Third of young people reject jobs with poor green record
A THIRD of Gen Z workers claim to have rejected a job offer because of a company’s poor green credentials, according to research.
A survey of 6,000 adults found that one in five claim to have turned down a job offer when the employer’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) commitments were not in line with their values. This rose to one in three for people aged between 18 and 24.
The survey, conducted by KPMG, highlights how social and environmental factors are becoming increasingly important for workers, particularly among the younger generation.
It found that almost half of people want the company they work for to demonstrate a commitment to ESG, while 80pc placed importance on being able to link values and purpose with the organisation they work for.
One in three have researched a company’s ESG credentials while looking for a job, rising to almost half for those starting out in their career.
The environmental impact of the work the company does was among the key areas sought out as part of the recruitment process, along with living wage policies. Gen Z were the most likely to be seeking a job linked to ESG, while two-thirds of office workers said there were some industries they refused to work with for ethical reasons.
John Mccalla-leacy, head of ESG at KPMG in the UK, said: “It is clear from recent Cop27 discussions that, while some progress is being made, there is still a long way to go if we are going to limit global temperature rises to 1.5C.
“It is the younger generations that will see the greater impacts if we fail to reach this target, so it is unsurprising that this, and other ESG considerations, are front of mind for many when choosing who they will work for.”
ESG has become a major issue in the City, with many institutional investors putting increased emphasis on meeting targets, while Esg-focused funds now control hundreds of billions of pounds.
But critics have warned ESG is a blunt tool that fails to reflect the real world. A previous report from KPMG found that half of chief executives plan to shelve ESG targets as they shift their focus ahead of a looming recession.