Sustainability training for employees: Benefits and tips
More organizations have ESG goals. But if leaders are overlooking employee education, success is unlikely. Here's why sustainability training matters and how to get it right.
Organizational sustainability success depends on employees.
Each employee has a critical role in supporting an organization's environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives. But to execute that role, they need to understand -- in actionable terms -- how to lower their negative environmental impact, avoid legal risk, spot supply chain issues and otherwise support organizational ESG.
That requires training.
As in other realms, best practices for sustainability and ESG training exist. But course creators and educators need to understand how to customize that training and deliver it how and where it's needed.
Benefits of sustainability training for employees
In this day and age, when ESG legislation is growing, companies can't afford to lag on sustainability progress.
Training helps employees understand why their company is prioritizing sustainability, said Maisie Ganzler, strategic advisor at the Bon Appétit Management Company, an on-site restaurant company based in Palo Alto, Calif.
Training also helps employees communicate the organization's sustainability strategy to others, Ganzler said.
"They need to be able to explain it to customers so that customers understand what you're trying to accomplish, and you get credit for it," she said.
Training of any kind -- including that focused on sustainability and ESG -- gives employees a more holistic view of their role in an organization, said Dan Versace, senior research analyst for ESG Business Services at IDC, a research and advisory firm headquartered in Needham, Mass.
"If you can show an employee that what they're doing today is benefiting a much higher purpose than just the bottom line of the organization they work for, it's almost like a tertiary or quaternary financial benefit to them," Versace said.
That feeling leads to higher employee engagement and increased efficiencies, he said.
The need to focus on sustainability is growing, and that means training is becoming more important as well so employees understand how to support ESG initiatives.
10 ESG and sustainability training tips for success
Sustainability practices often call for behavioral changes that aren't easy, especially to start. For example, companies might institute more sustainable practices such as using greener coding practices to minimize energy intensity, using devices for longer to lower costs and e-waste, asking employees to bring in reusable mugs and dishes instead of using single-use ones destined for landfill, and adding a compost service at work to lower the amount of carbon emissions from food waste. Such changes are unlikely to come naturally to employees. IT-focused strategic changes, such as using renewable energy to power data centers, might require even more mindset and behavioral shifts. That's why education requires considered forethought.
Here are some ESG training best practices to consider.
Start with the "why"
Leaders need to start by sharing why a company is now focusing on sustainability and why education is important. On the global front, climate change is creating scorching temperatures in many parts of the world and more extreme weather. Companies can help address these issues.
From a risk perspective, companies are increasingly being held accountable for sustainability requirements even as ESG reporting challenges grow.
Closer to the frontline, employees may not be aware of ways they can help support an organization's sustainability efforts -- or why doing so even matters.
ESG training can address those issues.
"The training needs to create the context of why we are doing it -- the motivation -- and how we're going to move forward," said Michael Nates, managing director of Multiverse Consultants, an ESG and sustainability, change management and transformation consultancy based in Bushey, England, U.K. "And then [how employees can] support us as part of our journey."
In other words, ESG and sustainability training should start with context around why the company is offering the training, the parameters of the corporate sustainability initiatives and why it's important for employees to support sustainability strategy.
Begin with the basics
While the terms sustainability and ESG are often used interchangeably, employees should learn about the history behind them, Versace said. General education on climate change, greenhouse gas emissions and social issues could also fall under this basic training.
Here are some other educational areas employees might find beneficial:
Basics are important, but sustainability and ESG training should also align with organizational strategy and be developed in the context of that.
If employees at a software platform developer are given a two-hour presentation on how paper mills are depleting coniferous forests, chances are the message won't stick, Versace said. Instead, companies should develop a curriculum that is material to them -- as well as those they do business with.
Macro issues are worth examining, but educators need to connect them to organizational practices and what the materiality assessment uncovered.
"It's very important to understand that sustainability and ESG extends beyond the direct operations of your organization and connects to its partners, its value chain and its supply chain," Versace said.
Make training role-specific
Along the same lines, employees need to understand how a company's sustainability and ESG initiatives apply to their specific roles.
"What is material to someone in the finance department is going to be different than what's material to someone in procurement," Versace said.
