HR & Sustainability

Humans a.k.a. homo sapiens are a mammal species among all other life forms. In the last 200.000 years (approx) our species has evolved from hunter and gatherer cultures to city dwellers and global digital citizens. Only in the last 100 years our species has five folded in numbers (from 1.5 billion to almost 8 billion). We are a thriving species. We are social, funny, loving, caring and smart. A perfect mix of characteristics to openly collaborate and develop a force for good.

There is no better moment in time than now to enable that force for good. The world is facing some real dangers. We can’t close our eyes to the great resignation, growing inequality, geopolitical tensions, global warming, resource depletion, plastic waste and increasing biodiversity loss. We need that force for good before we are out of control. The problems we are facing are interrelated, they are connected by the social and the ecological.

Only 7 years left to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals for real

In 2015, the UN Sustainable Development Goals gave us a comprehensive plan for a sustainable world by 2030. The 17 goals cover a wide range of issues from a social, economical and ecological perspective. See image below. Sustainable development is a movement towards a steady state for life on earth.

Circular Economy as the engine

Goals are just goals which can only be achieved if we put enough effort into achieving these goals. Today we know that our economic system is one of the main drivers of the problems we face. The problems mentioned before don’t just drop from the sky, we are unwillingly creating them ourselves. We have to transform our economy from a linear one to an inclusive regenerative circular economy in order to achieve the 17 SDGs. The economy is the engine to create movement in the right direction. The current global economy is only 7.2% circular. Doubling that figure will also bring down carbon emissions significantly. (Source: https://www.circularity-gap.world/2023)

Green Skills & Jobs as the force for good

Running a circular economy requires different knowledge, skills and values. We have to operate the economy in a way that aligns with ecology and works within certain social boundaries. We need to work on competency on the individual level and the collective level. In the 2021 Linkedin report this competency was referred to as green skills. People are the operators of the economical engine.

Everybody needs to have a certain level of green skills and some jobs are just all about green skills. According to the report the current volume of green skills is nowhere near enough to achieve sustainability targets. The most important green skills:

• inclusive collaboration
• openness and transparency
• systems thinking
• co-creation
• courage and perseverance

Inclusive cooperation: Leave no one behind

Every person and any organisation is needed to achieve the SDGs. It will demand the most comprehensive and inclusive collaboration ever seen in history. Each and every body's role should be seen from the perspective of systems chance. Leaving no one behind is not only a matter of ethics, it is a necessity, a prerequisite to develop the force for good.

In time: Scale & Tempo

Developing this force for good needs scale and tempo. We see sustainability managers wrestling in their organisations to engage their colleagues, to keep their attention and to book some (minor) successes. We see the same patterns in every organisation in every industry and every sector. In the meanwhile the problems are just piling up in quantity and diversity.

HR to take responsibility

Someone needs to say:

"Hey sustainability manager, I’m here to help you. I can help you to engage, motivate, train, recruit, and onboard all our colleagues. I can be your partner to bring scale and tempo and develop the capacity needed. Because that is my daily job. I’m responsible for people and culture, for learning and development, for recruitment and onboarding. I cherish working and developing our competency. I love people and culture. I run a system where I can reach each and everyone. I have strong connections with the internal communication department. I see that me and my colleagues can pick up the responsibility to help you out."

Support the mission

This manifesto has a mission. Its mission is to make sustainability a trend in HR. A trend that enables scale and tempo to boost organisational adoption of green skills. By signing the manifesto you put your hand on your heart and promise yourself and to the HR community that you will take responsibility for this mission.

I sign this manifesto to support the mission to achieve the sustainable development goals by:

1. advocating for an inclusive regenerative circular economy
2. promoting green skills and jobs
3. stimulating diversity and inclusion (both social and ecological)
4. teaming up with sustainability representatives
5. providing tools and instruments to engage and train the workforce
6. making sustainability culture and competency a top priority
7. reflecting, evaluating and reporting progress