Empowering employees through sustainability: how commitment to sustainable development drives engagement and performance 

A company’s commitment to sustainability now plays a key role in the attraction, retention and engagement of staff. In fact, 2 in 3 workers want to work for a company that is having a positive impact on the world, and a third have resigned from their job because the company’s values didn’t align with their own.  

Many HR leaders have yet to fully integrate sustainable development into their organisations, despite 95% of leaders agreeing that sustainability is a high priority. This raises questions about how to incorporate sustainability issues into recruitment, staff development, and into the minds of senior management.  

As we search for more meaning, purpose and impact in our careers, incorporating sustainability is not an either/or choice. People all over the world are already incorporating sustainability concepts into their strategic career planning. HR leaders must keep pace by committing to sustainable development.  

The impact of sustainability on organisational performance 

Sustainability commitments and programs can motivate employees to perform at their best. A 2024 survey by Culture Amp found that employees at companies deemed genuinely committed to sustainability reported a substantial 16% increase in engagement levels. According to the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), HR managers have found that individuals with a strong awareness of sustainable development “possess a powerful understanding of the challenges facing business today, and frequently command the skills to engage with a wide variety of institutions and people.”  

This reveals how sustainability commitments are vital not only for recruiting and retaining top talent, but also for creating incentives for exceptional performance, enhancing critical competencies and transforming organisations. As a result, HR managers are increasingly looking for sustainability skills at all levels of the organization, across all sectors. 

Organizational effectiveness is moving beyond traditional financial and shareholder concerns to incorporate good governance, transparency, ethics, diversity, social responsibility, environmental protection, community contribution, and employee rights (Boudreau & Randstad, 2005). Fittingly, organizations are looking for workers who will match sustainability values and improve a complex, multiple bottom line.  

Sustainable development and the quadruple bottom line 

As a commitment to sustainable development is key to employee and organisational performance, what does this look like in practice? Well, there are four pillars of sustainable development that are the foundation for understanding how to apply sustainability to different professions in a very concrete manner:  

1. Society – Ensuring societal wellbeing needs such as safe and inclusive working conditions are met 
2. The environment – Adopting practices that are the most favourable to the planet’s health and ecosystems 
3. The economy – Ensuring that a product or service provides good value for money, taking into account environmental and social costs like land use and pollution 
4. Future generations – Having a long-term outlook about what future generations may need and want beyond what is tangible today.  

Committing to sustainability with the SURF framework 

For HR leaders to ensure their organisation is in line with sustainable development, and in turn engage their teams through sustainability efforts with a long-term outlook, they can follow the SURF framework: 

S – Supply chain considerations that address sustainability criteria 

This component focuses on the building blocks that comprise a company’s product or help bring about a service. How do the products in the supply chain measure when it comes to governance, water, energy, land use, waste, pollutants like greenhouse gases, labour, justice, equity, diversity and inclusion, and long-term profit?  

U – User considerations that address sustainability criteria 

The user is the consumer, customer, citizen or client. What does the user do with the product or service? Do they throw it away immediately to pile up in landfill? Can it be easily reused or recycled? Is it biodegradable and have the proper systems been put in place to render that biodegradability useful?  

R – Relations or relationships with employees, colleagues, the surrounding community, and society at large 

This component is about engaging stakeholders, referring to both external and internal relationships. Is the work environment healthy for workers? Do employees feel that there is an equitable and inclusive work environment? Are company operations and financing transparent?  

F – concern for Future generations 

The notion that we are responsible to future generations is one that keeps us questioning the impact of our operations. Do we have a ten-year plan? Or a 50-year plan? The consideration of future generations is what distinguishes sustainability from other concepts.  

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Marilyn Waite is the author of Sustainability at Work: Careers That Make a Difference. Marilyn has worked across four continents in low carbon energy, climate modeling, and investment. She currently leads the Climate Finance Fund and teaches ESG Strategies at Sciences Po and other universities across the globe. Find out more at marilynwaite.com.