What is material to someone in the finance department is going to be different than what's material to someone in procurement.
Dan VersaceSenior research analyst, ESG Business Services at IDC
Versace uses himself as an example: As an analyst, he can contribute to decreasing his firm's emissions by limiting the number of tabs he has open on his browser, using fewer data-intensive models and reducing the number of times he queries AI throughout the day -- all in the interest of consuming less electricity. A procurement professional in another organization could more directly focus on examining whether suppliers they work with are polluting the ocean and posing dangers to marine life.
"Getting to that level of granularity is where you'll see the best results from an organizational perspective," Versace said.
In many cases, the changes an employee makes to improve sustainability may seem incredibly small, he said. But when done again and again, they can add up to have a major impact.
Start the employee journey with sustainability training
Adding an ESG training component to the recruitment and training process can help organizations gain a competitive edge.
"ESG training starts at the point of recruitment so that people are thinking about these issues when they're considering coming to work for your company," Ganzler said.
And it should continue throughout the onboarding process, she added. This could include messaging in the employee handbook that not only outlines what the organization is renowned for, but also states its commitment to applying socially responsible practices, for example.
Conduct passive training
Sustainability and ESG training can be embedded in other employee education initiatives.
As a former food industry executive, Ganzler cited the example of a newly hired chef in charge of designing a new menu. During the onboarding process, that individual learned that one important way to reduce carbon emissions is to serve less beef and cheese and propose more plant-based options. This training also explained the science behind the major greenhouse gas emissions related to cow and pig farming. This is active training.
As an example of passive training: During a conversation about food costs, a chef could be shown reference sample menus. Without necessarily stating the issues outright, these menus would be heavy on plant-based dishes, with fewer items featuring beef or pork. Using the plant-heavy menus would subconsciously reinforce what a more sustainable menu looks like.
"When you're designing any training, think: How can I weave sustainability into this training even if it's not -- on the face of it -- about sustainability?" Ganzler said.
Practice what you preach
Business leaders need to examine their own behavior through the lens of ESG strategy.
One of the risks of providing sustainability and ESG training is that employees will hold their employer to its promises, Versace said.
Once employees have training on climate, humanitarian and other sustainability-related issues that are facing the world at large right now, they will be looking to the organization to uphold good practices, he said.
"[If you] don't change anything, you risk losing employee engagement [and] efficiency," he said.
Employees are attuned to hypocrisy.
"The biggest issue you have is when you've got leadership saying one thing and doing something else," Nates said.
For example, leaders may preach sustainable procurement, but in reality purchasing is based solely on price, he said. Or decisions are focused on short-term gain rather than long-term strategy. Or the CEO mandates that everyone follow environmentally responsible practices, but then takes a private jet to get to a meeting 100 miles away.
"At that point people say, 'why bother?'" Nates said.
Use ongoing ESG and sustainability training to inspire employees
HR, managers and leaders should view training as an ongoing process.
Everyone should be following sustainability and ESG best practices throughout the daily course of work, Ganzler said. Sustainability should be baked into all work processes.
Tailor material to the audience
For people with expertise in a given area, it can be hard to remember what it felt like to be a beginner. But learning about the causes of climate change or what constitutes green computing best practices isn't easy.
When developing educational materials for employees, course creators should strive to deliver concepts in a digestible way, Ganzler said.
"Use conversational language that breaks down the goals and the tasks in a way that everybody can understand," she said.
Focus on action -- and be truthful
Most people are at least peripherally aware of modern sustainability challenges due to media coverage of issues such as havoc-wreaking climate-related events and social justice violations. And most know that businesses are a part of these issues. Such complexity makes navigating and educating on ESG initiatives tricky. Part of the answer lies in using honest communication and focusing on actions.
Doom and gloom news tends to make people feel small and ineffectual, and take a "why bother" attitude. Instead, focus on proactive action, though in a manner that does not veer into greenwashing.
It's important to resist focusing on all the negative aspects of climate change almost exclusively -- especially when the company is responsible for producing significant carbon emissions, Ganzler said.
"I'm not saying that you should sweep that under the rug and pretend that it doesn't exist, but you need to show your team a path forward to a better place," she said.
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