Does your sustainability strategy stand up to the scrutiny of your employees?
It’s a question more senior leadership teams need to be asking themselves as a growing number of employees openly hold their organisations to account on ESG commitments.
It’s something Shell learned the hard way only last month when disgruntled staff shared an open letter criticizing plans at the energy giant to scale back investment in renewables.
In it they said they were “deeply concerned” at the move, citing a focus on renewable energy as one of their key reasons for working at the company.
And worryingly for Shell the letter was viewed more than 80,000 times on its internal website.
It’s a strong reminder for senior leadership teams that developing strong engagement and communication with employees is a critical element when it comes to ESG.
Led by CEOs and CSOs, organisations need to ensure they’re bringing employees along with them on any sustainability journey, welcoming their feedback and their involvement.
Without it, not only do companies lose access to the energy and ideas of their strongest asset, their people, but also, they risk being called out for missteps by those who could otherwise be their strongest advocates.
