Climate quitting

Half of all young people want their employer to commit to environmental goals. One in five would turn down an offer to join a company whose commitments don’t align with their values. Climate quitting is real, writes Save Money Cut Carbon’s Mark Sait

As the frontiers of the climate emergency close in, it’s no surprise that for the population at large, awareness is stiffening into action. For many job seekers, working at a company without a meaningful plan to reduce its environmental impact is simply a no-go. For employees, frustration at their own organisation’s lack of development is leading to a new phenomenon: climate quitting.

Climate quitting has been purported for some time and is now backed up by data. In a recent KPMG survey of 6,000 young people, one in two want their current company to demonstrate a commitment to environmental goals, and one in five reports turning down a job offer when the company’s environmental commitments did not align with their values.

It’s often said that environmental concerns are strongly held but weakly deployed. The line goes that when considering an action that would have a positive climate impact, we stop short if it might have a tiny adverse effect on our short-term situation. The rise of climate quitting is yet another sign that this view is a fallacy – particularly among young people.

We would all love a job with purpose. Something that really gets you out of bed in the morning. That need is always there, but calibrated differently in different people. In the past, those with a profound sense of purpose might have steered their career towards healthcare or charity work. There have always been more people for whom earning potential wins out as their key criterion over purpose–seeking careers in businesses focussed solely on the endeavour of generating more wealth.

This landscape has shifted in two ways. The climate emergency has sharpened that need for purpose in more of us. As we begin to see tangible effects on our own doorstep, we can no longer kid ourselves that it’s someone else’s problem. More than that, in the world of money-making enterprises, it is now plainly in the interests of businesses to treat environmental issues seriously. Increased desire in the workforce is met by increased need in the workplace. Companies without a stance will soon get left behind.

Climate quitting then is a natural symptom of the wider problem. In order to guard against this phenomenon effectively, businesses can’t knock back a few painkillers – they need to treat the root cause.

The decision to put net zero at the front and centre of business agendas can now be made in purely commercial terms. For any business that owns its premises and pays its own energy and water bills, the double-win of reducing carbon emissions needs no further explanation.

It’s of the utmost importance that businesses don’t kid themselves with the idea that they can assuage their employees by tacking on a minor pledge. A stereotypical offender here is tree planting. Clearly, it does – or, can – provide a lot of benefit to the world. But proceeding full-steam ahead with your business-as-usual, while funding a few saplings on the side, is the kind of cynical behaviour that will only exacerbate the issue of climate quitting. Greenwashing is no longer a niche concern.

To convince savvy employees, environmental goals must be drilled into the heart of businesses, and doing so has countless cascading benefits. Best of all is to implement an ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) strategy. ESG is part of a new business language that is rapidly permeating public sector and board rooms up and down the country, often amplified by high profile statements around net zero targets. Investors in particular, are increasingly applying these non-financial factors as part of their analysis process to identify material risks and growth opportunities.

Now, it’s important not to mistake climate quitting for an idea that the UK workforce is all jobseeking at Greenpeace. Employees are interested in the journey as much as the destination and demand only a pathway to change. For instance, 34% of UK employees agreed that they would be more loyal to their workplace if they provided them more detailed information on how to be greener at work and at home.

At Save Money Cut Carbon we’re seeing experienced managers and senior leaders across environmental, energy, water and carbon reduction, leaving large corporate jobs and consultancies, many already in this field, looking to join our team.

Employees say they don’t want to work for a “why” business that just talks about it, they want to work for a “how” business that delivers it. For those just entering the workplace, the same is happening with candidates looking for internships, for their first jobs or making a mid-life career change.

The double-edged sword of climate quitting means that when companies convert to a sustainable path, they become a much more attractive destination for employees stuck in unfulfilling roles at no-agenda organisations.

Creating and implementing an ESG strategy takes time. To get some early wins, it’s important for businesses to communicate the undertaking of the process to their staff, and to tell their employees just what their goals are. Combining positive change with radical transparency is a winning formula.

Helping workers to take their own practical steps on sustainability demonstrates a commitment to both the planet and staff welfare. New tools like Ecowise are a great solution here. The tool starts with benchmarking staff’s carbon literacy and then takes them on a twelve-month journey of weekly bite-size learning and reward experiences, delivered through their mobile phone – exploring everything from what a ton of carbon emissions looks like, to hacks and tips to reduce your home energy and water bills.

As they learn, staff are rewarded with points that amount to money off sustainable goods for their home. With measured learning outcomes, such schemes can benefit all three sectors of ESG – Environmental, Social and Governance.

83% of workers think their employer is not doing enough to be more sustainable and tackle climate change. The writing is on the wall, and the time is now for businesses to act decisively.

Mark Sait is the CEO & Co-Founder of Save Money, Cut Carbon

This story was first published in The Environment magazine in Jul/Aug 2023