Why companies should be sustainable and how IT can help

A movement to go green is gaining traction, and business and IT leaders need to make sure they don’t miss out.

Companies must care about environmental sustainability for a host of reasons — consumer demand, legislative and investor pressure, talent retention and to ensure the planet can support life. That means business and IT leaders must make sure they are doing their part.

Here are five reasons companies should be sustainable and ways they need their IT departments to help.

1. Employee demand

During a time where widespread talent shortages are the reality, companies that demonstrate concern for environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues can better attract and retain employees.

Environmental sustainability has grown in importance for more than 51% of consumers and employees, according to “Balancing sustainability and profitability: How businesses can protect people, planet and the bottom line,” a study released in April by IBM’s Institute for Business Value (IBV).

Sustainability is even driving which jobs candidates accept or prioritize.

Two out of three respondents said they are more willing to go for a job (67%) and accept it if they believe the company is environmentally sustainable, according to the IBM IBV study. And that figure rose to 80% for companies that prioritize planet and people. On the other hand, only 21% of survey respondents believed their current employers are sustainable.

In a competitive talent market, that’s a big risk.

One in three of people who left their jobs last year took their skills to an employer they believe to be environmentally sustainable (35%) or socially responsible (40%), according to the IBM IBV study. For one in three of those job changers, the role was one in which they could directly affect environmentally sustainable outcomes. Not only that: About the same percentage of those who accepted a new job in the last year accepted a lower salary for the opportunity to work for a sustainable or socially responsible organization.

To read more on how Information Technology can be used to help companies become more sustainable, click here.

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