'Sustainability training is great for impacting employee wellbeing, as well as organizational commitment to ESG initiatives,' expert says
Recently, a major financial institution in New Zealand announced it had implemented a sustainability learning program for employees following a successful pilot run last year.
The initiative is meant to help employees become more knowledgeable about sustainability to “link global issues to their own work and personal lives” and better support customers, according to Westpac.
"Sustainability is no longer a side-of-desk interest. Being aware of the impacts of climate change and how our lives and economies are changing as a result is important for everyone, no matter what your role or what industry you work in," said Sarah Hearn, Westpac GM product, sustainability & marketing.
Sustainability training programs like these can be beneficial both for employees and for organizations in attracting and retaining talent, particularly as employees are increasingly keen to work for companies that align with their values, said Wren Montgomery, associate professor of management and sustainability at Western University.
“We are seeing young people become more and more concerned about climate change, and they want to be more sustainable because of that. So, in terms of both attracting and retaining those employees, it’s really essential to show that you’re committed to sustainability and that that’s genuine, not just something you say in the job interview,” she said.
Climate change impacting mental health
According to a recent report, 78 per cent of respondents said that climate change impacts their overall mental health and 37 per cent said that their feelings about climate change negatively impact daily functioning.
With eco anxiety on the rise, providing sustainability training to employees can help alleviate some of those fears. It can also help with employee productivity, Montgomery said.
“If employees feel like they’re learning about how to actively tackle climate change and sustainability issues, it’s really trying to help combat this anxiety and ultimately better their mental health, which will impact the ways in which employees show up and stay in the organization,” she said.
Having forums to talk openly about these anxieties and what’s going on in the world are important. Tying this in to inform people about sustainability reporting, transparency, regulations, and requirements will impact all aspects of an organization, Montgomery said.
However, employers should ensure they are not just educating employees but giving them opportunities to put this knowledge to use to have an impact on both the company and the community, she said.
“We really see in research that building communities of likeminded people supporting each other — who are actually getting out and are able to make a change — is really important for them to feel that they're doing something meaningful, which reduces some of that anxiety as well,” Montgomery said.
Sustainability training benefits
With organizations becoming more scrutinized regarding their commitments to sustainability, providing training opportunities for employees shows that the organization is willing to invest in learning programs for employees. It also demonstrates a more meaningful commitment to sustainability practices, said Elizabeth Kurucz, associate professor of leadership and sustainability at the University of Guelph.
“There's a huge capacity for HR to serve as a catalyst for transformational change in organizations as well as to support the shift in mindset of employees toward making a difference. This signals a more profound commitment to sustainability and adds value to these commitments, so they don’t come across as just a marketing or branding exercise,” she said.
Sustainability training also provides employees with the ability to better support customers, particularly as they become more conscious of sustainable offerings. If employees are able to respond to the needs of their customers, this creates a stronger relationship between the organization and its customers, while improving the customer experience as well, Kurucz said.
“Training programs like these help employees to connect the dots between what they're doing, the products and services they offer and how those might potentially be linked to positively impacting things like the UN Sustainable Development Goals.”
Applying sustainability training to individual jobs
Tailoring training to understanding global issues that are relevant and material to the company is essential. However, this should go hand in hand with giving employees the opportunity to understand how the training applies to their specific role, Kurucz said.
“Employees need to understand how the training is relevant and be able to facilitate meaningful conversations around that while in the workshops, rather than having an employee participate in training only to have no idea how to apply it in the workplace,” she said.
“While they're learning about the issues more generally, they also need to be given the opportunity to have a dialogue around the applications and opportunities that might be possible within their specific workplace and industry.”
Leadership development and sustainability
If employers want to be more effective in having an impact on communities and society, they need to approach sustainability as an organizational change and leadership development opportunity, Kurucz said.
“Being a relational leader and being able to connect the dots between issues — while also building relationships between a diverse range of stakeholders and identifying synergies in their interests — is essential for looking for opportunities to promote sustainability within an organization. So, we're talking about a fundamental reorientation of the culture of an organization towards one that is more holistic, integrative and relational,” she said.
Equally important to achieving sustainable practices in an organization?
Build those skills in training programs that are not just about the topic, Kurucz said, but “how we build leadership capacities to be integrative thinkers and relational leaders and how we build the capability to embrace the diversity of stakeholders to look for opportunities to align interests.”
