Infographic: HR faces wake-up call on climate strategy

HR faces wake-up call on climate strategy

Half of North American employers expect employees to play an important role in the successful delivery of climate strategy

• 81% say it’s important to integrate climate strategy in their employee value proposition
• 33% agree that employee compensation should be tied to the delivery of climate strategy

Employee participation is essential to climate action, yet less than half of employers report that HR has only minimal involvement in delivering climate strategies

How would you describe HR’s involvement in delivering the organization’s environmental/climate strategies?

• 10% Significant involvement
• 38% Somewhat involved
• 46% Minimal involvement
• 7% I don’t know

Employers are moving forward, focusing on a range of people-related interventions to address climate change issues

The introduction of new specific climate-related teams or roles:

• 62% - We have fully implemented/have started to implement/are considering now
• 13% - We may consider in the future
• 26% - We have not considered

Employee engagement/listening activities to understand attitudes on climate

• 53% - We have fully implemented/have started to implement/are considering now
• 21% - We may consider in the future
• 26% - We have not considered

Executive incentive metrics

• 43% - We have fully implemented/have started to implement/are considering now
• 27% - We may consider in the future
• 30% - We have not considered

A chief sustainability/environmental officer or similar on the executive committee

• 34% - We have fully implemented/have started to implement/are considering now
• 27% - We may consider in the future
• 39% - We have not considered

“Green" benefits and/or HR policies

• 28% - We have fully implemented/have started to implement/are considering now
• 40% - We may consider in the future
• 33% - We have not considered

Broader employee incentive metrics

• 24% - We have fully implemented/have started to implement/are considering now
• 33% - We may consider in the future
• 43% - We have not considered

Changes to directors' and officers' liability policies

• 20% - We have fully implemented/have started to implement/are considering now
• 29% - We may consider in the future
• 51% - We have not considered

Note: Not all percentages add to 100 due to rounding

It’s time for HR to step up on climate change and consider the following

• Purpose: Embed a company's climate and sustainability objectives
• Future of work: Partner with the business to rethink how, where and when work gets done
• Accountability: Enable clarity of accountability with collective ownership for a company’s climate as well as environmental, social and governance initiatives, and support the development of key organizational capabilities and teams to deliver on them
• Employee value proposition: Integrate climate strategy and objectives so that the employee experience is enhanced and employee attraction and retention is improved
• Attitudes: Use employee listening activities, including surveys and virtual focus groups, to understand employee attitudes and identify gaps in awareness of key issues
• Measurement: Incorporate climate-related performance indicators in incentives for executives and key managers
• Rewards: Consider implementing innovative elements to Total Rewards such as “green” benefits and/or HR policy
• Communication: Empower employees to understand, enable and champion the organization’s climate strategy

Source: North America HR and Climate Strategy Survey 2021