ISO 14001 and Recruitment: What matters to people

29 Oct, 2019

Of course, there will always be job hunters of all ages above 16 years old, but thanks to the generational shift, the next flurry of CVs coming through your doors, figuratively speaking, will be a specific group of youths, who value their – well, values. So, what exactly are people valuing now? The answer – their futures. Then the next generation’s futures. Then the next. It’s no secret that nearly everybody is aware of the climate crisis, and it’s no secret why. It’s not only taken over our media headlines, but fueled the multiple climate strikes this year.

The rise of Corporate Social Responsibility in the 1950s inspired change in businesses. Then came further changes down the line in the 1970s, when both the Clean Air Act and Safe Drinking Water Act were introduced. If we fast forward to the present – published on the Government website in October this year is information about environmental updates, which talk about how it ‘will put the environment at the centre of policy making’ and ‘make sure that we have a cleaner greener and more resilient country for the next generation’.

In a simpler setting, people demonstrating what they care about include examples like, buying from cosmetic brands that are vegan or buying from charity or thrift shops to live a more sustainable lifestyle, yet remain or even become icons and influencers. In fact, a 2017 survey showed that 81% of Gen Z-ers would stop buying brands and spread the word about campaigns they thought were overly aggressive, 79% if they were racist, and 76% if they were homophobic.

Potential employees are going to seek workplaces that mirror their beliefs in some way. Buying a product from a more ethical source isn’t the same as choosing a career, however. Why? Your job is somewhere that you go or something that you do day after day. A career is something that reflects your interests, your values and your talents. With that in mind, why should people choose your company?

Practicing eco-friendly processes within your business goes from little things you might not even think about, such as buying recycled toner and ink to reduce the amount of materials going to landfill, to things like investing in energy saving appliances for the workplace. These are things that may not seem important, but not only do they all add up and save businesses a lot of money over time, but they show a forward thinking company ethos, and awareness of what needs to be done now in order to be successful still, in the future.

So, the burning question regarding something that was briefly mentioned in the beginning: what’s the truth? There are many, many ways businesses can look into making their activity have less of a negative impact to protect our beautiful planet. For example, reducing your amount of printing by using the double-sided option and potentially halving your paper consumption. Another example would be considering flexible working to cut out unnecessary travel where possible, and providing filtered water for staff so to eliminate the need for people to buy bottled water. The second, burning question: what’s realistic? Only some companies are, and only some will try to make an effort to practice good environmental management, but all can…

If your business wants to get ahead of the game you should really be considering implementing the Internationally Recognised ISO 14001 Environmental Management system. This world renowned management standard will not only help your business to have less of a negative impact on the environment, reduce your costs, help you comply with existing legal and regulatory requirements and be prepared and able to deal with future updates, but will also put your company in a great position from a recruitment aspect, and most likely an employee retention aspect as well.