching to employees.
In the following section we will dive precisely in what sets apart a company that has established sustainable practices in their workplaces, from those which actually look for employees’ active collaboration and participation in the achievement of key strategic corporate ESG objectives.
Setting ESG goals for employees
As we’ve mentioned before, gatekeeping ESG goals and its progress, even if unintentionally, is a counterproductive way to try to maintain some power over the sustainability strategy. Often in fear of greenwashing claims or under the pressure of reporting, companies take employees out of the sustainable equation.
And although slowly introducing more sustainable ways to go around daily office endeavors is a legitimate effort to make things right, it is hardly impactful on the actual business metrics that matter most, such as ESG ratings, cost efficiencies or talent attraction and retention.
And what better way to actively engage employees in the sustainability strategy than to set specific ESG goals for them? That being individually or collectively, employees of all levels can have an immense impact in transforming the organization towards sustainability. At the end of the day, when managing a company, it all comes down to managing people, so why shouldn’t such a strategic element like sustainability not be considered worthy of employees’ time and effort?
But, enough theorizing about engaging employees, here are a few tips on how to effectively transform your workforce into key actors of the corporate ESG strategy:
- Build trust with communication: Introducing sustainability into employees’ tasks can be a bit of a hazard; with new knowledge and even skills being required, some may fall sceptic to participating. This is why open and transparent communication is necessary in an effort to gain employees’ trust. When companies are truthful and show employees’ that they are needed, and value their participation in changing the company for the better, fewer people will understand ESG goals as a chore, and rather take the challenge gladly.
- Find your ambassadors and enable autonomy: In the social context in which we find ourselves today, chances are many employees are already eager to start the sustainability journey. Find those people and enable their autonomy and leadership in sustainability matters, because, as a matter of fact, individuals will most likely follow colleagues over corporate. However, don’t be naive enough to leave managers out of the question, good leaders are extremely important to push through with new concerns such as ESG.
- Set the goals and provide the necessary tools: Sustainability is too broad a concept to leave it to the imagination. Through communication and ambassadors, companies should foster collaboration to help set the standards and goals in regards to broader corporate ESG objectives. Nonetheless, such a complex endeavor should be paired with the necessary tools employees might need, from formal training to useful softwares or technologies that help keep track of the progress made.
Here is how DoGood can boost your employees' engagement for a better ESG performance
In DoGood, we aim to simplify the complex web of sustainability objectives for companies by offering a platform that translates the high-level ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) objectives into actionable tasks for every single employee.
Then, each employee not only knows how to make an impact but also feels empowered to contribute meaningfully to the greater sustainable strategy.
No more vague directives. No confusion. DoGood automates the process, making it seamless for the workforce to know precisely what steps to take.
