'People want a job with purpose': why businesses are becoming more sustainable

Peatland restoration and the creation of native woodland in the Scottish Highlands is just one step in BrewDog’s mission to be carbon neutral. “Sustainability should not be a bolt-on; it needs to be a core part of everyone’s role, regardless of their job title,” says James Watt, BrewDog’s co-founder.

As part of a £30m investment plan, the company is switching to a fleet of electric delivery vehicles and its brewery is wind-powered. Spent grain is transformed into fuel, and carbon dioxide produced during fermentation will be used downstream to carbonate beer.

Carbon neutral? Sounds like a revolution
As more businesses and industries focus on reducing their carbon footprints, this could usher in a green industrial revolution, kickstarting a boom in the green jobs market. In agriculture alone, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that responding to the climate emergency will create 200m full-time jobs globally by 2050.

What’s a job worth? It’s about more than money
Searious Business, a Dutch company committed to preventing plastic pollution, has seen a sharp increase in job applications from “people wanting a job with purpose”, especially from generation Z. “Polluting industries are having trouble attracting the right people to help them future-proof their business. Being able to demonstrate the right culture is key to contributing to a step-change,” says Willemijn Peeters, founding director of Searious Business.

A successful transition to a green economy will create more stable jobs. A 2018 International Labour Organization report estimated that 6m jobs could be created by adopting a more circular economy. Globally, 1.2bn jobs directly rely on a healthy environment – for example, fishing, farming and forestry – and environmental degradation and heat stress will threaten these jobs.

When it comes to banking, why do green choices matter?
Banks are all about investing, often that can be in fossil fuels and arms, but choosing to bank ethically boosts the green infrastructure across today’s economy. Bevis Watts, CEO of Triodos Bank UK, believes that banks can support green jobs by financing positive impact and environmental innovators. For example, Triodos Bank UK has funded many businesses such as Pod Point and Ember that are pioneering electric vehicle and infrastructure technology.

Related: Interested in a green job? How do you measure a company’s credentials?

A new report by Lansons, a strategic-reputation management consultancy, found that more than half of UK investors (58%) say they want their bank or building society to invest their savings in a way that is good for the environment. Watts believes that our current economic system is failing, and he is calling for a green recovery and asking the government to create new jobs that contribute to a climate-safe future.

Where’s the demand for green jobs?
A recent Local Government Association report states that by 2030, 46% of low-carbon jobs will be in clean electricity generation and providing low-carbon heat for homes and businesses. The manufacture of electric vehicles is also an area of growth. Arrival, a London-based startup founded in 2015 that makes commercial EVs, achieved rare “unicorn” status earlier this year when it reached a market valuation of more than $1bn (£774m). It employs about 1,150 people globally.

A green transition could result in up to 90,000 new jobs in UK manufacturing and a further 83,000 jobs in supply chains, adding up to £20bn to GDP, according to a report published by the Manufacturing Technologies Association, which states that going green is “not an option, it’s a necessity”.

So can we design a better future?
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s 2019 report, How The Circular Economy Tackles Climate Change, demonstrated that if the circular economy was adopted in just five areas (food, plastic, steel, aluminium and cement), annual greenhouse gas emissions from those industries could be reduced by 40% in 2050, based on current projections. That’s equivalent to eliminating all transport emissions globally. So better financing is crucial.

Sustainability needs to be ingrained into the design stage across all sectors. One designer keen to use fewer products that last longer is Bernice Pan, founder of the sustainable fashion brand Deploy, which upcycles offcuts while avoiding overproduction and stock discarding. Pan, who leads a team of 10 and is currently seeking new staff, believes that creating green jobs goes far beyond employing people with new stand-alone roles such as “sustainability officer”. “All jobs should be greener,” says Pan. For her, sustainability permeates every decision, from whether to discard an old laptop or buy new office equipment – just as much as it runs throughout an ethical supply chain.

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