Victoria Hartley on the latest Environment & Sustainability News

It is well documented that young people are increasingly keen to work for a company that shares their values, and in theory are willing to forego the highest salary to work for a values led company.

For a number of years, recruitment, and more specifically, ‘attracting talent’ has been championed as one of the key drivers for corporate responsibility. It is well documented that young people are increasingly keen to work for a company that shares their values, and in theory are willing to forego the highest salary to work for a values led company. 30% of BT’s annual graduate intake stated that reputation for corporate responsibility affected their decision on whether to apply for or accept a job within the company. KPMG estimates that 80 – 90% of the 3,000 graduates it interviews ask about the firm’s charitable donation and volunteering programmes, compared to 20 – 30% five years ago.

A study carried out by the Economist Intelligence Unit in November 2007 found that executives believe that a robust CR programme has a significant positive impact on employee recruitment and retention. CR activity can develop a sense of teamwork, and create an emotional tie between the employee and the organisation. Furthermore it shouldn’t be forgotten that employees are often a company’s biggest advocate – able to blow their CR trumpet with credibility and sincerity.

Companies should consider how they are involving employees in environmental and broader CR programmes to ensure that they are maximising positive impacts and potential cost savings across the business. Are you offering your employees sufficient and appropriate opportunities to get involved?

Victoria Hartley, victoria.hartley@corporate-citizenship.com

Victoria joined SMART (as was) in 2004 and specialises in corporate community involvement and cross sector partnerships. With experience of both strategy development and hands on implementation, Victoria has worked with clients including CAT UK, Vodafone UK Foundation, and Masterfoods to ensure their community programmes bring value to the business, their stakeholders, and the community. Victoria was part of the SMART team which published the leading edge research on Corporate Foundations, and has carried out strategic reviews for a number of corporate foundations including Vodafone Group, Whitbread, Camelot and HBOS. She has also led the development of SMART’s environmental service ClimateSMART. Before joining, Victoria spent 6 months working with government, business and key individuals on a range of community projects in South Africa. Prior to that she was Community Affairs Project Manager for Microsoft UK, and managed key elements of Microsoft’s partnership with the NSPCC. Victoria graduated from Liverpool University in 1997 and holds a Masters in Youth Justice and Applied Criminology.