Sustainable Initiatives
Sustainability is increasingly vital in today’s business landscape, and those entering their early career have a vital role to play. Sustainable innovations do not need to be grand gestures; in fact, many successful changes come from smaller initiatives that can collectively make a big impact.
Worryingly currently 98% of sustainable initiatives fail due to three common reasons:
- Lack of buy-in from the business
- Insufficient funding
- Being too large in scope and overwhelming.
Businesses need to start by identifying the changes they want to see and developing a clear plan for implementation. This includes ensuring that everyone from senior leadership teams (SLT) to regular employees are aligned through briefing sessions, training and investment in the process. For sustainability to truly succeed, it must be embedded within a company’s core values.
Sustainability as a Core Value
Sustainability is a huge concern to our Gen Z (born 1997 – 2012) population due to their heightened awareness of climate change and its impacts. Growing up amid extreme weather events across the world such as flooding, drought plus extreme prolonged cold weather and global warnings about the environment, they are more environmentally conscious than previous generations.
Gen Z values social responsibility, often seeking out opportunities with companies supporting climate initiatives and organisations that prioritise sustainable practices and align with their own ethical standards.
Gen Z is motivated by the desire to create long-term positive impact. They recognise the urgent need for sustainable solutions to ensure the future of the planet, making sustainability a personal and collective priority, with their extensive understanding on how to gather data & use the internet for wider knowledge, plus have an expectation that businesses and governments should act on climate change immediately, Gen Z is increasingly demanding accountability and driving conversations around ethical
consumerism and environmental responsibility.
Green Skills & Careers
There is also a significant need to make ‘green careers’ more accessible. Currently,
people from ethnic groups, care leavers, and those from families on benefits are underrepresented in green skills careers. We need to ensure that sustainability-focused roles are open to individuals from all backgrounds.
A key talking point for the future under the establishing “Skills for England” is
whether green skills should be formally embedded in all post 16 education including
apprenticeships, providing a pathway for young professionals to enter sustainability-
focused roles from the very start of their careers. By doing so, we could open the green sector to a wider, more diverse talent pool, driving real change for both
businesses and the planet.
Job roles developed around sustainability at a graduate level have seen a rise in
new university courses, diversifying on regular topics such as:
- Sustainability Consultant: Course: Sustainability and Environmental
Management, Business and Sustainability, Environmental Science - Urban Planner (Sustainability Development): Course: Urban Planning,
Sustainable Urban Development, Architecture - Sustainable Supply Chain Manager: Course: Supply Chain Management,
Sustainability Management, Operations Management - Environmental Lawyer: Course: Environmental Law, Law (with a focus on
Environmental Policy)
The Institute for Apprenticeships & Technical Education (IFATE) launched a “Green Toolkit” in January 2024, giving guidance to employers and providers on how to embed “Green Skills” into Apprenticeships Standards as well as launching particular “Green” Apprenticeships in the following sectors;
- Transport & Logistics
- Manufacturing
- Power & Nuclear Sectors
- Pharmaceutical
The rise in focus in sustainability will, without doubt see a rise in students wishing to study towards making a long term environmentally friendly commitment in both their careers and home lives.
