JPT: In terms of recruitment, where we stand as a business, what our point of view and perspective is across a range of ESG points is now a pre-requisite. Salary is still the primary driver but, almost taking over holidays or perks, is ESG. A lot of our talent that is coming now is asking around training and opportunity to develop a craft in that area.
From the other angle, as marketers, we have some responsibility for driving consumption. So, in terms of recruitment and retention it’s challenging, because you’ve got people asking about the clients.
Workhouse has a decent radar and who we want to do business with is key to our agenda. And we send the team out to local schools to build bug farms, we’ve got beehives on-site and we grow our own vegetables - people are really buying into that commitment.
PG: In the aerospace, defence, advanced engineering and manufacturing sectors we have a slightly different issue, because our industry is still seen as a dirty industry, full of waste, using a lot of fuel and producing a lot of carbon.
DS: Younger people have a better environmental understanding, and because there are a lot of engineering companies out there there’s a lot of competition for recruits and they’re not just interested in salary, it’s about all the things that come with working for a company that takes on board ESG.
Also, in our industry, we have a very skilled workforce. We bring people in with skills, they gain new skills through qualifications and hands-on training. If you don’t stay ahead of the game you’re not going to be able to recruit and retention will be harder.
CG: In hospitality, the shortages of staff have meant some businesses closing or reducing opening hours, and the number one reason that people are applying to us is because of our sustainability commitment and our values.
We’ve openly published our impact report and our roadmap to net zero, and the number one thing on cover letters is, “We have applied to you because of your sustainability credentials.” B Corp companies have a jobs board in the universities and they’re taking the cream of the crop.
IJ: F Scott Fitzgerald said, “The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function,” and I think that applies both to the retention of staff and the greening of the economy.
My clients need to make a living. They might be interested in saving polar bears, they might have children, but they’ll not invest to buy a hydrogen or a battery electric vehicle that costs three times the price of a diesel engine, so that comes back to what the government needs to do. Behavioural change on ESG will come but we also need to appeal to people’s self-interest.
If government could get its act
together and actually took the shot here,
we could become self- sufficient using our water and wind
AM: It does make a big difference. The quality and number of candidates has increased since we rebranded and the wonder for me is that they will hold us to account, so our existing employees are on a journey with us.
Those that joined the business because we are selling ourselves as a sustainable business will hold us to account, and I like that a lot. Our business is 100 per cent people. We don’t make anything, we serve our customers with systems, processes, people. So it’s critical.
Where do you turn for support and guidance?
RG: I turn to my own capacity to research and to embark on discussions like this to learn, but if there was suitable education that could guide me and my broader management team, then it would help accelerate our transition. I’m in the mood for recruiting an officer in the business to own our sustainability agenda because it’s going to be crucial to our future success.
PR: There’s a lot of educational platforms out there now and I’m very fortunate the business, funds that. In my downtime I like to research more and learn more as well.
DS: Northwest Aerospace Alliance is a really good support and help to us and East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce. I also use online support and networking’s probably the biggest thing, because every time you network you glean something.
JPT: We’ve got a good trade bodies. BIMA, the British Interactive Media Association, who do a lot in terms of ESG and sustainability and the DBA, the Design and Business Association. They’ve got a clear remit and agenda for helping agencies transition. And B Corp is fantastic.
CG: If you want the basics for your staff and for your business you want to go to the Carbon Literacy website and the SME Climate Hub, because they have tailored courses, they’re all free. If I have anything I want to know day-to- day I just go to the B Corp community because there’s a sense of camaraderie and community and collaboration.
IJ: Three sources. First, the Financial Times. Its observations on sustainability are second to none. Second, the Rich Roll podcast which often talks about sustainability and wellbeing. And third, Palace Yard, a non-partisan think tank that provides information to assist MPs in making their decisions.
PG: I’m a believer in collaboration, and Northwest Aerospace Alliance builds its reputation by delivering and receiving advice and support collaboratively.
We bring together businesses at primary and SME level to find out what they’re doing, what’s happening in their sector, what the impacts are. My information gathering is literally from the feet on the ground in our local areas.
AM: At the high level, the United Nations has lots of resources. A notch below that, but really practical, is B Corp and we’re nearly at the end of that accreditation process.
I’d recommend starting the process, it’s all online, without any commitment. You’ll come out with the stuff you don’t know, and then you go can go, ‘We need a policy for that, we need a process for that.’
We are
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