Environmental initiatives are having a direct impact on companies’ ability to recruit the best staff, and are an increasingly important factor in retaining them. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development has found that sustainability initiatives are often held in higher regard by employees than they are by customers. A company’s own staff can, then, be a much stronger driver for green change than clients and competitors – and its environmental record can be a key issue in the battle for talent.

The institute, the main professional body for human resources executives, questioned 750 firms. Nearly half of recruiters said staff wanted to join or work in an organisation with a strong environment policy. About 40% said an environmental policy was particularly important for young staff. However, the survey highlighted a serious gap between staff attitudes and companies’ response: only 44% of the businesses questioned had an environmental policy.

“Our results show the environment can be used as an important recruitment and retention tool and underlines the relevance of the environment to good people management,” say John Philpott and Gerwyn Davies, authors of the report.

Telecoms giant BT says that about a third of graduate job applicants now quiz its recruiters about the firm’s commitment to sustainability – and it has responded accordingly. Adrian Hosford, director of corporate responsibility, says a third of BT staff attended at least one event during a recent week dedicated to their employer’s “corporate social responsibility” or engagement with the community and the evironment. “It helps to improve attraction, retention, motivation and engagement – and makes good business sense,” he says.

Michael Rea, chief operating officer at the Carbon Trust, which works with businesses to cut emissions, believes they will soon be expected to do far more than the traditional “top-down” measures such as switching to renewable power and replacing gas-guzzling executive cars with low-emission vehicles. “You also need bottom-up engagement to implement carbon-cutting measures right across the business, its staff and all of its suppliers and contractors,” Rea says.

The scale of the changes needed is illustrated by the latest figures from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which show that humanity is emitting about 49 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, including 27 billion tonnes from burning fossil fuels. We need to cut emissions by up to 80% by 2050 if global warming is to be kept at a manageable level. What’s more, this has to be achieved during a period of rampant economic and population growth. The United Nations predicts the global population will rise from 6.5 billion to 8.5 billion by 2040.

Depending how you measure it, business generates 30%-40% of greenhouse gases, so the task for company chiefs over the next few years is going to be huge. The scale of the transformation will affect every business and involve staff at all levels. Some of the pressure will come from consumers and from legislative changes, but all the signs are that employees will have one of the most significant roles.

Tom Savage, managing director of the executive recruitment company Bright Green, is already seeing the evidence. The company specialises in recruiting for the sustainability sector and has been inundated by jobseekers wanting to have a positive impact on the world. “There are lots of reasons for wanting to change jobs but one of those cited increasingly often is the current employer’s poor record on green issues,” Savage says. “People are worried about global warming and they want to help to bring about change. In the past that was seen as something for environmentalists and campaigners, but now it is seen as integral to business.” One of the biggest drivers for change is the increasing disparity between employees’ home and work lives. Most people are becoming increasingly environmentally responsible in their private lives – recycling waste and reducing power use, for instance. When they arrive at work, however, they often see waste on a grand scale, with lights, computers and air conditioning left on 24/7, and oblivious or cynical bosses.

That such problems still exist is surprising given both how easy they are to solve and the potential for boosting company profits while being environmentally responsible. The scale of possible savings was illustrated in a recent survey of 400 board-level executives by the Energy Saving Trust, which found that UK companies could save nearly £3 billion annually by switching to greener company cars to exploit tax breaks introduced earlier this year.

Phil Day, head of human resources at the trust, says giving staff the option of choosing a vehicle that emits less CO2 sends out a strong message, both internally and externally, about a company’s environmental awareness.

But in a survey of future business leaders, America’s Aspen Institute asked 1,943 MBA students at 15 business schools, including London Business School, for their definition of a well-run company – and found that environmental issues fared poorly.

“Students rank the importance of companies having progressive environmental policies near the bottom of the list,” the institute reported.

It may take time. “Companies’ behaviour is growing ever more important in recruitment and retention,” says Craig Smith, professor of business ethics and corporate responsibility at the Insead business school in Fontainebleau. “The war for talent is going to raise standards, but it’s a long-term process.”

PwC

When Matilda Venter takes a flight she knows the carbon generated will come back to haunt her. Every year Venter, a human resources director at PricewaterhouseCoopers, the professional services firm, gets a statement showing the total amount of carbon emitted through her air travel – and she has to find ways of cutting the level or offsetting it.

“It does remind you of the consequences of your travel and makes you want to do better,” says Venter, pictured left, flanked by colleagues David Adair, Alex Butler and Elaine Bailey.

This method of giving staff personal accountability for the environmental impact of their business activity is proving one of the more effective green measures introduced at PwC, whose work has always depended on visiting clients. “We have cut down on many of those journeys by introducing measures such as high-quality video-conferencing and teleconferencing,” Venter continues. Last year PwC was able to avoid 1.1m miles of employee business travel through using such facilities.

For those who opt for a company car (most staff are entitled to one), PwC has expanded its green fleet initiative, providing advice on cleaner vehicles and fuels.

The company also offers interest-free public transport season ticket loans and a “cycle to work” scheme, including help with purchase, and shower facilities at larger offices to refresh staff when they arrive. “We’ve piloted these schemes in-house and now we are offering them to clients,” Venter says. “Sustainability means we save money and expand our business.”