Blog Post: Going Green can Assist with Recruiting Efforts

We’ve all been hearing so much lately about “going green.”  I had to investigate a little further to see what people see as the business benefits of doing so.  Here are a few themes based on opinions, brief history and a few surveys.

1.        Attracting Talent – One survey (Ipsos Morey) I saw said 81% of people in the United States would prefer working for a company that has a reputation for environmental responsibility.  As the workforce gets younger you’ll have more Generation Y employees who definitely have an affinity for the recent green trend.  Other articles opined that if people feel good about their employer’s level of social responsibility they are bound to be happier and thus more productive.

2.        Reputation – Of course, reputation plays a part in recruiting but other areas of the business can benefit as well.  The community in general will increasingly prefer to support and purchase products from socially responsible organizations.  Suppliers may begin showing favoritism.  Partnerships may be forges based on the notion of being green.

3.        Risk – Lawmakers are bound to increase restrictions on waste, pollution levels, etc.  By starting good programs now companies who do so will be ahead of the curve and will avoid last minute expensive projects to get up to code in the future.  Think EPA.

4.        Bottom Line – Of course, more productive employees and additional sales because of green efforts will help the bottom line.  Surprising to me was that many articles cited costs are lower for companies who go green.  They talk about using less energy and creating less waste.  I’m not completely sold on lower costs but I do sense additional revenues especially in the next 5-10 years.  Companies who don’t get on board now will definitely have some catching up to do.